5 More Activities For Your ADHD Child
Building Success with Creative Fun for High-Energy Children
May 6, 2009
Providing plenty of activity, outside of the regimented demands of school life and other organized groups, can function as a pressure valve for the extra energy of an active child. During every kind of season, parents can implement into their family’s life lots of free-time exercise.
Daily Walks before School Boost Oxygen Intake
The human brain needs plenty of oxygen to function well. Fresh air and good circulation from aerobic exercise increases oxygen-filled blood flow to a child’s brain. A child can start the day with a brisk, short walk, which can both waken and calm an active child’s mind.
ADHD Children Today states: “The brain also needs movement to enhance learning. Brain breaks increase energy which increases oxygen and blood flow.”
Park Hopping Provides Outdoor Exercise
Find a list of County parks online and plan to visit each one. This activity can be used as a reward for good behavior. Planning to play briefly at a Park each day is a great way to build outside play into a child’s life.
Alternatives during inclement weather are Chuck-E-Cheese Restaurants or Discovery Zones. Also, some Gyms have a “free time” set aside for inexpensive tumbling activity for children.
Direct Energy with an Indoor Gym
Transform a part of the home into an indoor gym. Try using swings, a jungle gym, and pull-up bars. Adding big exercise balls and foam mats for flips can be a sanity-saver for parents of active children, especially during the winter months.
Inexpensive crawl-through tents, made from bed sheets and hula hoops or bought at IKEA, can add special places for kids to explore. Indoor gyms can be a place of fun, rollicking movement and at other times can become a soothing retreat for the ADHD child to relax during quieter times.
Hanging a low platform swing from the ceiling, provides a great place for kids to “hang out”. Therapeutic swings can be built using a rotating fastener attached to a joist in a ceiling, thick ropes, and a piece of carpet-covered plywood. They also can be purchased at various therapy swing websites.
Interest-Themed Bedrooms Builds Creativity
Creating and regularly changing the theme of an active child’s bedroom builds and directs his activity in positive directions. Themes do not have to be expensive or permanent. Involve children in ideas and decisions, gleaning concepts from their current interests.
If a child loves the Outdoors, design her bedroom to be a Summer Camp Out. Pack up most of her furniture, and add sleeping bags and camping mats on the floor. Complete the look with National Park posters on the walls. Allow the “night light” to be a flash light or battery-operated lantern.
Kid-friendly Dogs are Great Companions for Active Children
Get a dog--a big and easygoing one. “Pets have been proven to have a positive influence on our physical and mental health. Owning a pet can lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels, …research has found that pets are also therapeutic for people with mood….and other mental conditions.” from The Healing Power of Pets by Dr. Marty Becker.
Also, “The healing touch of petting an animal and being kissed or nuzzled in return establishes a soothing intimacy." This is important for an ADHD child who may be subjected to lots of negative, social attention from adults and peers. A special, warm-blooded someone—such as an always-accepting pet dog—is a wonderful self-esteem builder for the ADHD child.
Providing inside and outside activities directs the energy of an ADHD child. Focusing his boundless, creative energies builds success for the ADHD child, enabling him eventually to manage his own energy.
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