[wanttobemommy]

My friend son is 4 years old. She and her husband split up when he was still and infant. Their divorce was just finalized and her son has now started to see his daddy again after about 8 months without visits due to his father being in jail.

They are having major issues with her sons behavoir. He is doing things that no one can understand. He is fibbing about being sick and telling daddy he threw up in the car when it didnt happen. Those things are not my friends biggest concern. Lately her son has been sneaking food like he isnt get enough. The thing is this kid eats more in one sitting than I can. They let him keep eating until he says he is full. The things are he is eating things that just dont seem right. Like today he ate a half of a bag of sugar. My friend was in the shower getting ready for work and she comes out to her son with a spoon in the sugar bag just eating it plain. He has eaten random things like this for awhile. A whole jar of pickles....etc. There are lots more I am just not sure of all of them. I have heard of this being some sort of disorder but cant quite figure out what it is. I tried my trusty google and didnt really find much. So now I go to you all my most trusted real people TIA

[DivasMomma]

he may be bipolar....my little sister had to be locked out of the fridge and cabinets and my mom had to keep all the non perishables in her bedroom with the door locked. I remember her being 5 and eating sticks of butter.

She wasnt diagnosed until she was 13 but once she was on the meds it evened out and she stopped with the weird food cravings

[twinzplus3]

She needs to take him to a therapist who is seasoned in dealing with kids in these situations. Obviously, this isn't normal behavior but it sounds like she really needs a licensed therapist to decipher it all.

[Samual]

What is he like mentally? It could be prader-willi

[jkl123]

She should definetely take him to see someone. It could be a combination of things, and it canbe hard to piece them all together. The lying sounds to me like he is craving more 'normal' attention. The easting sounds a bit like OCD. Bi-Polar often shows itself in children by then having fits of rage (does he?), but 4 is a bit too young for most DRs to diagnos that. I hope she gets him to someone and gets some answers.

[mcmama]

They can be diagnosed BP at 4. It's rare but it happens.

Craving sugar and pickles says craving sugar and salt. Needs to see a doctor.

[Kats Playland]

I agree with the other ladies, he needs to see somebody. I could be something as simple as he's depressed or screaming out for extra attention to something more serious. One of my friends son's did the same thing *with the food* when he was about that age. He would sneak food from places and when they would go out to eat not only would he eat his food but also steal his older brother. After almost a yr of it they took him in & found out he was wanting extra attention from his mom. **long story behind that**

[wanttobemommy]

I can definatly say that it is not Prader Willi. I have worked with people with that disorder and that is actually diagnosed most times at birth. Besides his weird behavoir he is a normal 4 year old. He doesnt have fits of rage at all. I was dx with Bipolar in elementary school and got the diagnosis removed from my records due to the dx being based on my parents description of my behavoirs not due to any tests that were run. Thanks for your help I will pass this on to her