Moms of High Spirited Kids - Page 2

[kgreenemama]

Watching this post intently.

DS will be TWO on Sunday, and he's just given up his nap. He's "High-Needs" (I hate that label) on 11 of Dr. Sears' 12 criteria. He's never slept well, and I LIVE on the Nighttime Parenting forum with all of the challenges we've had, particularly in that department, since day one.

I'm curious about parents whose kids are school-age and up: How do your kids sleep? What degree of intervention do you use to ensure they're getting the down-time their active little bodies and minds need?

I wish High Spirited Kids was it's own forum. Seems like a topic that can be further divided infinitely!

[meemee]

Originally Posted by dfelde

At the same time it is helping her concentrate better at school. Anyone been here before?

i havent had to deal with this directly, but a couple of children have had to in dd's 2nd 3rd grade classroom. their desks are set aside and they concentrate better. however its all the teacher. to not make them feel punished. he jokes with them and uses humor to point out that their actions are affecting the class. not that they are doing anything wrong. because he has a few of those kids in his class he joins them for recess and does things like chasing the bubble so all kids play together and no one feels left out AND they get their energy out.

i have noticed with my dd - her definition of 'high needs' is i want more of everything. if the average kid needed 10 energies of physical activity, 10 or social, 10 emotional and 10 of intellectual, dd needs a 100 of each. and unless they are met she just cannot function. i think its unfair to ask her to function also. she is 7 1/2.

she does terribly if we wake up and rush out to school. BUT if we wake up and cuddle and just be and wake up at a slow pace and then go for a walk and hang out together AND then go to school she does MUCH better. if we can have an adventure that morning - then even better. like getting a bagel from the bagel place or going to the park - something different.

however its really hard to do because by nature dd is a nightowl and she CANNOT fall asleep if she hasnt gotten ALL her physical, emotional, intellectual and social needs met. sometimes just letting her read for that extra 15 mins at night is much better than trying to turn off the light.

the biggest thing i discovered about my dd when she was a toddler was that she just didnt need a lot of physical activity. she needed social, emotional and intellectual too. with the emotional - nursing (not sure if you would call 'dry' nursing or pacifying) and cosleeping helps a LOT.

little things make a huge difference. like using the exercise ball as a chair. that definitely helps her concentrate more.