Attention deficit hinders some processes in children, especially learning processes.

It has always been said or talked about children who are labeled as:

● Distractible

● Restless

● Lazy

Impulsive

Nowadays the matter is treated very seriously, many children attend therapy because they have been diagnosed with ADHD. And is that it could be defined as follows “is a chronic condition that affects millions of children”, it is possible that in some cases this continues into adulthood and includes persistent problems mainly difficulty maintaining attention.

In addition to this, children with ADHD struggle with low self-esteem, poor school performance and problems relating socially.

In this post we bring you five activities with which you can work on your child’s attention, and with which you could help them improve and control their lack of concentration and hyperactivity.

Activities to work on attention

1. Putting puzzles together

This pastime will keep him busy for a while, if he is not very small you can buy the ones with many pieces (the pieces will be smaller according to the amount of pieces the puzzle has). It will work on attention, as well as memory.

2.         Classify objects

Whether by color, shape or size, you can mix them all and the child must separate them according to the instruction he receives. You can work on the difference in characteristics between objects, attention and concentration.

3. Alphabet soup

Whether he already reads or not, you can occupy him finding words or enclosing the vowels in circles, it is a good technique to work on concentration and teach him letters or words.

4. Turn-based games

Something that is very difficult for most children is to wait their turn, and it is good to encourage the habit of waiting either to talk, play or win. This type of games will teach them in the best way to respect the turns of others, games like dominoes, chess, monopoly, are of great help.

5.         Read a story

Encouraging children the habit of reading is beneficial in any way, but when there is attention deficit it is likely that they do not see it attractive. You can create routines before going to sleep and accompany them in reading in this way you guarantee that your little ones will be able to dedicate a few minutes every day to read.

Remember that early diagnosis, attention and accompaniment is essential, as it is likely that over the years the symptoms will slow down and your child will be able to manage their emotions, impulsivity and control their hyperactivity.

Avoid excessive screens, over stimulation and above all screaming. Dressing with patience every day will be the best motivation for them and for you, and do not forget that you as parents do not have to go through this alone, there are specialists and professionals ready to help.

La entrada 5 Activities to help a child with Attention Deficit Disorder se publicó primero en yademasmama.

Most children are confronted at some point with the subject of surgery, either by a family member or by the patient themselves, going through a stage of preoperative stress.

The health personnel can guide the person in charge of the child on how to explain the child’s condition and the measures to be taken for the physical preparation required for the surgery. In spite of this, it is common for the family member to feel confused and not know how to express him/herself in front of the child, or what actions should be avoided in front of him/her in order not to create panic.

For this reason, the psychological preparation of the relatives and the patient is essential for the optimal development of the surgical intervention.

Psychological preparation of the relative

It is normal that the news affects you emotionally as a parent or relative of the child, however, you should calm down, seek information about the procedure to be performed on the child, try not to be alarmed if there are risks and do not lose hope or get carried away by the preoperative stress and worry.

Many people find help for their emotions through prayer and faith that things can go well. And you need to be aware that surgery can be performed and have positive or negative results, but you should never lose faith, which is the certainty of what is expected despite the circumstances.

Another way to deal with the situation is to look for didactic help, you can find various sources and content that will help you.

Currently, the Spanish Association of Pediatrics (AEP) has elaborated a program of psychological preparation for child surgery. It covers important topics: recommendations for parents and tips to calm the child.

It is important that you have a calm countenance when you are in contact with the child, it may be difficult, but it is essential to avoid situations such as crying or despair in front of the child. In this way, you will not create a negative emotional contagion, as psychology calls it.

Psychological preparation of the child

You can try to show your little one a video of another child telling his post-operative experience, you can tell him: look, he is a child like you.

Or you could motivate him with words of encouragement: Everything is going to be fine! you don’t have to be afraid, mom is with you. Or, surgery is a procedure where you will be given anesthesia, it won’t hurt.

Many times children’s fear is rooted in the pain they may feel, so you should inform yourself adequately to answer all questions in a simple way.

During the pre-operative period you can perform activities that divert the attention of the child and avoid stress, you can resort to toys, singing or telling an animated story. You can also create a secret password that will make him feel always close to you; for example, when the child is taken to the operating room, he will remember that, if he interlaces his hands, you will be doing the same wherever he is and he will feel safer.

La entrada My little one is going to have surgery, how can I explain? se publicó primero en yademasmama.

Many parents when correcting their children, think that violence is the best solution, however, we must take into account that if the punishment is not done in the right way, far from bringing benefits, it could bring some problems later on.

It is important to know that punishment is not necessarily physical. Rather, it is a series of consequences that go hand in hand with the child’s response, so that it tends to diminish.

If you are here, it is because you surely want the best for your child and you want to correct him/her in the best way. Below, we will show you some of the mistakes you might be making when disciplining your child.

5 mistakes you could be making when punishing your child.

1. Losing patience easily:

Being dominated by anger is one of the mistakes that many parents make when reprimanding their children. It is normal to feel bad when faced with an act of rebellion. So it is important that calm always prevails, above all.

2.Using violence.

This is a point in which it is necessary to take conscience. Many parents think that the negative behavior of the child can only be corrected by means of violence. This is absolutely false, on the contrary, it will be giving a message to the children that violence is always the solution. This is not to mention that in many cases the child’s rights are violated.

3.Applying the same punishment over and over again.

When the same punishment is applied every time our children make a mistake. We could be exposed to lose authority. So, in a way, our punishment would serve no purpose.

4.To leave aside the feedback.

Punishing the child without offering an explanation about the punishment is a serious mistake. It is necessary to make the child see the consequences of his actions. All this is achieved through a conversation which leads to internalization and learning.

5.Executing a punishment that is difficult to comply with.

It is very normal that when your child makes a mistake, in the heat of the moment you use an excessively harsh punishment which is very difficult to comply with, so that later you have to change it. It is recommended to apply punishments which go according to the mistake made.

Always keep in mind that the punishment should never interfere with the physical or emotional integrity of your children. That is why when applying any type of punishment, always focus on forming a conscience in your children, not only that they comply with the rules.

La entrada Mistakes when punishing your children se publicó primero en yademasmama.