When your kids get rowdy and hyper, try these tips:
- I heard from a mom who had tired of her three sons' ceaseless noises and sound effects — so she got creative. If her boys did not take their commotion outside, she would make them sit down and listen to the "Barney" theme song cassette for 10 minutes. For adolescent boys, it's torture!
- If your little one gets too hyper, come up with a code word to remind him to stop the action without embarrassing him. Whenever Tucker started getting too rowdy in a group, I would yell, "Hey, Batman." He knew that he needed to calm down before I had to take more drastic measures.
- Physical exercises, such as running laps around the house or doing push-ups or jumping jacks (even in the grocery store),can be a productive punishment. They also serve a dual purpose for ADHD children or active boys in general. This type of correction is not only sufficiently unpleasant, but it also drains some of the pent-up energy that probably fueled the offense in the first place. This can be an appropriate form of correction for laziness as well.
- When the kids run up and down the stairs after having been told not to, have them crawl up and down on their bottoms. Use the same principle for running through the house, only have them crawl on all fours to get to where they were going in such a hurry.
- Kids intuitively know that we're reluctant to correct them in public. Call their bluff. The next time your young one starts acting up in a restaurant or store, warn her first that if she doesn't straighten up she will have to stand in a corner in public. If she doesn't believe you and continues to misbehave, point to a nearby corner in the restaurant or store and require her to stick her nose there for five minutes.
{written by Lisa Whelchel & adapted by Focus on the Family, Helping Families Thrive blog}
