Does your child ever…fidget? How about drum fingers, tap pencils, hum, sing, squirm, bounce legs, twirl hair, chew on pen caps or lips or other objects, rock in a chair, doodle, and move constantly?
Can this be annoying? Often.
Is this wrong? Not at all.
Is this necessary? Absolutely.
Here’s the truth. Fidgeting is a natural, healthy way for kids to stimulate themselves to improve focus. What is unnatural is asking kids to sit still for hours at a time. Kids were meant to move and explore and experience life, not sit at a desk and listen to someone talk at them for hours.
We can help teachers incorporate movement and stimulation into lessons. As a parent, you have boundless opportunities to work with your child’s nature to make homework time less stressful and more productive.
Do’s and Don’ts
Do NOT punish children for doodling, moving, fidgeting, chewing or humming while doing their homework. In fact, you should ENCOURAGE this behavior.
Children learn much better when they are moving. They often listen better when they are playing with something in their hands. So during homework time, don’t make your children just sit at a table, let them stand, pace, walk and move around. Let them chew on carrots or a snack. Let them listen to their iPod or music. Let them fidget with a stress ball or LEGOS.
Lighting scented candles or cooking food with pleasant aromas will stimulate their olfactory senses. Talk about lessons or review vocabulary words while playing catch, kicking a ball or jumping on a trampoline. Make a fort under the table and let them do homework in interesting places…like their closet! Do homework outside, in a coffee shop or by a stream.
A Different Way to Do Homework
“My son usually fights me every day at homework time, but he had a brilliant idea the other day when he was supposed to read a book he didn’t want to read. We had listened to the ADHD University CDs on the way home and he heard you talk about adding movement to homework time. I had to clean so he opened the book and started following me around the house. He walked the entire time he read the book.
“I stopped in the kitchen and he did laps around the island counter, at a quick pace. His fluency was the best I had heard from him and he only struggled with one word. I was AMAZED!”
Kids fidget, it doesn’t mean they aren’t paying attention. It might actually mean they paying more attention than they would if they had to sit still.
