Recently, we are increasingly hearing the concept of a “hyperactive” child. What is he? What are the causes of hyperactivity in a child? What to do in this situation. Our topic today will be devoted to children’s hyperactivity.

Signs of a hyperactive child . ADHD hyperactive children

Usually they say about such a child that he is with a “motor” or “perpetual motion machine”, “all on hinges”. Especially naughty are the hands of a hyperactive child, because they are constantly touching, breaking, throwing something. Such a child is constantly on the move, he cannot walk calmly, he is constantly running somewhere, jumping. Such children are very curious, but their curiosity is momentary, they do not try to see more, so they rarely get the point. Curiosity is not characteristic of a hyperactive child; he does not ask questions “why”, “why” at all. But if he suddenly asks, he forgets to listen to the answer to it. Despite the constant movement in which the child is, he still has some coordination disorders: he is awkward, clumsy, often drops objects in motion, breaks toys, often falls. The body of a hyperactive child is constantly bruised, scratched and bumped, but he does not draw a conclusion from this, and again stuffs bumps in the same place. Characteristic features of the behavior of such a child are distraction, restlessness, negativism, inattention, frequent mood swings, irascibility, stubbornness, aggressiveness. Such a child often finds himself at the center of events, since he is the noisiest. A hyperactive child has difficulty learning skills and does not understand many tasks. Most often, the self-esteem of such a child is underestimated. The child is not relaxed during the day, calms down only during sleep. Usually such a child does not sleep during the daytime hours, even in infancy, but the nighttime sleep is very restless. Being in public places, such children immediately attract attention, because they grab something, touch it all the time and do not listen to their parents at all. It is very difficult for parents of hyperactive children from the very first day of his life. It is necessary to constantly be near such a child and follow his every step.

Causes of child hyperactivity.

Today, there are a lot of opinions on the causes of hyperactivity in children. But the most common are:

genetic (hereditary predisposition);

biological (organic brain damage during pregnancy, birth trauma);

socio-psychological (microclimate in the family, alcoholism of parents, living conditions, wrong line of education).

Child hyperactivity is often noticed by adults at preschool age, from the age of four. As a rule, at home, hyperactive children are often compared with older brothers or sisters, familiar peers (from which they suffer a lot), who have exemplary behavior and good school performance. Parents, as a rule, are annoyed by their obsession, indiscipline, restlessness, carelessness, emotional instability. Hyperactive children cannot be responsible for the implementation of any assignments, help their parents. At the same time, comments and punishments do not give the desired results. Over time, the situation only worsens, especially when the child goes to school. Difficulties arise in mastering the school curriculum, hence poor academic performance, self-doubt, disagreements in relationships with the teacher and classmates, and behavioral disorders are also increasing. Often it is at school that a violation of attention is found, since it is a priority in the learning process. However, despite all this, hyperactive children are intellectually well developed, test results show this. But during classes, a hyperactive child experiences difficulties in completing tasks, since it is difficult for him to concentrate and organize his work. Hyperactive children quite soon turn off the process of completing the task. Usually their work looks sloppy, with a lot of mistakes, which are mainly the result of inattention, failure to follow the instructions of the teacher.

Hyperactive children are often characterized by impulsiveness, which is manifested in the fact that the child often does something without thinking, in the classroom he cannot wait for his turn, constantly interrupts others, often answers inappropriately to the question asked, because he does not listen to him to the end. During games with peers, one often does not follow the rules, which causes conflict situations with the participants in the games. Hyperactive children, because of their impulsiveness, are prone to trauma because they do not think about the consequences of their actions.

A hyperactive child with impaired attention function is uncollected , unable to independently complete the task to the end, cannot focus on repeatedly repeated activities that do not bring momentary satisfaction, and are often distracted from one lesson to another.

By adolescence, hyperactivity in children is significantly reduced or disappears. But attention deficits and impulsivity tend to persist into adulthood. However, at the same time, an increase in behavioral dysfunctions, aggressiveness, difficulties in relationships in the family and school, and deterioration in academic performance are possible.

What to do?

First you need to establish the cause of hyperactivity, for which you need to consult with specialists. If a neuropathologist prescribes a treatment course, massage and adherence to a special regime, it is necessary to strictly follow his recommendations.

To create a calm, favorable environment around such a child, since any disagreements in the family only charge the child with negative emotions. Communication with a hyperactive child should also be soft, calm, as he is receptive to the mood of his parents and people close to him.

It is necessary to observe a single line of conduct for parents and all family members in raising a child.

It is very important not to overwork the child, do not exceed the load and work hard with him. For example, to send a child to several sections or circles at once, jumping over age groups. All this will lead to whims and deterioration of the child’s behavior.

In order to prevent overexcitation of the child, it is very important to observe the daily routine, which includes mandatory daytime sleep, early evening going to bed, it is necessary to replace outdoor games and walks with calm games, etc.

The less comments you make, the better. In this situation, it is better to distract him. The number of bans should be adequate to the age. Such a child really needs praise, so you need to do it very often, even for a trifle. But praise should not be too emotional, so as not to cause overexcitation of the child.

Try not to make your requests carry several instructions at once. When talking to a child, you need to look him straight in the eye.

In order to develop fine motor skills and general organization of movements, it is necessary to involve hyperactive children in choreography, tennis, dancing, swimming, and martial arts.

It is necessary to introduce the child to outdoor and sports games, the child must understand the purpose of the game and learn to obey the rules, plan the game.

When raising a hyperactive child, one should not go to extremes: on the one hand, show excessive softness, and on the other, increased demands that he is unable to fulfill, combined with harshness and punishment. Frequent changes in the punishment and mood of the parents have a negative impact on the hyperactive child.

Spare no time and effort to develop obedience, accuracy, self-organization in your child, develop in him a sense of responsibility for his actions, the ability to plan and complete what he has begun.

To improve the concentration of attention when doing homework, it is necessary to remove, if possible, all annoying and distracting factors, it should be a quiet place where the child can concentrate on work. During the preparation of homework, it is necessary to look at the child to make sure that he continues to work. Every 15-20 minutes, allow the child to take a five-minute break, during which you can walk around and relax.

Try to always discuss with the child his behavior and express comments to him in a calm and friendly manner.

It is very important to increase the child’s self-esteem, self-confidence. This can be done by acquiring new skills, success in school and daily life.

And, most importantly, remember: a hyperactive child is very sensitive, he reacts especially sharply to comments, prohibitions, and lectures. Sometimes it seems to such children that their parents do not love him. Such children, more than others, need warmth, care, attention and love, love not for something, but because it exists.