Hi Alister, as much as I understnd the irony of others on misbehaved children, I totally understand the state we parents ve to go through wth our own. Basically, ask around any parents wth kids, no matter how obedient a child could be, they would crossed a point of time which would put parents in a dilemma.
As I could see, ur kids r very young and thats a time where thy love to explore and be naughty. I would try my best to help u in this kind of situation, especially those hyperactive ones.
Hyperactive kids tend to indulged in their own world of fun but thy r not totally oblivious of whts happening arnd them.
1)Punishment as caning is a must but limit it to 3times a day. Howevr its advisable to cane them on their hands rather than their bottoms as its the most delicate part of a child.(we wouldnt want thm to suffer any internal injuries in future) Give a stern warning that a stroke would be given evrytm they misbehaved followed by an explanation why they were punished. Children nowadays r unlike those of our times. U can cane them countless times only to find them repeating it again. Let them be afraid of u out of respect n knowledge not jst because being feared of caning. Some would rebel on a later stage. Never beat them wth our bare hands coz a child tends to take it personal that way.
2)Try to limit their Tv programmes. The flashes thy get frm watching TV would hyped them further. Spend time wth them reading, singing or evn doing silly thngs like dancing or cracking jokes wth thm. make thm do hands on activities, thy love playing water espcially so fill a tub wth toys n thy would v hours of fun.
3) Be firm but loving to a child. Set limits n be consistent. Try to find their gd points and gave praises. Let them felt their positive behaviour rather than d negative ones. Encourage their strong points constantly. Respond to any positive behaviour however small. Thy would felt appreciated n gradually u would see their change of behaviour.
4)A child grows wth the environment thy r in. We tend to scream n shout and thats how thy tend to follow us. Ignore thm whn u really felt ur anger gets to d brim. Try controlling our emotions first before we control them. Always remember that we as parents r in control of them not d otherwise.
5)Put on soothing music in d house. It doesnt only calm dwn a child but the parents s well.
I knew it sounds easy but we have to try our best to help our child coz only parents knew n undrstand their child thn anyone else. As much as we need support, they need it frm us too. It would take time and a great deal of patience but rest assured any child could change. Trust ur child n urself. Gd luck!