nervous behavior? Is this normal?

[paula317]

Help. I have a 5.5 year old boy who is starting to display "nervous" behavior during school and at sports functions. He is starting to have a hard time concentrating (but not all the time) only during what he may precieve to be "stressful" situations "when he needs to preform a specific way". He starts to dance around, make strange faces, not pay attention to what he was doing. Help is this normal and just immaturity or something more.
Help
Paula317

[Sandman2]

   Just happened to notice the prior dates and your post.  I think you will get more answers if you start a post of your own.  
   How is he doing in school?  
   Also at soccer - is he playing on the field?  If so what does his coach say about how he is at practice when you are not there?

[lourdie]

I have a similar issue and i am at my witts end on what to do with my little boy. He just turned 6 years old in August. He is a very nervous kid and i am not sure what to do. Every 5 seconds he is asking where are you mommy and if he can not find you he runs around screaming Mommy where are you!  He is always worried that he is going to get seperated from someone that he is with. He is a very nervous kid to begin with but this behavior is making me nervous. Also i take him to soccer every Saturday and sit and watch. his new behavior is he stares at me to see where i am and make sure that i do not leave. Does anyone have any ideas

[jdtm]

What you are seeing are signs of moderate anxiety - many times these behaviours mimic ADHD/ADD.  When the stress is lessened, his behaviour will return to "normal".  It's really not a serious issue except be aware of what you are dealing with and not punish or reprimand the child for behaviours he cannot control.  Sometimes the best thing to do is simply to remove the child from the situation (even if only for a few minutes).  Also, try to make sure your son follows a specific schedule as to bedtime, meals, etc. as these routines give comfort to an anxious child.

You might feel more comfortable googling the internet with words similar to "childhood anxiety disorder" or "anxiety behavior", etc.  to search for other methods to help your son.