Sometimes excitable and hyper children actually have other things contributing to this. One, is anxiety. It as not apparent to us when our son was younger, but once he began verbalizing how things were affecting him, especially school-related, such as doing well on tests, news reports, going to local events, etc. it became clear that there was more beneath the surface. At first, this was very troubling. My mind raced on as to how a child so young could worry about things so much.
It became clear that learning to relax had to become priority. Sadly, in today's society, not much attention really is given to the ability to relax. I know that some schools now have yoga classes and some even have meditation but I think even in health class, they could discuss how anxiety is a valid condition and how kids should think about treating it the same as "not smoking" or "not taking drugs" - ways to avoid these and ways to avoid too much anxiety. Smoking is bad for your lungs. Anxiety is bad for everything.
If your child has anxiety, you may not want to wait to find out how it will affect them when they are older. The longer you live with that way of reacting, the more it becomes part of you. Therapy and relaxation techniques can be built into your schedule as much as brushing your teeth and hanging up your coat.
Monday, March 10, 2014
Friday, September 23, 2011
Mix it up
A few other great ways to teach your busy bodies:
1. Charades - ask them to act out their answers to your questions or act out what you are trying to teach them
2. Singing - ask them to sing the spelling of their spelling words. Making up songs with the words will also really help them remember.
3. Dance/Sports Bargaining - if you do need them to sit and write, such as sentences for example, tell them to do 2-3, then they can get up and dance to the radio for 2-3 minutes or bounce a ball on the back porch for 2-3. Then they have to run back inside or back to their chair and do another 2-3 sentence and so on. It will take less time overall, if you don't have to haggle with them or spend any time yelling and screaming to sit still.
1. Charades - ask them to act out their answers to your questions or act out what you are trying to teach them
2. Singing - ask them to sing the spelling of their spelling words. Making up songs with the words will also really help them remember.
3. Dance/Sports Bargaining - if you do need them to sit and write, such as sentences for example, tell them to do 2-3, then they can get up and dance to the radio for 2-3 minutes or bounce a ball on the back porch for 2-3. Then they have to run back inside or back to their chair and do another 2-3 sentence and so on. It will take less time overall, if you don't have to haggle with them or spend any time yelling and screaming to sit still.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Learning on the run
Energetic kids can be quite difficult to teach... at least in the conventional way of expecting them to sit down, and listen. Just like the hyperbole, the ants start crawling, distracting them from paying good attention and really processing anything, but that need to get up and move.
I have decided if I want my son to learn and pay attention to what I am saying, I just take that "ants in your pants" feeling out of the equation. How do I do this?
Easy... I teach him while he's moving.
We practice our spelling with jumping jacks. "Spell gift"... and he goes "G" - "I"...and so on as he is doing jumping jacks. We laugh when he has to start over.
We add while we jog around the block. I say "45 + 90?" and he jogs and bam, answers!
An alternative is to simply teach while doing things. Take the math homework, go to a store, a park, a bank, somewhere... and make it real life. Try to apply the concepts on the worksheet with something tangible. They will have to stop periodically to write their answers, but it is way easier than asking them to sit for a half hour without moving and expecting it to be done.
Make learning interACTIVE! If your child can do any physical movements while practicing, the homework/learning experience will be a whole lot smoother and they will get so much more out of it!
I have decided if I want my son to learn and pay attention to what I am saying, I just take that "ants in your pants" feeling out of the equation. How do I do this?
Easy... I teach him while he's moving.
We practice our spelling with jumping jacks. "Spell gift"... and he goes "G" - "I"...and so on as he is doing jumping jacks. We laugh when he has to start over.
We add while we jog around the block. I say "45 + 90?" and he jogs and bam, answers!
An alternative is to simply teach while doing things. Take the math homework, go to a store, a park, a bank, somewhere... and make it real life. Try to apply the concepts on the worksheet with something tangible. They will have to stop periodically to write their answers, but it is way easier than asking them to sit for a half hour without moving and expecting it to be done.
Make learning interACTIVE! If your child can do any physical movements while practicing, the homework/learning experience will be a whole lot smoother and they will get so much more out of it!
Monday, July 4, 2011
Energy Releasing Activity: Water Fun
It's summertime... that's high energy kid season people!
What that means is get those kids outside and playing! Go ahead, let them make it fun.
So how do I do it sometimes? Well, we do not have pool passes this year so the hose is going to have to do, but why not spruce up the boring old stuff with some fun things! Let the kids be creative too... buckets, pails, tupperware, floats, umbrellas, balls, squirt bottles... go nuts!
What that means is get those kids outside and playing! Go ahead, let them make it fun.
So how do I do it sometimes? Well, we do not have pool passes this year so the hose is going to have to do, but why not spruce up the boring old stuff with some fun things! Let the kids be creative too... buckets, pails, tupperware, floats, umbrellas, balls, squirt bottles... go nuts!
Energy Releasing Activity: Nature Walk
Many of the energetic kids I have met seem to have a special thing for nature. We happen to live near a really nice canal that runs along the river so taking the kids for a walk there is pretty convenient, especially since they are now old enough to stay on the path. I'd say for a kid under 3 you might have a little trouble with this unless it is a nice large path enclosed in a park. This path we took today happens to be in between a canal and a river.
Since the kids are now almost 5 and 8, they were just fine on not toppling over into either body of water, thank gawd! Anywho, we gave them brown paper bags and asked them to pick up little things along the way. They collected leaves, pieces of bark, wildflowers and rocks. They thought it was the best treasure hunt ever. Plus, the adults got to stroll along and actually have a conversation. Talk about win-win.
On the way back for about a half a mile, I jogged with the kids to the parking lot. Yes, it was a nice long run for them, but completely worth it. All in all, we spent approximately an hour and half today on that path... the kids got so much fresh air and exercise and the rest of the day was smooth sailing! I should do this everyday!
Since the kids are now almost 5 and 8, they were just fine on not toppling over into either body of water, thank gawd! Anywho, we gave them brown paper bags and asked them to pick up little things along the way. They collected leaves, pieces of bark, wildflowers and rocks. They thought it was the best treasure hunt ever. Plus, the adults got to stroll along and actually have a conversation. Talk about win-win.
On the way back for about a half a mile, I jogged with the kids to the parking lot. Yes, it was a nice long run for them, but completely worth it. All in all, we spent approximately an hour and half today on that path... the kids got so much fresh air and exercise and the rest of the day was smooth sailing! I should do this everyday!
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Where to take those high energy kids
All right, now that I've mentioned a list of places that are not so cool for taking your energetic child, here... my friends is a list of places I'd definitely recommend taking them.
- Parks (bring frisbees, balls, bubbles, bikes, kites, a friend's dog if you don't have one, anything that keeps them moving!)
- Playgrounds (an obvious choice, but remember to mix it up, don't always go to the same place...kids get bored of the same equipment)
- Kids concerts (many townships have local shows at parks or recreations centers for free!)
- Indoor sports centers (ice skating, roller skating, indoor soccer centers, skate boarding, gymnastics places...many have "open or free play" days)
- Bounce Around places (inflatables...jumping, no BRAINER)
- Nature centers (take a hike, bird watch, do a scavenger hunt, throw rocks on the lake, go fishing, take photos)
- Indoor pool at the local school or YMCA (swimming burns off a ton of excess energy)
- Sporting events (hockey and soccer are great very fast moving games...baseball not so much)
- Horseback riding (high energy kids will use a lot of concentration to ride a horse and many love animals... it is a novelty activity as well)
- Races (car racing, horse racing, even 5K running activities...many have a 1 mile run run for the kids)
- Local animal shelters - do they need a kid to give the animals some extra love, or maybe some walks around the building, ask about volunteering with your child every other week
Monday, April 18, 2011
Places to go & Expectations
In addition to evaluating the enormous expectations you probably have of yourself to be a super parent to your super energetic child, evaluate your expectations of your child as well.
Don’t set your child up for the impossible, particularly in social situations. Many of us have experienced embarrassment and humiliation upon taking their child to an venue or event that is just not suitable for our high energy children... which in turn, often lends to penalizing the child and leading then to parental heartache and guilt over the whole circumstance. So, from my own humiliating and embarrassing experiences, here’s my take on places that are NO GO:
Restaurants – particularly those not specifically geared to kids! This is a big fat NO for children with excess energy. Sometimes we think, “oh maybe this time it will be different.” That mentality is just not fair to do to your child. That expectation that our child will sit still in a restaurant is completely unreasonable. I am not just referring to fancy restaurants with nice linens and candlelight…it could be any restaurant aside from one that is located in a Chuck E Cheese or one is totally geared to kids. Even going to a TGIF can be a nightmare if your child has excess energy.
Religious Services – Not recommended! For the most part, most places have a religious education program or daycare available. Take advantage of this. Asking a high-energy child to sit without squirming and making noise during a religious service is just not gonna happen. If there is a special family occasion where services are required, consider sitting in the back, on the end of a row and consider bringing etch a sketch or a draw and erase board, crayons, etc. to keep your child busy. Give them a short spiel before it starts, but don't go over lecturing... it will waste your time. Also, try to plan ahead that you will take you child out for a break so they can talk or move if the service is longer than 15 minutes.
Theatre/Shows – For the most part, no. The last thing you want to do is pay a lot of money for anything from Broadway show to a movie and walk out after 10 minutes because you child is jumping in the seat or lingering down the aisles. If the show is very animated, loud and completely kid appropriate, this may be an exception.
What happens when a family member is having a special dinner out? Again, don’t set you or your child up for failure. If your family insists your child be there and you know Joey will not sit for a 2-hour dinner at an Italian bistro for Uncle Carl’s birthday, speak up… suggest a kid-friendly alternative or possibly celebrating at someone’s house instead. If this is not an option, consider getting a babysitter for Joey and explain to the family that as much as he’d like to be there, you felt it was prudent to have him stay home.
This all doesn’t mean you will be banned from these types of activities FOREVER or that your child will be either. Just like when a child is sick and you have to re-introduce foods slowly…re-introduce activities as you feel you child is beginning to attain more self-control. Start out slow. See if they can keep their energy level at bay to suit the venue or occasion. Take each even as a step-by-step process. Have a back up plan and go in to it with the idea that you may only try to stay at the even for an hour or that you will have to take breaks or turns with your spouse letting the child go to another room or work on a different activity throughout the event.
Don’t set your child up for the impossible, particularly in social situations. Many of us have experienced embarrassment and humiliation upon taking their child to an venue or event that is just not suitable for our high energy children... which in turn, often lends to penalizing the child and leading then to parental heartache and guilt over the whole circumstance. So, from my own humiliating and embarrassing experiences, here’s my take on places that are NO GO:
Restaurants – particularly those not specifically geared to kids! This is a big fat NO for children with excess energy. Sometimes we think, “oh maybe this time it will be different.” That mentality is just not fair to do to your child. That expectation that our child will sit still in a restaurant is completely unreasonable. I am not just referring to fancy restaurants with nice linens and candlelight…it could be any restaurant aside from one that is located in a Chuck E Cheese or one is totally geared to kids. Even going to a TGIF can be a nightmare if your child has excess energy.
Religious Services – Not recommended! For the most part, most places have a religious education program or daycare available. Take advantage of this. Asking a high-energy child to sit without squirming and making noise during a religious service is just not gonna happen. If there is a special family occasion where services are required, consider sitting in the back, on the end of a row and consider bringing etch a sketch or a draw and erase board, crayons, etc. to keep your child busy. Give them a short spiel before it starts, but don't go over lecturing... it will waste your time. Also, try to plan ahead that you will take you child out for a break so they can talk or move if the service is longer than 15 minutes.
Theatre/Shows – For the most part, no. The last thing you want to do is pay a lot of money for anything from Broadway show to a movie and walk out after 10 minutes because you child is jumping in the seat or lingering down the aisles. If the show is very animated, loud and completely kid appropriate, this may be an exception.
What happens when a family member is having a special dinner out? Again, don’t set you or your child up for failure. If your family insists your child be there and you know Joey will not sit for a 2-hour dinner at an Italian bistro for Uncle Carl’s birthday, speak up… suggest a kid-friendly alternative or possibly celebrating at someone’s house instead. If this is not an option, consider getting a babysitter for Joey and explain to the family that as much as he’d like to be there, you felt it was prudent to have him stay home.
This all doesn’t mean you will be banned from these types of activities FOREVER or that your child will be either. Just like when a child is sick and you have to re-introduce foods slowly…re-introduce activities as you feel you child is beginning to attain more self-control. Start out slow. See if they can keep their energy level at bay to suit the venue or occasion. Take each even as a step-by-step process. Have a back up plan and go in to it with the idea that you may only try to stay at the even for an hour or that you will have to take breaks or turns with your spouse letting the child go to another room or work on a different activity throughout the event.
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