Move to think

When my youngest son was 4, someone asked me how to help their 8 year old son who was in a private school, diagnosed with ADHD. I was not sure what grade she was talking about; my own children have progressed organically and unevenly, faster and slower in different subjects. I wrote:

“Second grade is about age 8 or so? Boys don't tend to sit still well at all, unless they've had a lot of exercise or hard work or both. My 4yo is constantly bouncing and running everywhere he goes. My 17yo was like that at 4, and at 8 was jumping on the couch and moving around the room constantly while I read aloud. As long as he was not making noises with his mouth, I could be fairly sure he was still paying attention; when I asked questions about what we read, he could tell me all about it and add his thoughts, too. Of course, my sons are both talkative.

My 7yo daughter is the opposite; talking is hard for her. She is sensitive to noise and cannot concentrate when there is too much going on around her. She's also sensitive to touch; I can tickle her just by looking at her and moving my fingers close. But she, too, needs to move around in order to mentally process information. Using sign language at the same time helps her speak aloud better.

Studies have shown that boys can see more clearly when the thing they're looking at is moving. That's why they're good at ball games and ballistics. That's also why they move around a lot, to help themselves focus. (Andrew Pudewa of the Institute for Excellence in Writing said this.)

Schools cannot allow children to roam at will, nor to jump around in class; it's too difficult to control them. So what she may be seeing is simply that they cannot allow him what he needs to progress.”

That was 14 years ago; my youngest son graduated this year. He continued talkative and physically active, absorbed in what other people were doing and absorbed in games and how games work. We moved to a neighborhood with no children to play with; he wouldn’t go outside unless we went with him, because he wanted people! People!!!

My daughter graduated and works at a job that involves moving around a lot. She takes walks every day to sort out her thoughts and get sunlight. I bet you get up and move, too. Requiring children to sit for hours and be quiet is unrealistic.