Sleep or ADHD

When children begin having problems in school it is easy to suspect ADHD. Children with this disorder have difficulty paying attention, keeping their bodies and emotions under control, and interacting with other children.  But ADHD is not the only thing that causes these struggles.

Many children with self-regulation issues do not have a brain problem – they have a sleep problem. Many children need more sleep than they are getting. Lack of sleep makes you irritable, interferes with social skills, and makes it very difficult to maintain the kind of focused attention that is needed for the amount of learning that happens in each school day. Children can’t drink more coffee and slide through a day tired. If they miss a skill it will show up in later testing or future learning. Not only that, but children who are sleep deprived are less likely to remember what is learned because their brains need time to process information.

School-aged children need 10-11 hours of sleep a night, younger children need even more. But even beyond that, other activities can wear down the brain making it harder to get control of focus, body, and emotions. 

Here are recommendations for helping your child to be a better learner. If  your child’s teacher has concerns  about focusing ability, try these suggestions before seeking an ADHD diagnosis. If your child already has an ADHD diagnosis the following will help support other therapies. Do stop medications without the guidance of a medical professional.

• Do your best to see to it that your child gets the recommended amount of sleep. If you are not even close at this point, then make a plan to improve things. 

• Reduce screen time, especially up to an hour before bedtime. This will help the brain to calm down. 

• Encourage more time spent outside during the day. This will help to improve sleep at night.

• Develop a bedtime routine that allows for comfort, calming down, conversation, and prayer.  This will tuck away the day and prepare the brain to process information learned.

 

Cheers to Chores!

To chore or not to chore, that is the question. When my children were little I would set up elaborate chore schedule in an effort to bring organization to our house. Even my husband and I were included on the chart to show the children that a clean house and a nice yard need many hands to make them happen.

Chores do many good things for children. They help to develop a family community that assumes each person will work to serve the others. This translates easily to service outside the family and prevents the development of an attitude of entitlement while promoting good self-esteem. Chores also help children to develop self-regulation as they keep track of what needs to be done and what has been completed.

My challenge with job charts was accountability. It quickly became easier to do the work myself. One mistake I made was waiting until my children were older to start them on chores. That is what I like about the chart above. Each age group has several job possibilities. 

Bless your children with a chore or two. Let them know they are an important part of the family.

Children: Play Outside!

Children need to play outside. It is a simple statement and one that is easy to dismiss. Read this article, written by an occupational therapist, to get a better understanding of why this kind of play is so important.

Children need to run, skip, and roll. They need to keep themselves upright on a merry-go-round, slide down a slide, and balance on a see-saw. They need to ride bikes, and play basketball, and go swimming, and climb trees.  All of these activities strengthen parts of the brain that help children to self-regulate their bodies. Playing outside is good for more than burning up energy!

Summer break is starting, soon. Begin making plans, now, for getting your children to play -- outside. It will improve their learning as well as their physical health. 

Children: Anger

 

There are several good things about this note:

1. This angry child is writing a note instead of screaming. This behavior shows excellent self-regulation. He or she has learned how to handle anger and to communicate in a safe and effective way.

2. This child is giving himself or herself a time-out. My guess is that the ban on communication did not last for two days - all day. The two-day ban tells more about the intensity of the anger than the child's need for alone time.

3. The child expresses anger but does not attempt to manipulate. Children need to learn to deal with anger and with parent decisions that can cause anger. Children need to know that they are loved even when they hear the word "no."  

4. It demonstrates that this child understands, knows, and receives unconditional love. This child knows that love is stronger than anger - even a really big anger.

5. This child has learned empathy. He or she can express anger, but still remember to express love because that is what has been experienced in the past. 

Never underestimate the power of unconditional love!

So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. (I John 4:16, ESV)