The Challenges of Hyperactive Kids

The term hyperactive is in use these days by everyone around me. Using this word is banned by doctors, reason, they say kids are energetic, active, excited etc, by using the term hyperactive, you are associating a negative term with the child. Well, I think all the kids of any generation are active and energetic, the only thing that has changed is the amount of time the parents give to their kids.

The 21st-century parents want to give the world to their children, and for that, they need to work equally hard. When this happens, you tend to spend less time with your children. This leads to the children being along with grandparents or caretakers. Being alone with people who are willing to do as the children say is highly dangerous 😝. Parents across the globe will agree to this, I am sure. But with grandparents, the energy level is less as they are of an age where they can’t run behind the child, which leads to giving children screen time on phone or TV, more of sitting in one place and playing etc. There is no way to release the pent-up energy in children. This leads to children being destructive, impulsive, impatient and much more.

This is today’s generation problem and we have to deal with it in a certain manner.

Challenges I have faced till now:

1. Constant Energy Drain: My son being so active and constantly running makes it difficult for me to keep up with him. I have no energy left at the end of the day.

2. Attention Span: My son has a problem with concentrating on one thing. He gets easily distracted by something happening in the backdrop. Since they want to know everything happening around them, this makes concentrating on one task very difficult.

3. Emotional Regulation: Him being too active makes him tired, and that leads to not understanding that he needs to rest, which in turn leads to meltdowns and tantrums. At this point, he is not in the right frame of mind to listen to anything you have to say.

The solution I have found for the problems I faced:

1. Structured Routine: This has helped me the most. He knows his routine and has less tantrums. Keep them involved in doing the routine tasks, this will help them feel important.

2. Positive Reinforcement: Who doesn’t love this one. As adults, we love being praised, the same goes with children. Saying 'good job' or 'well done' on something achieved makes a lot of difference.

3. Physical Activity: Kids need to be active, and we have to redirect their energy. Their energy needs to be drained, and for that, some sort of physical activity like football, basketball, skating etc, is required. This will lead to the child being less destructive.

4. Less Distraction: We try to make less noise or try not to disturb him when a task is given. This will help him concentrate better on the task he is doing.

5. Patience: This is the most important of all but the most difficult. In this speedy world, we do not have time to slow down, and our kids are not born to run. It becomes difficult to have patience. Kids teach you a lot of things, and one of them is patience.

To sum it up, as a parent, we all have our different ways of dealing with our kids, and every child is unique, we just have to keep our heads cool and try and understand the child as much as we can.

#mommying101 #hyperactive #parenting #tipsonparenting