Almost all preschool children show increased activity – they are constantly in action, doing something, running, jumping, breaking. Of course, this behavior is more than normal for young children. But in some cases, the mobility and activity of children is “off scale. In such cases, experts are already talking about such a concept as children’s hyperactivity .
Hyperactive children are not always attentive, they are too impulsive, they have a fairly high degree of physical activity, and constantly. In addition, hyperactivity is accompanied by difficulties in relationships with others, learning problems and … low self-esteem. But the child’s intellectual development does not depend on the degree of his activity.
Causes and signs of childhood hyperactivity
Childhood hyperactivity can occur for many reasons. This is a minor cerebral dysfunction, and an unfavorable course of pregnancy in the mother (constant stress, diseases of internal organs, toxicosis), and a lack of certain vitamins in the child’s body. A woman’s intake of drugs of certain pharmacogroups during pregnancy (hormonal drugs, tranquilizers, sleeping pills), as well as the use of alcohol or drugs can also affect the development of hyperactivity in a child.
The likelihood of developing such a condition is associated, in addition to the above factors, with the following circumstances:
– pathology of childbirth, difficult childbirth;
– infections and intoxication in the first years of a child’s life;
– organic lesions of the central nervous system;
– genetic abnormalities.
Signs of hyperactivity become especially noticeable during periods of psychoverbal development of children. The first period is 1-2 years, when the child’s speech skills are laid; the second – 3 years, the time when the baby’s vocabulary is rapidly increasing; third – 6-7 years, the period of formation of reading and writing skills.
Symptoms of hyperactivity in children include:
- Very high physical activity.
- Impaired concentration.
- Impulsiveness.
- Inability to concentrate on one subject for a long time, lesson.
- Frequent anxiety, whims, tearfulness.
- Aggressiveness.
- Negativism.
- Restless sleep.
- High excitability.
- Increased muscle tone.
In medicine, there is also such a concept as “acquired childhood hyperactivity .” This behavior arises as a result of improper upbringing – very high exactingness and severity of parents, or, conversely, excessive custody.
Hyperactivity treatment
Waiting for the state of childhood hyperactivity to disappear by itself as the child grows up is not quite the right decision. Any violations of psycho-emotional behavior need to be corrected. Moreover, the earlier one starts to engage in treatment, the more favorable the result will be.
Specialists such as a neuropathologist and psychologist are involved in the treatment of hyperactivity in young children. But the main role in this process is still assigned to parents. What should be done to help a hyperactive child?
1. Be sure to start every morning with exercise.
2. Outdoor games and long walks – every day. You need to play with your baby in the evenings, especially if he sleeps restlessly at night.
3. Be sure to pay attention to active intellectual games aimed at developing thinking.
4. Give your child a massage. It helps to reduce the pulse rate and muscle tone, reduce the excitability of the nervous system.
5. Introduce the child to sports. At the same time, it is better to choose those sports where the kid will learn to control himself, interact with team members, and follow the rules. For example, hockey, football, basketball.
Parents should also remember that strict parenting is unacceptable in relation to hyperactive children. You can’t yell at a child, suppress him, punish him severely. Communication should be calm and firm, without much positive or negative emotional outbursts. You should not overload the child with additional activities, and learning is best done in a playful way.