How to Help Your ADD/ADHD Child with Rest and Exercise

As you already know, children have a lot of physical energy. Younger children get their energy in spurts and then need to rest afterwards, while older children develop the kind of sustained energy that gets them through soccer and baseball games.

When children don’t get enough rest or exercise, their reaction is the same – irritability and loss of concentration. So it’s essential that you make sure your child gets plenty of both.

Let’s talk about rest first. All children need at least eight hours of sleep, and younger children need more. Since every child has different needs, I suggest you talk to your pediatrician to figure out the right amount of sleep for your child.

Young children also need a regular bedtime throughout the year. Of course there’ll be exceptions for special occasions, but even on vacation it’s important for your child to stay with her usual habits. This is particularly true for children with ADD/ADHD, since the more regularity they have, the more stable they’ll become.

Children need quiet times during the day as well. School can be exhausting for any child, and a child with ADD/ADHD is going to wear out even more because of all the effort he has to use just to sit still.

So be sure your child has at least half an hour – hopefully more – every day just to relax and calm down. This should be time without television or the computer. She can read, draw a picture, sit under a tree, or stare at the ceiling, just as long as the time gives her a chance to let go of the day’s frustrations and gently pull herself back together.

Now to exercise (physical activity). Your child needs to have some free and unstructured time to do what he likes at the pace he likes. Anything from walking the dog to riding a bike to shooting hoops fits here – actually just about anything physical fits as long as it’s her choice.

Then there are the structured activities. I think spending some time in a structured situation at least once a week could be very helpful to a child with ADD/ADHD, because it’s an opportunity to move and learn at the same time. Any kind of lessons would fit in here, as well as team sports. A course in one of the Asian martial arts would also be a good choice, because martial arts combine mental discipline with physical activity.

As I’m sure you’ve heard, children are now starting to get adult illnesses, like diabetes and elevated cholesterol. Much of the fault lies with their diets, but another significant cause is their lack of activity. They come home from sitting in school all day and then they glue themselves to the TV, computer, or game machine.

So you’re going to have to put limits on how much time your child can spend with these entertainments. Moving around, relaxing, and doing homework must come first, and only afterwards can they sit with their machines.

And you’re also going to have to monitor content, particularly violence. I realize older children are going to fight you on this, but you’re the parent and it’s up to you to protect your child from growing up too fast.

Violent content is educational bad news as well, because it accustoms your child to fast and shocking action, which only makes it harder for him to develop the patience he needs to do his schoolwork.

Children are children, no matter how big they get, and they need to spend time with their parents. So spend some time with your child doing the good stuff, like bicycling or roller blading or just throwing a ball or taking a walk.

My approach to managing ADD/ADHD is only going to work with teamwork, and while that may seem onerous first, it’s really a priceless opportunity for you and your child to spend more time together and cement your relationship.

Talk about a silver lining!