Dealing With The Little 'ENERGY BAGS' During The Quarantine! - Brishti Banerjee

“My child is so restless that I can hardly manage him all day at home.”

“I am at real ease when Esha is at school. At least I can be done with my household chores. After I bring her back from school, I have to be by her back all day. She starts throwing stuffs, shouting, yelling if I make her sit to study.”

“At home, Rahul is hooked to my mobile, playing games. Even during studies or during lunch he demands my phone. He is not able to concentrate in anything else.”

Well, sitting in the school counsellor’s chair since the last couple of months I have been flooded with such complaints from the parents. Also it’s worth mentioning that most of those children had a history of diagnosed Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). As professionals, we know the common features of ADHD are:

It’s quite a demanding job to deal with their heightened energy levels, especially if they are locked down at home for so many days.

Here are some ways to manage those little energy bags. Hope it helps.

Maintain a routine – For hyperactive children, the most necessary thing is to follow a routine. So make one! A daily routine with various activities to do at home, including lunch time, dinner time, play time and sleeping time is to be made with simple but clear instructions. Also, don’t forget to praise your child or give him his favourite toffee if he is trying to maintain the routine.

    Indoor games –As we are all locked down, it’s quite unsafe to take your child to park. Instead, why don’t we make a park-at-home? Sounds good no? Indoor games such as puzzles, carom, chess, ludo, various word and picture games are at your rescue. Also, if you have a little more space in there how about a mini cricket match with your child? Playing mobile phone games is never a good idea. Exchanging that with any of the indoor games mentioned above is always a good idea though!

     Exercise – Staying physically active burns extra energy of your hyperactive child, improves mental focus, social skills, and most importantly improves the immunity power to combat with the deadly virus. Make it a part of your child’s daily routine to practice indoor exercises 30-40 minutes in a day and don’t forget to do it together! 

      

     

    Make them understand by their way-  Children are not supposed to understand what a lockdown is, why are we all held back at home for so many days. This, not having any clue of why they are held back at home and not allowed to go out can create a huge amount of frustration in them. So make them understand what a lockdown is and why is it important, but explain it in their way, in a simpler way. Use easier words that they can relate to.  Maybe you can explain by telling a story or through drawings, using a lot of colours and interacting with your child.

     Start something new – Help your child learn something completely new. It can be anything like learning a new language, a musical instrument or maybe cooking Maggie for the first time!

   Eating healthy but funny – At this time of worldwide emergency, to combat a virus, children must have a strong immunity system and for that they must eat healthy. Often it’s a tiresome job to make them eat healthy foods but what if we make the eating process funny? How about giving a bowl of colourful fruits and playing a game of sorting the fruits by its colours and eating them? Sounds fun..

Spend time together – Spending some gala family time is the key to this quarantine. How about a carom tournament or a dance activity night with your child? Or maybe just simply lying in the bed and going through the old photo album of your child? Well, let’s make this quarantine a bit more memorable.

 Me time – Make sure your child gets at least an hour every day as his “me time” in his daily routine. A time of the day which he can spend by doing whatever he wants to do indoors.

Don’t blame your child – As parents, what you need to understand is that it’s not your child’s fault that he is restless or inattentive. So, its high time to stop blaming or scolding them for how they are. Instead, try and help your child to deal with it. Only if you stand beside your child and not against him, can help him out.  So, keep patience and win the battle.

Little responsibilities – Engage your child with easy household chores such as filling up the water bottles or folding clothes. Whatever the work is, make sure it’s not very tough for your child, he enjoys his job and it’s a part of your daily routine. Also, don’t forget to praise!

      

Stay home, stay safe and always remember,

Let your mind breathe.

Article by:Brishti Banerjee Psychologist
Edited by:Dr. Ria Das (Psychologist)
Images: www.clipart.email