Activities to support your hyperactive child
Patience level on empty?
4 fun ways to provide an optimal level of activity for your busy child
Ever feel drained after a long day at work or home with the kids? Ever had a day off and feel energized to get moving? Just like adults, children need an optimal level of activity throughout the day to help keep their brains and bodies regulated. When we have moments of high concentration, pressure, or demands—we need moments to recharge. When (or if) we have lots of rest and relaxation, we need to get up and moving in order to feel more energized.
It is common for your child to be well-behaved in school just to come home and burst with energy. It is also common for your child who struggles with inattention and hyperactivity to come home after a long day of school and be completely drained. Rather than trying to inhibit or restrain the behavior of hyperactive children (which may induce more problematic behavior and low self-esteem), it is important to match your child’s activity level and shape more appropriate behavior throughout the day.
When at home, alternate cognitively more demanding “big effort” tasks with less demanding “smaller effort” tasks. Timing of tasks is important in order to maximize the child’s level of attention. Reading a long paragraph and answering questions may require more sustained attention and effort than coloring. If your child is having a hard time calming their body for homework, start with a less demanding task to begin to taper their energy and focus. Scheduling tasks at home in order to meet your child’s activity needs can help reduce excessive energy, as well as improve sleep. The best part—they won’t even know your tactics!
Music is also an excellent and fun way to intentionally provide activity cues to children. You can play music to calm your overly active child (soft, slow rhythm at bedtime) or to increase their level of activity when needing to get out excessive energy (loud, fast beat after a long car ride). Try cueing your child to listen for certain words and/or phrases in their favorite songs and link them to an action (jump up and down, clap your hands). To facilitate lower responses, encourage children to focus on their breathing while listening to a song. Looking to add to your child’s nighttime routine? Play soft music in the background to cue time to relax the body after an active evening. If they struggle to settle at bed time, start with a more upbeat song to match their current activity and gradually change the playlist to a soft, quieter tune to taper those wiggles.
Movement breaks are simple and require little to no materials or preparation. If used intentionally, movement breaks can help produce optimal reaction and encourage proprioceptive movement. To get children up and moving, imitate animal movements such as, a fast lion running in place, or a slow slug. If you need to taper energy, start by making silly large movements (jumps) and gradually change to smaller, slower movements (finger taps). Some children may only need short 30 second movement breaks to better regulate their activity during long tasks.
Breathing exercises help reduce activity, improve coping/regulation, and are great introductions to mindfulness for hyperactive children. If a child’s energy is too high and/or it’s time to take a break, use of visualization strategies paired with breathing can be effective. Hyperactive children benefit from opportunities to practice mindfulness, yet may struggle with auditory only approaches. Pairing auditory and visual prompts for breathing can be helpful in teaching their bodies to regulate, as well as help them be more aware of when they can request breaks in the future. A child can learn to breath through their nose to smell the “cake” and out their mouth to “blow out the candles.”
Are you curious about whether your child’s activity level is typical for their development? Looking for more individualized assessment or support? Contact us at Behind the Behavior Psychology, PLLC today!