HELP! My 5YO has been BOUNCING off the furniture since we got up this morning. For the last 2 hours, he momentarily stops, takes a bite of breakfast, then goes back to running back&forth across the living room, yells at me, "MOM! WATCH THIS!", bouncing into ME (and giving me a sloppy hug), then jumping off the couch, then back to breakfast.... He gets on the school bus at 12 noon - BUT I'M GOING TO LOSE MY MIND before then!
WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO WITH HIM UNTIL THEN?!! I actually have a whole to-do list that I need to get done. (Actually, looking for more ideas of what to do with him WHENEVER he gets like this...)
Yes - he has been preliminarily diagnosed ADHD. No - he hasn't eaten any "suspect" foods in the last 24-36 hours (mostly fruit, yogurt and milk). No - there isn't anywhere outside I can safely send him to "go play" (besides, all the other kids are at school, and he doesn't play well by himself anyway). We had a small bounce house - but he and his other hyperactive friends broke it! My attempts at getting him to sit and eat are futile. I ran him through a whole gymnastics aerobics routine (jumping jacks, pushups, etc) hoping to wear him out: complete fail.
***Clarification: when I say he's had nothing "suspect", I mean I KNOW what he's had "all week". He (and our whole family) eat NOTHING with high-fructose corn syrup, added sugar or processed grains. He generally eats red meat (steak!), fish (sushi & tuna fish), whole-fat organic dairy products, whole grain breads & crackers and nothing with artificial color or flavor. He's been eating this way since he started on solid foods, and the doctor felt that it was "unnecessary" to change his diet - but we watch it anyway.***
Hoping that his after-school karate class calms him down enough for a normal dinner tonight - but he's got to get through SCHOOL first. I'm thinking this won't be a "sticker day". What do other moms do with these kids?!!!
Give him some kind of busy work. The more he has to move around the better.
Tell him you need him to go get something out of wherever his toys are kept - preferably something that's not actually in there. Sometimes they get distracted and play with the toys. Every time he bugs you ask if he found the ..... yet. I've had this tactic work over and over sometimes!
You might want to revisit your "suspect" foods list. Dairy is a HUGE no-no for ADHD kids. So are gluten products like most cold cereals, certain breads and pasta and most processed foods that have hidden additives like MSG and high fructose corn syrup for instance, that are waaay bad for ADHDers. I'm not surprised he's bouncing off the walls! And who knows what he's had all week to eat and drink. They need an organic high protein diet and certain supplements.
Check out the following links posted below. With the first link click on "Articles" on the tool bar, then click on "Biology of Learning and Behavior" and get a copy of the ADHD & Autism cookbook. Both will help you tremendously navigate the diet challenges of ADHD. You may find being with him much more bearable.
www.diannecraft.com or http://www.diannecraft.com/articles.htm
http://www.amazon.com/Kid-Friendly-Autism-Cookbook-Update...
I know it sounds crazy but Caffine. If they think he has ADHD they would give him an upper which is what caffine is. Either coffee or something like that. We give my son Mountain Dew sometimes when we need him to calm down and it works. yes there is a lot of sugar in it but the caffine over rules it. Cause most people think to give their kids sprite cause it doesn't have caffine to wind them up. My son is the oposite it make him so hyper.
Good luck and God Bless
give him a spray bottle filled with water and some diluted soap and tell him to help you clean the windows, dishwasher door etc. My middle on who is very much like your son(she also eats jumping up and down) loves doing this and calms her down a lot.
a relaxing technique for add children but it's sort of a mess for you to clean afterwards is to put shaving cream on a flat surface and let them "finger draw" shapes on it. it helps them calm down.
hang on mama noon is not that far away :o)
Sounds like he needs to have a job outside to do- a long walk/jog with a destination in mind, digging in the dirt, sweeping the walk, or something else that uses his large muscles for work. It's amazing how much that kind of activity calms my boys down!
Sorry about your morning. I don't know of any instant help. Some people do say that a small amount of caffeine in those types of children sometimes acts in reverse. I have a friend who gives her son 6 oz of Coca Cola in the morning and she swares it helps. But, for the most part I see our granddaughter turn wild after any caffeine, nitrates, dyes or sugar. She is super sensitive to foods and has allergies to soy. Sugar coated cereal and even some fruit, especially energy filled bananas without protein added at the same time turn her into a wave of destruction. She also has temper trantrums and gets violent with her siblings.I have had to literally hold her down to keep her from injuring herself and others. She is pretty hyperactive. We have found that she has some nutritional needs that we use 2 different supplements to help alleviate these symptoms. We shop online for the best price. We use: Carlson's for Kids Lemon flavored cod liver oil and Liquid Health Attention. The Cod Liver Oil is better tasting and is concentrated to use a smaller amount than some others. It containes building blocks for brains and nerves. That is what they now advertise in baby formula and DHA/ARA. We did not see any major changes on this right away. It took about a month, but before she started this she was not able to look us in the eye for more than a second (couldn't take a pic of her), you could not touch her to even put lotion on her without her screaming that it hurt and she would bang her head on walls. It was horrifying. She could not concentrate long enough to get dressed or cross the room and remember what she was supposed to do. Years ago all babies took it. If our girl did not have it her old sitter would call and ask if we forgot. The "Attention" is a liquid vitamin formula that has a lot of good stuff and GABA which is great for mood and concentration. When we gave this to her the first time we had been about to go out of our minds for weeks. She was unhappy and never still. It was painful for me to watch her act as if the world was too much, whining all the time and hating everyone around her. We gave her a dose in her juice, along with the cod liver oil (which is the first thing we do daily) and within 30 minutes she said, "I am so happy". She went around hugging everyone and her whole life changed from that day on. I am just sharing as these things have been such a blessing to us. I can't say how your son will react or if it will help but it might be worth a shot. Also, I do know, from my youngest son that a lot of hyperactive children have issues with low blood sugar. So eatting smaller more frequent meals and even, if they are waking up like that it could be they need to eat immediately upon awakenking and include a good protein source with the meal. We always gave him a dairy based snack before bed to help keep his blood sugar up over night. As long as his blood sugar did not bounce around he was fine.As soon as it went out of control he got crazy.I hope you find a solution. I have been there several times in my life and also suggest praying. It helped me find solutions for my kids/grandkids and it sure can't hurt.
My 5 year old son does not have ADHD (that I know of) but he certainly has a difficult time settling himself (or "slowing his engine" as they call it at school -- he works with an OT there). When we have some extended time I put him in the tub and that is very successful for us. So with that I can bring a laptop up to the bathroom, fold and put away laundry, and do other chore-type things where I can keep him in sight. He will play contentedly for half an hour, often.
Good luck!
Depending on which type ADD child you have, sometimes encouraging too much physical activity is a mistake and can have the total opposite effect because it is too stimulating and they have a hard time coming down from that. These kids need activities that will help them to hyperfocus not get hyper. LOL!
Building toys like Lego, intricate puzzles, seek and find books, reading (topics they care about of course) crafts, or other highly focused activities are a good way to get them to chill out. The key is that it must be something they're interested in and something that requires alot of thinking and focus. This is why Martial Arts is always recommended as an ideal sport for kids with ADD. It is both phyiscal but very purposeful and focused.
Yes, these kids need physical activities, but they have to be the right kind.
Be careful with fruits and dairy as another poster mentioned. Dairy is one of the biggest culprits of behavioral disorders in many kids with undiagnosed food sensitivities and allergies. A good alternative is coconut or rice milk products (there is rice and coconut ice cream, cheese and yogurt too and it tastes great). Soy, goat, Kefir, and even raw organic cows milk can be problematic for kids with dairy or other food sensitivities.
Often if your child is actually allergic, he's suffering from yeast overgrowth and that can make them act pretty crazy. For these kids, not only is dairy bad news, but so are whole-grains and breads. They have gluten and that feeds the yeast as does the sugars in milk products. And that can make your child have serious behavioral issues. If yeast overgrowth is playing a role here, you should avoid any grain products that have gluten. Rice and corn based crackers, breads, etc. are your best bet as they do not have gluten. You might want to look into supplementing with acidolphilis chewable tabs for kids, grapeseed extract, and omega-3s. These can do wonders. Just google yeast over growth and attention disorders and you'll find plenty of information and resources. A product that covers the omega-3 supplementation that is sold over the counter that you might want to look into is liquid "Calm." You can find it at most big chain vitamin shops.
Some fruits are very high in sugar and can have negative effects on kids with borderline glucose issues. Any chance glycemia or diabetes runs in the family? If you're not sure it might not hurt to have your doctor look into this.
You might be surprised to find out the allergy tests done in most pediatrician offices DO NOT detect food allergies very well. You need to look into tissue testing and may need to find an allergist to get the right kind of testing done.
An elimination diet is a quicker way to find out if he's allergic to dairy or has senstivities. Sounds like your doctor doesn't buy the whole diet approach for attention disorders. Some don't. I say don't be afraid to go to a specialist who is pro alternative medicine and see if it will work for you. Otherwise your only option will eventually be to go the medication route. Nothing wrong with that if that's what works for you, but there are so many families out there who have had great success sticking to a diet aimed at tackling hyperactivity and never have to go the drug route. I say research amazon and get books and resources that detail specific ADD diet plans and give it a try. The Feingold diet is a good one. They can work for some people.
First, sorry to hear - I can see how this kind of situation can weigh on your patience. Second, bravo for you adding the bit about the diet - you sound like a very hands on, caring mother - that diet sounds very good/healthy to me.
Have you tried other holistic, non medication type solutions? Some may think these options are out there but I mean things like acupuncture, massage, yoga - things that focus the child, calm them, etc.
Also I found this article interesting:
http://health.msn.com/health-topics/adhd/treating-adhd-wi...
Good luck - also make sure you get time for yourself to decompress. It sounds like you are doing a lot for your child and that's great but you also need time for you to recharge so you don't lose it...everyone needs to take care of themselves too...of course not abandon your child but get relief from a caretaker or family member when you are able.
