The Keys

The Key Factors to Remember in Parenting High Energy Children:

To have a happy, healthy relationship with your high-energy child it takes…

1. Preparation

2. Patience

3. Perseverance

Preparation is key because parenting a high-energy child is not a mindless job. It takes work to ensure that you can provide the type of atmosphere that your child will best thrive in, with the least amount of contention or conflict. It takes thinking ahead, planning and prepping. It takes having a little “bag of tricks” ready and available to use when we need it. Yes, we will need to set time aside to prepare for things we need to keep our child in check.

Patience. This is above all the most important factor since this is what we need on daily, even hourly basis to deal with a child with excess energy. Patience does not come naturally to all people. Some of us are short-tempered, impatient and intolerant of other people’s actions.

So if patience isn’t in your deck of cards, then it is high time you find a way to acquire more, either by learning new skills such as mindfulness, mediation or some other relaxation technique.

You must face the fact that your child is separate from you, they have a mind of their own and you cannot, no matter how hard you try, control their mind or their every movement. Just as you wouldn’t want a puppeteer standing over you controlling your movements, neither does your child. We need to learn ways to guide their behavior, but more importantly “deal” with the behavior so that our sanity and well-being doesn’t get overloaded.

Lastly, perseverance. Again, this is a process, a long process. Don’t expect to read through any book or website and get immediate results. Remember, what works for one might not work for another so try many routes.

Don’t give up or give in and say, “my child is just too difficult” or “this can’t be done…they just have to grow out it.” You can see and will changes. Not only in your child, but in yourself. So know from the get go that it takes perseverance, and that you must push forward until you find something that works for you and your child so you can better the relationship. Don’t expect a quick fix. And keep in mind that even when you do see results, even when milestones are achieved, that it is a constant process that likely go on until you child is ready to head off to college. So buckle up, it’s a long ride.