Do You Have a Hyperactive Child?

My son is constantly on the move. It seems like he never wants to sit still I started thinking he may be hyperactive. I decided to do some research on the tropic and this is the information that I found. Most parents have nothing to worry about. What seems an abnormally high activity level to someone relatively inexperienced with toddlers is much more likely to be a normal one. As far as the child is concerned the day is to short for them to get in everything that they want to do. A child that has true hyperactivity is characterized by excessive activity that is both inappropriate and unproductive, buy a brief attention span and buy impulsiveness. Just about any parent of a young toddler knows and understands this.

In attempting to determine whether your child has this problem you may be helped by noting some of the symptoms of hyperactivity. Consider the following: Is your child continually restless, one who rocks or bangs his head or can’t keep still? Is he usually frustrated, impulsive or exceptionally clumsy, having no sense of danger, or constantly disrupting other children for no apparent reason? Does he have trouble sleeping, showing affection or completing work assignments? Is he unable to concentrate for more than a few minutes? Does he have specific learning problems? Does he have above average intelligence, yet poor results at school? If one or more of these symptoms apply to your child, then possibly he or she is hyperactive. Keep in mind, that each child is different. There are also varying degrees of hyperactivity-some are hardly noticeable, while others are severe and clearly discernible.

Prior to disciplining your child you should examine to see if your child’s naughty or delinquent behavior is due to negligence on their own part. However, with a hyperactive child a spanking may not be a solution and may in fact provoke a worse tantrum. The way a child reactors to disciple can be another indication of what may be wrong. It appears that hyperactive children don’t respond to discipline as other children do, whether that discipline be in the form of reasoning, depriving or a spanking. They will do the same thing immediately after discipline. A suggestion that may help those with only one child to determine if their child is hyperactive or just needs discipline is this: Leave your child for a day with a friend, perhaps the mother of several children herself, and ask her honest comments afterward. Sometimes children who are trialsome at home with their parents show amazing cooperation and obedience when placed with a firm but loving friend. If this is the case, it would seem that your child may not be hyperactive.

What about sugar, will this have an effect on your child. In connection with diet, it has been found that children who show signs of hyperactivity, such as lassitude, tension, nervousness, fatigue, irritability, emotional imbalance and uncontrollable behavior, could be suffering, even slightly, from hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar. Glucose deficiency is usually attributed to an excess of insulin, which removes glucose from the blood at a faster rate than it can be replaced. The brain function depends on a constant supply of glucose from the blood. Hypoglycemia impairs the efficiency of the brain and hence behavioral disorders result. A craving for starchy, sweet things may indicate low blood sugar. The removal of these foods results in a dramatic decrease in hyperactivity.” Thus some medical authorities counsel that sugar-based foods and drinks are not advisable for hyperactive children.

What is the answer? Is your child hyperactive? He may well be. However, first make sure that the supposed hyperactivity is not in fact a lack of discipline. Try firm, consistent discipline in a loving, united home atmosphere. Then make sure your child isn’t existing on a diet of junk food, eating artificially colored, flavored and highly sugared foods. If these methods fail, further medical tests may be needed to determine the exact cause of your child’s hyperactivity.