Research shows that students with ADHD can concentrate better when they’re allowed to fidget (here’s a link to the study). But what if this becomes a distraction for the rest of the class? We received hundreds of Facebook comments from teachers, parents, and students with great ideas for letting students quietly fidget, and here are some of our favorites:
1. Squeeze Balls
Squishy balls, stress balls, koosh balls, hand exercisers… there are dozens of objects that can be squeezed quietly. Teacher tip: make sure that kids use them under their desks for minimal distractions to others. Fun activity idea: fill balloons up with different items (seeds, playdough, flour, etc.) to squish.
2. Fidgets
Fidgets are small objects that help keep students’ hands occupied. You can buy these on my facebook page or use objects like beaded bracelets, Rubik’s Cubes, or slinkies.
3. Silly Putty
Silly putty, playdough, or sticky tack can also keep students’ hands occupied.
4. Velcro
Tape a strip of the hard side of velcro under the student’s desk. It gives them something to touch. Many types of objects can work, such as emery boards or straws.
5. Gum or Chewable Necklaces
Chewing gum can help keep some ADHD students focused. In no-gum classrooms, necklaces with chewable pieces can also work. You can also wrap airline tubing or rubber bands at the ends of pencils for students to chew.
6. Doodling
Doodling can help many students focus, not just ones with ADHD (here’s the research if you’re interested). Some students also benefit if they can draw during story time or a lesson.
7. Background Noise/Music
A fan in the back of the room can help some students focus. Letting them listen to music on headphones (as long as it doesn’t interfere with what’s happening in class) can also help. One teacher had success with an aquarium in the back of the room — the students liked hearing the calming swish of the water.
8. Chair Leg Bands
Tie a large rubber band (or yoga band) across both front legs of the chair for students to push or pull against with their legs.
9. Bouncy Balls
AKA yoga balls, stability balls, or exercise balls. These are potentially great for all students, not just ones with ADHD.
10. Swivel Chairs
Kids can twist a little bit from side to side. A rocking chair also works.
11. Wobble Chairs
Similar to swivel chairs or disk seats, these chairs let students rock within their seats. Teacher tip: don’t let students wobble too much, or they may fall off!
12. Disk Seats
These sit on a chair and allow students to rock in their seats (without being as dangerous as rocking the entire chair). Cushions can also work.
13. Standing Desks
Great for all students, not just ones that need to fidget. If it’s within your budget, you can also use treadmill desks.
14. Desks with Swinging Footrests
A built-in footrest can help reduce the noise that would otherwise happen with foot tapping.
15. Stationary Bikes
Putting a stationary bicycle at the back of the classroom is a great way to help students be active, with the added benefit of exercise!
16. Classroom Space for Moving Around
Clear an area in the side or back of the room to let students stand, stretch, dance, pace, or twirl. If you’re brave, you can set up small trampolines for students to jump on.
17. Flexible Work Locations
Students don’t have to do their learning at their desk. One student did his work at the windowsill, while another moved from one desk to another. Having different learning stations can benefit all types of students.
Traditional meals of daily life, traditional Sunday lunch meals, and festive meals for special occasions. All have their importance, and participate, in their way, in the construction of the family and its history.
In the 1950s, supper could only take place in one way: with the family around the table. Today, this is not so simple. With parents’ busy work schedules, children’s extracurricular activities and the feverish rhythm of our lives, it is not always easy to find the time when all family members can convene. It is more important than ever.
We realize that families do not see each other often anymore, and that is very distressing. Meals are therefore the only opportunity to talk and see each other.
Research has shown that children from families who eat together enjoy significant and, most importantly, more active parenting support. The table and the kitchen are thus serving families by much more than their physical functionalities. They secure children and promote their fulfillment. Families that eat together regularly have a more developed comradery and stronger cohesion. In fact, children who gather around the table regularly are less likely to drop out school, develop anxiety issues.
Why is eating together so beneficial?
To answer this question, we need to understand what happens to family members during the meal. Dinner time becomes a real thermometer of family life and an opportunity to know of current family events: who did what? Who loves what? What are we dreaming about? Etc. By listening to each other, family members recount their daily experience; they all draw something from it. For example, listening to their parents explain how they solved a problem at the office, children learn problem-solving strategies.
If the emotional appetite is satisfied by these shared meals, so is health. Family meals are important as much for nutritional health as it is for emotional wellbeing. Children of who often eat together with their families make better food choices and are more interested in food.
A study by two researchers at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia found that family meals divert children from television, which, in addition to exposing them to a multitude of advertisements, pushes them to eat beyond their real appetite. This research also reveals that children who take at least three meals with their family per week would be less likely to be overweight.
There is no need to knock kids out with nutritional notions to convey healthy eating habits to younger kids. Parents can model healthy eating habits to their children. Behavior acquired during childhood will follow them all their lives.
Towards eight or nine months, children should adopt the family schedule to learn by looking at others. “Children learn by imitation to eat and love what parents appreciate. They grow ignorant of valuable eating habits. We should not bet on the short term, big talk or blackmail, rather on our example and on repeated exposure to new foods.
Pleasure first Long before the perfect cooking of the roast, the secret of successful dinners is the search for pleasure. The work of the parents is to get everyone to the table and prepare the dish, that is all. Then they should focus only on the pleasure of being together and not on the content of the children’s plate,
Disturbingly, the “Institute of Statistics” of Québec found in a study that, for 31% of 4-year-olds, meals are not a pleasant time. When the researchers asked the children about this, they responded that family meals were a time of tension and chicanery for them. By making the dinners pleasant by various attitudes and by creating a place of lively exchanges, one can hope for a reversal of the situation. The meal makes it possible to nourish the family ties as long as it is more like a party than a constraining routine. Also, the sooner families get together to eat with their young children, the less they will have to work hard, as a teenager, to bring them back to the family table.
However, it is not the number of meals that matters, but the quality of the emotional support received. Most often would be the best, but everyone has to start where s/he can and from there try to improve. Because family meals are a social act that triggers a truce in the growing individuality and the preoccupations of each one, families who never eat together may face a challenge at the beginning but a great win later on. In fact, the most memorable familial moments are usually marked by meals. The tables and meals mark the most significant events of our family history. What’s the proof you are asking? Just leaf through your family photo albums: all of the highlights cling to meals.
Below, you can find twelve strategies for successful family dinner that can change the dynamic in your home. Good luck!
Successful Dinner Strategies
1. We adapt our schedules. The resounding “Dinner is ready!” does not have to resonate at 6 pm, sharp! We change our meals in the family according to the availabilities of each one. Monday at 4:45 pm and Friday at 7 pm, why not? Some families together, on Sunday evening, set the schedule for the meals of the week.
2. Plan menus in advance. By avoiding the stress of the famous “What do we eat?” The time of supper will be more serene and the meal, ready faster, which is especially important when we have hungry teenagers.
3. We provide snacks as needed. If you will dine late and the children are hungry at 4:30 pm, it may be necessary to have a healthy snack to prevent starvation from undermining the atmosphere.
4. The ambient noise is limited. The climate became more conducive to conversation. We turn off the TV; we postpone listening to the news at 10 pm. The same goes for video games and radio. Telephone conversations are limited. We take the message and call back later.
5. We choose subjects of harmonious conversations. The table must not be a minefield. Avoid reproaches on unreleased duties, uncomfortable interrogations, the monopolization of speech by a single individual and subjects heavy or conducive to heated discussions. We prefer quiet conversations and make sure that everyone can express themselves freely.
6. We insist moderately on good manners. We take advantage of family supper to inculcate some good manners at the table (one does not eat with your fingers, one asks before going out of the table, one does not interrupt, etc.), but it must not become a course on manners. If the rules are too strict, the meals become unpleasant. We must ask ourselves if all our regulations are so important and rework them if necessary.
7.We demand respect. We do not tolerate comments like: “It is not edible!” Alternatively,: “I do not know how you do to eat that!” We instill respect as much for the food as for the person who prepared the meal.
8. We do not go on forever. Spending a good time with the family does not necessarily mean “long and endless dinner.” Twenty minutes is enough for busy evenings.
9. Nutrition courses should stop. At dinner, one takes good eating habits, but it is not the time to bore the kids with endless nutritional facts.
10. We cook together. Even toddlers can accomplish certain tasks. With teens, why not create a group meal: everyone prepares the portion of the dinner of his choice!
11. We take advantage of the time of the dishes. Washing, wiping and storing dishes allows you to discuss more “troublesome” topics. This less “eye-to-eye” task is more conducive to confidences. Even if the parent is surprised by the words raised, the child will not see his gaze, and we discuss issues more easily.
12. From time to time, make meal time out of the ordinary. We invent new rituals, make theme dinners, change the setting (picnic, restaurant), we play it chic (tableware of the big days, napkins and candles); in short, we are not reluctant to leave the routine to make family meal a special moment.
Your life as parents is rather similar to that of a minister. Between the daily routine and the difficult nights, we are often quickly on the verge of a nervous breakdown! Even for the quietest of us. It is therefore not always obvious to remain positive in difficult situations with our little ones!
Imagine coming back from work, you are tired, worn out and the only thing you want is a little quiet and silence, but your youngest one decides otherwise! You resort to anger only to realize that it will only bring more fatigue. Stay assured as the solutions to those intense moments are in hand. Let’s start by thinking of the word Zen.
Zen, is the art of living in harmony with oneself, it is the attitude to adopt during moments of conflict, and this method is not an art for nothing, it is so good that it’s definitely worth making an effort to achieve it. Once you recover your serenity, your child will feel calmed, free from his anger and anxieties. He will breathe more easily, and so will you. Allow me to offer some small tricks that can help and improve the situation. Channeling your emotions, fostering a climate of cocooning and serenity are the keys to achieving this zen attitude. That’s why you should turn your tongue three times in your mouth before screaming and breath. Inhale, then exhale, one two three times, you will see, you will already feel better! Come on, set aside your anger to make room for calm.
Control your mood
Sometimes, under the impact of emotions, we do things without thinking, and we end up feeling guilty. But there is no point in blaming yourself, this will make you even angrier, and will make things worse. On the contrary, any negative emotion against yourself will be felt by your child. Remember that you cannot always be the best in all situations. You can only be an example for your child.
Cultivate your calm and reduce noise
If you want your child to regain his serenity, you must set an example by staying calm. Everything you are going to do, feel, say, will influence him. Favorite an environment conducive to calm. Family life can sometimes be tiring. There are often a lot of noises, whether it’s the sound of the TV or the cell phones beeping. Try to turn off all these little noises once a week, to find a small bubble of calm.
Think twice before speaking
Remember that any word you are going to say will impact your child tremendously. Breathe calmly and count in your head before you start talking. Know that there are many ways to phrase thoughts and feedback.
Reassure your children and model serenity
What to do when your child is hyperactive and grumbles all day? First, leave your emotions aside and sit quietly beside him. Instead of responding to your child’s crying and anger, try to listen to the words and the tone of speaking; focus on your child. Refrain from giving your child a feedback. Try to mirror back to your child what they have just said to you. Sometimes words make more sense when they are mirrored back to us. Remember that listening means to remain silent while your child is speaking.
Feel free to offer your child to write down their emotions and then read it together later. Your child will find many of those emotions moot. Writing down emotions of the moment and checking them later is an excellent tactile exercise emotional regulations.
Give yourself a moment or two
While we live in a world of multitasking (working, running errands, staying in touch with teachers, and supervising homework time), it is sometimes good to be able to sit and do nothing. Find a time to be together. Time to hug, close your eyes for a few minutes or look each other in the eyes. In short, a moment full of sweetness and love.
It is always difficult to see a child crying, we want to console them, or just have them stop it! Trying to placate your child by asking “Don’t cry, it’s gonna be ok!” could be a mistake. It would actually be better for your child to fully express his emotions instead of avoiding them and being afraid of them. I am referring to emotional agility. Understanding and apprehending one’s emotions helps to better live with them. Moreover, a growing number of child psychologists advocate this method with children. I would like to suggest the following steps to implement next time your child is having an emotional tantrum.
Feel it, It’s OK!
Children often hear sentences like “don’t be sad,” “don’t be jealous,” and “don’t be angry,” as if they need to eliminate what is considered to be “bad emotions.” In doing so, your child avoids reality, situations where s/he must confront with strong feelings. This is where we enter the picture. We must convey that experiencing strong feelings are normal, and there is a way to deal with them. The last thing we want our children is to be afraid of their emotions, instead of knowing how to cope with them.
Labeling Emotions
Putting words on emotions is a critical and necessary step in the development of a child. For example, children in early childhood age ought to learn to differentiate stress from anger. Later, it is important to address more complex emotions, such as being excited and stressed at the same time.
Gaining Control Over Emotions
Even the most intense and painful emotions go away one day, this is the reason we must teach children about feelings and emotions. Sadness, frustration, and anger are real, but they do not last a lifetime, and you can see beyond these emotions. Our children should know that they will not necessarily feel the same for a similar situation. They may be anxious to go to a new place on the first time, but the second time will be just exciting and happy. The main thing, finally, is to speak openly and reassuringly so that the child learns little by little to apprehend even the most painful emotions.
EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS COACHING 