Zen In The Playpen – 6 Healthy Activities To Help Your Hyperactive Child Calm Down
Photo by Matthew T Rader on Unsplash
Children are little balls of energy, but some children seem to hit energy overload. This does not mean that all hyperactive children are those speeding around the room, they could also be children who consistently fidget when performing simple tasks such as coloring or putting on shoes.
If you believe your child is hyperactive, seek out an evaluation as early as possible, because hyperactivity is often the sign of a medical condition such as ADHD or an anxiety disorder. In the interim, it is crucial that you provide healthy activities to help calm your hyperactive child. Below is a list of six possibilities to consider:
- Swimming Lessons
Help your hyperactive child focus their energy by providing the opportunity to focus their concentration on learning a new skill by enrolling them in swimming lessons for kids. Lessons that require constant movement can start as early as 18 months, meaning that even a hyperactive toddler can benefit from them.
- Nature
Spending time outdoors has an incredible number of health benefits for children. It requires creativity and offers greater sensory development opportunities. It also typically involves a great deal of physical activity and helps children’s attention span. A study was performed on children with ADHD, finding that children exhibited fewer symptoms if they spent more time outdoors.
- Martial Arts & Yoga
Martial arts and yoga are excellent choices for a hyperactive child because they require focused attention to recreate specific movements, teaching children mental control. They are also a means of expending energy through constant motion, which will keep a hyperactive child engaged.
- Music
You may already play relaxing music in the background to help calm your child’s mood. A different way to incorporate music into your hyperactive child’s life is to use it to help them learn a new skill. You could learn a song together or play an instrument such as a drum to keep the beat with a song they love. You could also do a call and response activity where you create a rhythm, and they copy it. If your child is younger, some areas offer music classes for parents to attend with their children. Whichever way you choose to incorporate it, the extra stimulus the music creates may be just what your child needs to engage and focus.
- Art Therapy
A skilled art therapy instructor can use the sensory experience of different mediums to help a hyperactive child regulate their emotions, increase their attention span, and even improve their self-esteem. By creating an art project, a child learns how to problem-solve and practice skills such as planning, organizing, and completing a task. All of these things inspire confidence, which helps your child feel calmer.
- Unstructured Play
One of the best things you can do for any child, including a hyperactive child, is to create periods of unstructured play. The American Academy of Pediatricians is advocating for more of this type of play, noting that it can make a child more intelligent socially, emotionally, and intellectually. The most important aspect of unstructured play is that it does not involve anything digital.
If you believe your child is hyperactive, the first step is to have them evaluated by a doctor so that you can identify any underlying medical conditions. Regardless of diagnosis, help calm your child by engaging them in healthy activities such as swimming lessons, martial arts, and unstructured playtime indoors or outdoors. Music and art therapy can also be incredibly useful in helping to calm a hyperactive child.
