Any suggestions on discouraging (ideally eliminating) these behaviors
with a four and a half year old boy before I go insane.

1. Singing over everyone with some repetitive word (ma, ma being the
most common).

2. Stomping and marching. Often this is happening with the first
behavior.

3. Thumbsucking/nose picking. I have had very little luck with
discouraging his thumbsucking (for now, he is not allowed to do it while
spending one-on-one time with us). He started putting his finger in his
nose while sucking his thumb a while back (maybe 4 or 5 months). It has
caused quite a bit of nose bleeds, but I haven't been able to get him to
stop.

My response on the first two have been to give him a warning with a
request to stop. If he starts doing it within a short period of time (5
minutes), he gets a time out (about four minutes). We have seen no
reduction in either behavior.

In regard to the third, other than general discouragement, I have only
dealt with the nose picking issue. I have cleaned his nose with a q-tip
and applied a very small amount of triple-antibiotic to the immediate
area (advice from the doctor). He really doesn't like the treatment,
but it doesn't seem to discourage the behavior.

I would really appreciate some new options to deal with him and any
information on developmental expectations, particularly in regard to his
impulsivity. I feel like the balance of our communication is beginning
to favor the negative interaction through the day. We are coasting
downhill to summer vacation when his older sisters (7 and 8) are around
all day and starting preschool in the fall.

Thanks,
Karen G