Hyperactive Children

A lot of Parents, in fact I would say most Parents are so concerned about their child that they use the term "hyperactive" so very casually to describe their children. "My child is very hyperactive", is a refrain we hear ever so often.

Actually the first step is to stop referring to the child as 'hyperactive' even if the child is hyperactive or 'so called hyperactive'. We never use the word 'hyperactive'. We use the word 'playful'. The moment we label the child 'hyperactive', that aspect of the child's personality starts rising to the fore more and more. But when you say a child is playful, you suddenly see the child in a different perspective and his playfulness appears and doesn't fall within the category of 'hyper-activism'. 

The child is now seen as one with a tremendous amount of energy. These very playful children just cannot sit in one place; they are jumping all the time. What do we do with such children? But before we study that, let us look at the probable cause of this high energy level or so called 'hyper-activism' in children.

We don't have to go too far for answers. We just have to look at the Parents first. There is a high probability of either one or both Parents being disturbed, anxious, agitated or irritated. There could be a tremendous disturbance in the mother-father relationship, which could have had a bearing on the child's behaviour. When the Parents themselves are not relaxed or at least one of them is not relaxed, then their behaviour will definitely affect the child.

So the easiest way is to harmonize the relationship between the mother and the father and relax their own environment, and automatically we will see a tremendous difference in the child. Coming back to an existing situation where your child is already displaying so-called 'hyper activism', what do you do?

First things first, such children require tremendous amount of physical activity to burn up their extra energy. So they need to be taken outdoors, to parks, beaches where the Parent or both Parents play rough and tough games, which involve a great deal of physical activity like running, jumping, swimming etc. Don't send the child out with the maid; do it yourself. Such children need a huge amount of play outdoors, anything that will tire them out. Once they are tired out, introduce them to music/musical instrument to channelize their energies.

The Parent or both Parents thus need to spend a lot of time with their child to help expend and direct his/her physical energy. In case of an extreme situation where things have really gone out of hand, medical assistance can be sought. But in most cases Parents altering their own behaviour, and directing and channelizing their child's physical energies through sport can sort matters out.

                           - By Manoj Lekhi (Key Disciple of Guruji Rishi Prabhakar ji)