Many mothers and dads, seeing a quiet child, enthusiastically engaged in their business, sighed enviously: "But mine can not sit quietly for a minute! .." And they often do not suspect that excessive activity is not a character trait, but a diagnosis. What is so different from the other hyperactive early child? And how to behave with him to us - parents? ..
WHERE ARE THE PROBLEMS GROWING?
Quite frankly, great mobility is characteristic of almost all children of preschool age. But if the restlessness of the child regularly crosses all boundaries and creates problems in communicating with peers, with parents and educators (teachers) is a signal that it is necessary to consult a specialist.
Very often, other "behaviors" are added to the "sila in the ass". First of all, it is the inability to concentrate, to engage in the same business for a long time, the lack of purposefulness. This problem is called the attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) syndrome.
Why do children develop this behavior? Doctors say several reasons: this is heredity, and infectious diseases in infancy, and even - oddly enough - food allergy caused by artificial additives. But, according to statistics, more often (in 85 percent of cases) to gi-
Peractivity leads to complications during pregnancy and (or) childbirth. For example, if a mother suffered from toxicosis during pregnancy, then because of her poor state of health, the child does not have time to "mature" some of the mechanisms of the brain. In the case of traumatic births, the scheme is different. The fact is that during the passage of the child through the mother's birth canal, certain connections are established between the centers of his brain. If the "order" of births is disturbed (say, in the case of Caesarean section), these connections may not be established exactly as nature intended.
PORTRAIT IN THE FRAMEWORK
Despite the fact that physicians differ in their views on hyperactivity, an approximate psychological portrait of an early child with such a problem still exists. Here are its main features:
♦ A hyperactive child can not keep his attention for long;
♦ It is difficult for him to listen to the interlocutor to the end, interrupts others without end;
♦ often "does not hear" when people address him;
♦ can not sit still, fidgets in a chair, turns, jumps up;
♦ gladly takes up a new business, but almost never completes the begun;
♦ with enviable regularity loses his things;
♦ even at school age, he is not able to follow the daily routine himself (he needs a "wand-pusher");
♦ easily forgets everything that does not interest him;
♦ the hands are restless, the child constantly twists something, picks and drummed with his fingers;
Sleeps a little;
♦ says a lot;
♦ often under the influence of emotions he makes rash acts;
♦ does not like and can not wait for his turn;
♦ Movement sharp, unexpected, as a result of surrounding objects with a roar fly to the floor.
If these symptoms are painfully familiar to you, do not rush to grab your head. Only the doctor can diagnose, and even then not at the first meeting. Qualified specialists observe the child for several months, appointing additional studies if necessary. After all, almost all of the above symptoms can indicate not only the hyperactivity of an early child, but also about some other developmental feature. In addition, it is very important how long the child manifests itself in this way, perhaps it's just about the next stage of growing up "with side effects," rather than a neurological diagnosis.
TIPS FOR PARENTS
It's no secret that from communicating with a hyperactive child, even the most patient parents and the most experienced teachers sometimes lose patience and begin to "run on the ceiling": Well, I can not deal with this "perpetuum mobile"! Here are a few tips that will help normalize relationships and achieve from your child the desired behavior.
♦ Often encourage your baby - these children are in desperate need of praise and material incentives (sweets, toys, etc.). Try to pay attention to those achievements of the child, which were given to him with special difficulty - perseverance, accuracy, consistency, punctuality, etc.
♦ Plan educational and development activities in the morning, then the results will be higher.
♦ Formulate your requests to the child shorter - in 1-2 proposals, so that he probably listened to the end.
♦ Hyperactive children are very quickly tired. Therefore, often take breaks in classes (in any, even interesting for the child).
♦ Remember: when your child in a public place begins to behave indecently in terms of generally accepted etiquette (loudly speaking, screaming, spinning), pulling it away is useless. Try to distract his attention with an interesting conversation, gently stroke the handles, cheeks. Pleasant tactile sensations help relieve emotional tension. And in order not to feel shame towards others, try to convince yourself that the child is not to blame for being born that way, he himself suffers from his restlessness.
♦ When dealing with a hyperactive child, do not require him to fulfill several conditions at once: sit quietly, write (cut, draw, etc.) carefully, listen carefully, etc. Choose one item that is most important at the moment, for example, write neatly, but for the fact that the child constantly jumps up, gnaws the handle, now and then distracts, try not to scold him. If the child fulfills this condition - be sure to praise. Next time choose another condition - sit still.
♦ If you want your child to follow the daily routine accurately, before end of one business and at transition to the "next item of the program", be sure to remind him (better not one, but 2 - 3 times): "Play 10 minutes, then lunch ! "The older children, who can determine the time by the clock, can prepare for a change of activity with the help of an alarm clock.
♦ Do the same for the day so that the child does not loiter around and 10 minutes. Such a kid needs to constantly occupy something, so that he is not overexcited.
♦ It is very useful to record a hyperactive child from an early age in the sports section and (or) regularly play with it in sports games.
♦ The best option if parents and educators (teachers) combine their efforts in the education of such a complex child and will act together. Uniform requirements in the kindergarten (school) and at home will help the little man quickly get used to the order.
CAUTION: TRAP!
There are many cases when parents of hyperactive children with attention deficit, "buying" on their high intellectual abilities, gave their child to school a little earlier than it was necessary. Why not? After all, if a child, for example, learned to read at 4 years old, he adds up to five in his mind or counts to 100 and cheerfully recites short English rhymes, what should he do in kindergarten?
But not everything is so simple. One of the characteristics of such children is the asynchrony of development. The kid really is ahead of his peers in some parameters, but in some ways, alas, lags behind them. (Often the lead goes exactly in terms of the development of intelligence, and the lag is in matters of socialization.) For such a child, a lesson lasting 30 minutes is tantamount to torture. He will turn and distract, skip the teacher's words by the ears and, knowing how to solve a difficult task, will think for 20 minutes over an elementary example. And its letters will soon resemble the outlandish insects. He's just "not ripe" to school physiologically and psychologically!
That is why before giving a hyperactive child with a lack of attention to school, it is absolutely necessary to show it to specialists, preferably several, for example: a neurologist, a psychologist, a defectologist. And then - follow the recommendations received, hiding their parental ambitions until better times.
If you understand that you "got excited" with the school already when your child went to the first class, it is not too late to return it to the garden, "having played" for him one more piece of childhood. Experience shows that the fact of the transition from kindergarten to school is usually more important for fathers and mothers than for the young schoolboys themselves.
Even for complex tasks there is always a solution. And when it comes to making life easier not only for yourself, but also for the little man, still defenseless before this life, there are forces, there are specialists and necessary information. And let the patience sometimes lead, the main thing is that you love your child, and it loves you, and, therefore, sooner or later you will cope with all problems sooner or later.