Children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are different from their peers. Interaction with them requires a special approach from parents and teachers. It manifests itself in special methods of education and training, allowing you to concentrate attention, structure activities and relax.

For the full development of the mental functions of a child with ADHD, conditions are necessary that would allow him to control impulsivity and train perseverance. Currently, school psychologists and teachers pay a lot of attention to students with mobile and unstable mental processes. Among them, a special allocation of time, which is reflected in active and passive learning, exercises that allow you to maintain and develop attention, a change from play activity to learning, a clearly regulated daily routine, structuring sleep, rest and activity. These conditions, when strictly adhered to by parents, allow the child with ADHD to feel good, acquire self-control and self-control skills, assimilate educational information, and manage their behavior.

In addition to the educational process, games and exercises designed for the purpose of relaxation should be used with children. They help to reduce tension and anxiety, remove muscle clamps in the body, learn to hear yourself and your needs, and therefore better manage internal processes such as control, self-control, reflection. Body-oriented games that parents can easily organize at home will be covered in this article.

Psychology of children with hyperactivity

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is inherent in preschool children, manifests itself in primary school and sometimes can be observed further, as the child grows up. This usually happens when no measures are taken to correct the psyche and behavior. Hyperactivity often sounds like a diagnosis, but its manifestations, such as restlessness and excessive mobility, can be due to a behavior disorder.

Children who have this disorder may have anxiety and neurological habits. Sometimes the child’s sleep and appetite are disturbed, obsessive movements or sounds may appear. In the latter cases, it is necessary to consult a neurologist and a psychologist in order to establish the causes of behavioral disorders and conduct corrective classes.

A child with hyperactivity is physiologically incapable of holding attention for a long time, concentrating on the task, sitting in one place and not being active. His excessive mobility and lack of self-control cause difficulties, both in the learning process and at home. The interventions and education of children with ADHD will not be effective, as is the case with their peers who do not have this disorder.

These children have special mental processes, therefore, the approach to them should be special and individual. Exercises with children with ADHD are aimed at developing the skill of controlling their own efforts, processing incoming information, and communicating with people around them.  

In order for the child to be able to live and learn in a different way – more effectively, special games can help him. They can be used in combination with other measures of influence – educational, control, medication.

Breathing exercises

Children with hyperactivity find it difficult to stop in their vigorous activity and sometimes look like perpetual motion machines that cannot sit in one place for a minute. Breathing exercises are a great way to interrupt a child’s activity in order to grab his attention, help him to rest, calm down, relax, sleep.

• Exercise “Ball”. 

Invite your child to play a balloon. Tell him that now both of you will become him. The child will have to breathe as deeply as if he is inflating himself from the inside. Show him how to do it. You take a deep breath through your mouth, pulling your lips into a tube, and when you exhale, the mouth closes and air comes out through the nose. So there is a feeling of inner filling with air. Continue to “inflate” yourself until you feel the limit – that the “balloon” is already inflated enough. After that, the balloon can be deflated – exhale very slowly through your mouth, you can make a whistling sound, as if air is coming out of the balloon, this is usually very funny for children.

• Exercise “Pump”. 

Encourage your child to playfully act as a pump and inflate a wheel near the car. To do this, you need to take an inclined position, grab an imaginary pump with your hands and “inflate” the wheel. The work process will take place through the body. Inflating his cheeks and working with his hands, the child breathes frequently, blowing in and out of himself with the help of his cheeks. This exercise should be done for a few minutes – usually children feel relaxed after it.  

Mindfulness Games

Game “Ear, nose, mouth”. Outline the rules of the game: you will speak one of three words: “ear”, “mouth” or “nose” and touch one of the listed parts of the body. This is a confusion game for attentiveness. When you say “nose”, then you grab the “ear” and so on. The child’s task is to repeat what you call, and not what you show.

Relaxation games with a child

Game “Stone-boulder”. This exercise helps not only to relax, but also to gain self-confidence, is great before bedtime or an important event. Offer your child to lie on their stomach. Tell him he turned into a boulder. Children can freeze and calm down when they listen to a fairy tale, so you can turn this game into a mysterious story in which the child is the main character. You can tell a tale about a stone who lived far in the mountains and was wise – so wise that people came to him for advice. They sat down next to him, stroked his hard surface and found the answer to their question.  

You can think of another story about how the “stone” lived, what he liked to do, what he dreamed about, how he loved that birds sit on it and animals come. The main focus of such a game is physical orientation, so the story should be accompanied by a light massage, during the process the child can be turned over on his back, warm the “surface” of the stone with the sun’s rays, “pour” rain on it, and so on.

Body-oriented exercises have a positive effect on the psychology of children, after which they usually feel confident, calm and rested.