children – ADD Consults

New! Kids Apps to Keep Your Child Happy, Entertained and Enriched so You Keep Your Sanity

Oh dear. You’re waiting in the doctor’s office with your kiddo and the doc is running late. Real late…

You’re stuck in the airport, waiting for your flight to depart. The plane is nowhere to be seen. It’s going to be a long wait. And you ran out of Cheerios.

The kids are fighting- again– in the car and nothing you say stops the bickering and kicking. You want to jump out, even at 50 mph.

Like you, I’ve experienced all of these scenarios, and more: situations where you’re with your hyperactive-impulsive-irritable-wild child and you can’t do a thing to keep her happy and calm.

That’s why I thought you’d find this product fascinating and helpful. It’s an application called iKids Play that kids play with on an iPhone or iTouch.

What is it? iKids Play are interactive books for kids ages 2-10, but even my much older kiddo loved playing with it. Each storybook has a variety of playable options. You can read along with the narrator; rub the screen to reveal hidden images; color without crayons…they can even record their own voice as they read each story. And there’s much more.

What I love about this app is that it’s not only fun, it’s educational as well, and appeals to your child’s need for sensory input and activity.

Read more about it HERE. Then download a book or two- or more- via the iKids Play Library tab.

Now you can relax the next time there’s a 30 minute wait at your favorite restaurant. You’ll be armed with activities to keep your child happy, calm and entertained.

iKids

http://www.ikidsplay.com

When Hyperactive Child Collides with Inattentive Mom

We now know that ADHD is highly genetic. In fact, if you have ADHD, there’s approximately a 50% chance your child/children will have it, too.

There are three subtypes of ADHD:

1. Hyperactive/impulsive
2. Inattentive
3. Combined type

So what happens when mom has inattentive ADHD and junior is hyperactive and impulsive?

In my case, I have the inattentive sub-type and my daughter is hyperactive and impulsive. Let me give you an example of how these two subtypes under one roof can collide:

Mackenzie doesn’t close a door; she slams it. When she’s happy, she doesn’t laugh; she shrieks. When she talks, the volume of her voice often rips through my brain like a knife. When she’s hungry, she wants to eat.. NOW. Conversely, when she asks me a question and I need time to process her rapid-fire words, she’s already out of the room, feeling nothing but contempt for my slow cognitive tempo.

It’s like watching a hurricane sweep over a sleeping willow tree.

One way to help me cope is to use hand signals. When Mackenzie’s voice begins to rise, I signal her to lower it. When she’s racing through the room, I use a stop sign or time out hand signal. If I’m in desperate need of quiet and solitude, I’ll tell her I’m taking a time out in my home office and will be ready to interact again in 10 or 15 minutes. It’s often a matter of seeing it coming and having a plan before the overwhelm sets in.

I wonder if you have the same issue at your house and how you handle this mismatch of temperament and the resulting sensory overload.