Bonnie
As a health care professional, let me assure you that the diagnosis of ADHD is much overused these days. 4-year olds are quite active and are busy exploring their world which they are by this age, quite aware of. And like most small children, they tend to test their parents in their quest for independence. From what you've said, your son appears to be just an active child and as you yourself suggested, he might be a little bored. Try to examine everything around your household and family....as you mentioned, is the discipline inconsistent? Do you allow him to get away with inappropriate behavior one time but punish him the next time? Is he "spoiled"? Does he have playmates his own age and if so, does he interact well with them? Does he have appropriate outlets for his energy, such as sports? Little League baseball normally has teams of tiny ones and I believe 4yr. olds are in the smallest group. Does he have access to a playground or park? Is he interested in learning his colors or the alphabet and does he show any interest in learning to read? At this age, he is sort of "in between"....to little to read or make his own entertainment yet too old to be treated like a baby. Many parents get frustrated at this point and begin to wonder if ADHD is the culprit and in some cases, even manage to get the child put on Ritalin. Unfortunately, this drug is habit-forming as it is an amphetamine but does have the opposite effect on true ADHD children. But it has serious side effects and should not be used lightly or for a parent's convenience. Before you consider anything that drastic, you might try some of the suggestions I've offered and see if they help. And always, always, get a second opinion and even a third if you can. Hope everything works out for you and hang in there....it DOES get better as children get older. Then you have a completely different set of worries. ;-)