What is hyperactivity syndrome in children and its main manifestations. When and why the first symptoms of this pathology appear. The main factors contributing to its development. Modern methods of combating and preventing the syndrome. Hyperactivity in children is a pathological condition that is characterized by excessive activity of the mental and physical systems of the body. A similar problem arises both in early and later childhood. In the modern world, attention deficit is considered the main reason for its appearance. As a result, the child is trying by any action to get him from his environment. He becomes restless and restless, cannot sit for a long time in one place and focus his attention on the subject.
The main causes of hyperactivity in a child
Many mothers who have encountered a similar problem with their baby are constantly wondering why they have such changes. Various variants of the causes of hyperactivity in children appear more and more often. Even though there is only one main factor, other conditions can also affect its development.
Mom has problems
Few people think about looking for the cause of the child's increased activity in his parents. In most cases, this option is considered only when the presence of some hereditary disease is initially assumed. But this factor is worth thinking about first. After all, how the fetus develops affects the baby's health in the future.
That is why it is worth paying attention to the presence of the following problems in a woman:
- Severe pregnancy … Many diseases of children arise precisely due to the presence of any intrauterine problems. Today, a very small number of women can boast of their good health while carrying a child. In the majority of expectant mothers, already at the initial lines, any old pathologies and exacerbations of chronic diseases begin to appear. Moreover, quite often they are worried about early and late toxicosis, which have a very bad effect on the child. But often, as a result of even such an impact, an absolutely healthy baby is born. And only after a while the presence of any problems is revealed.
- Complications during childbirth … All violations that occur at this stage can have two types of action. In the first case, all processes are slowed down. As a result, the child is exposed to oxygen starvation. Its deficiency negatively affects the cells of the brain. Even after a few seconds of such ischemia, irreversible changes can occur in them. Such an influence can very easily provoke this syndrome without the presence of any other pathologies. In another variant, development occurs so quickly that the child does not have time to adapt to what is happening and is also badly influenced.
- Mother's disrupted lifestyle … Today, a lot of attention is paid to this point, because modern women quite often manage to harm the child with their behavior. The presence of such negative habits as smoking and drinking alcohol can not only lead to violations of this kind, but also ensure the death of the fetus. This category also includes constant lack of sleep and stressful influences. Their influence affects the health and emotional background of both the woman and the child. And very often it is this factor that leads to the development of this pathology.
Impact on the child
As everyone already knows, children are imperfect in terms of the body's readiness for independent life. This fact should be taken into account when searching for the reason for the presence of various pathological conditions in them. In most cases, this is justified by external influences, which are necessarily present around each child.
It is these factors that cause harm in childhood and practically do not threaten in adulthood. These include:
- Attention deficit … This reason is at the head of all the others today. After all, many modern parents are too busy and cannot devote the necessary amount of time to their children. Due to its lack, the child feels unnecessary and tries to correct the situation on his own. He in every possible way changes his behavior to one that is noticed by his family. Most often it is constant movement, active games, curiosity. But often this leads to a loss of control over such a child. It becomes a habit for him, and such children grow up to be difficult teenagers.
- Stress impact … The influence of this factor has a very strong effect on the mental health of a person. In early childhood, when it is just beginning its formation, it is very important not to allow the intake of unnecessary pathological stimuli. Indeed, during this period, they are driven into consciousness so tightly that they can change the character and behavior of the child in a completely different direction. It often happens that some kind of emotional shock occurs in children during the first fall when trying to walk and is reflected in his behavior in the future.
- The need for self-expression … Such a state occurs on the way of a child at the moment when he is among his peers. Often this is a kindergarten, school, or just a company in the yard. Once there, the problem of headship and authority arises. Many boys and girls try to prove themselves better than others. All this leads to the fact that such children become dependent on their own image. Now they are more talkative, decisive in their actions and deeds. This increased activity is the result of a desire to manifest and express oneself as a person.
The main manifestations of hyperactivity syndrome in children
It will be very difficult not to notice a child with such a deviation from the norm. All this is because all the main signs are aimed precisely at attracting attention from the outside. Such children more than others strive to achieve this goal, which they do very well. Therefore, finding out about the presence of a problem does not present any particular difficulties for anyone. But the main problem lies elsewhere. The fact is that many parents do not consider such behavior of their child to be pathological and write it off on heredity, a very young age or quirks of character. To prevent this from happening, it is worth remembering those areas that show the existing violations more clearly than others.
Conduct disorder
Our youngest children, who cannot yet speak, stand out from the rest with their demeanor. Some are characterized by a small set of movements and activity. Others express their emotions more vividly. They are characterized by a wide range of facial expressions, long-term energy and interest in what is happening around. Depending on how the baby behaves, it is possible to determine whether he has the presented deviation.
Among the main symptoms of a child's hyperactivity are the following:
- Restlessness … Many parents note that their child cannot stay in any one place for more than a few minutes. He constantly has to be caught all over the house or street. On the playground, the kid will stand out and run the fastest. If in one second he is interested in playing pistols, then literally in two minutes he will already be jumping on a trampoline. And so in a circle all day. It is very difficult to get these children to eat quietly at the table or take them to the store. Doing monotonous work, such as homework, is also a problem. Learning productivity is also reduced by bad behavior at school. The child cannot bring himself to sit at the desk and listen to the teacher until the end of the lesson.
- Fussiness … A manifestation of this trait is a kind of haste with inconstancy. The implementation of many movements is characteristic, which are very small and hasty. Such children often cannot collect their thoughts and make any decision. When doing homework, there are difficulties with calculations and solving problems for several actions. And although, at first glance, such a child has a lot of extraordinary activity and intelligence, there is little meaning in his actions. They are more chaotic and performed without any purpose. It is worth paying special attention to this when looking after a child.
- Anxiety … Many consider this point extremely important in the diagnosis of this pathology. All this is due to the fact that it is very rare to see a child who is often worried about something. And this happens quite often. These children are more prone to exaggeration and fantasy more than others. They constantly think that they need to do a lot of things and do everything in time. These little masters of life look like businessmen and great people from the outside. Even their facial expressions speaks of interest and some kind of thoughtfulness, although there is no reason for this.
- Impulsiveness … Some kind of constant zeal to accomplish hundreds of things and do everything in one moment. At a very young age, this is noticeable by the number of purchased toys for such a child. He may have a dozen of them, and each will like it, but in the presence of the simplest breakdown, he is ready to say goodbye to it, break it down and no longer remember. Very small representatives often cry. Thus, they respond to the slightest hitch when fulfilling their request. This irascibility of character is also noticed when taking the first steps or during study. The smallest setbacks are accompanied by violent reactions, throwing objects, or invented offenses.
- Emotional instability … A similar trait is to some extent inherent in all small children, if you pay attention to it. After all, they tend to switch from one activity to another, cry over a broken knee and at the same time laugh from their mother's tickling. But in the presence of this pathology, the child will even be too unstable in his mental manifestations. It is very difficult for the parents of these children to trace the connection between a smile and a sudden stream of tears that occurs without any particular reason. It is also worth noting the fact that such a state can change dramatically several times a day, disappear when spending time with mom or dad. It is almost impossible to trace any regularity in the presence of such lability of emotions. These conditions are considered a migratory symptom complex.
- Negligence … To many modern parents, such a characteristic seems to be an individual feature of their child. They believe that a child has the power to change his carelessness and indifference to his surroundings. A hyperactive child rarely stows his belongings, toys, or likes to help around the house. They are characterized by negligence when performing any task. Very small children eat very capriciously on their own. Constant smearing of food on the plate, dirty clothes and everything around. This is how these kids behave. It is difficult for them to be accurate in doing their homework, the handwriting is often very sweeping and incomprehensible. Children often fall from their parents for such behavior, but they simply cannot and cannot act differently.
- Sleep disturbances … This condition occurs due to the increased activity of the body. The child is overly excited for more time of the day, which is why it is very difficult for him to calm down and fall asleep on time. Because of this, he goes to bed after midnight, when the body is simply experiencing exhaustion and loss of strength. But to relax and plunge into a full sleep, it takes some more time. As a result, in the morning such children are not rested at all, even more embittered by the whole world, wake up to the shouts of their parents. Such a mechanism has a closed system and requires immediate interruption.
Health problems
Not a single change that happens in our body can go unnoticed for its state of health. As for the mental system, it, like nothing else, is closely connected and finds its reflection on many systems of human organs. When a child is hyperactive, the way of life changes completely. First, there is a need to speed up the implementation of all processes. Each cell changes its metabolism in the direction of speeding up and increasing work productivity. Secondly, it becomes necessary to adapt to this pace of life. In this case, there are many adaptation circles that fulfill this need.
All these processes can cause the following violations:
- Delayed speech development … Almost all parents notice this problem and immediately begin to look for the cause. The thing is that such a child cannot focus his attention on one thing. His psyche performs many thought processes in one second. It seems to children that they will now utter a thousand words, but in reality this does not happen. Sometimes their speech does not develop at all, in other cases it is there, but very poor and indistinct. The child swallows letters, pronounces a sentence incompletely or without a definite meaning. There may also be a shortening of phrases, jumping from one thought to another, in fact, and it is not difficult to understand this during a conversation.
- Memory problems … This function of the human brain should work best in children. But in the presence of such a problem, the child is deprived of this ability. It does not disappear completely, but it is seriously disturbed. This becomes noticeable when you first try to learn something. At this moment, it turns out that the information received is poorly perceived and practically not fixed in the head. Auditory and tactile memory suffers the most. Sometimes visual sensitivity is completely retained, and what he sees is imprinted for a while. Problems with long-term memorization are more common. The child can only reproduce what has been said or heard after a short period of time, but will not answer the question about it a little later.
- Mental retardation … The most formidable complication and manifestation that can arise. The child simply loses the opportunity to develop his intellectual abilities. It is difficult for him to study and complete any tasks. Children often lag behind their peers in kindergarten and school. It is difficult for them to learn or solve some examples. Spatial orientation suffers, even the presentation of one's own thoughts is not possible. As for everyday life, these children respond more slowly to requests, while moving around the room at almost the speed of light.
Violation of socialization
What surrounds us always makes us addicted. That is why it is so important for every person to find their place in society and take root in it. For this to happen, you need to understand how to behave correctly, to understand all existing norms. Children with hyperactivity disorder are rarely adequately perceived by their environment. Most often they are not considered sick, but simply strange and incomprehensible. A particularly cruel attitude exists on the part of peers, they completely shamelessly criticize and offend for such behavior and individuality. In general, this always presents a difficulty in the form of the following problems:
- Disobedience … It would seem that this feature is characteristic of almost every child. After all, to one degree or another, each of us was once capricious and did not want to obey our elders. But in this case, everything is more serious. The parents of these children should almost always be on the alert. In all fights, conspiracies, pranks of their children, they take the main and obligatory part. It is impossible even to imagine how active such a child is. He is constantly on the move, rushing somewhere and sweeping away everything in his path. Even knowing about the possible upcoming punishment, the baby still behaves as before.
- Ignoring norms of behavior … This is typical for older children, for those who have already been on a visit, at any events or other kind of meetings. Also, this problem is relevant when visiting school. Such children are completely uncontrollable in their actions. They do not listen to other people's comments and behave as if everything is allowed to them. The noise and din that such a child creates rarely gives pleasure to anyone other than himself. Because of this, parents also suffer, because taking their children somewhere means having constant problems with them.
- Aggressiveness … Some cases of hyperactivity are accompanied by viciousness and irascibility. The child manifests it from an early age. Initially, this happens when his needs are not met, then because of personal whims. Further, this becomes more permanent and poses a threat to the environment. Children refuse to play with such a child, they are offended by his unmotivated attacks of anger and aggression. It can even come from an undivided toy or sandbox space. Quite actively and loudly, he defends his interests and opinions among others, sometimes resorting to assault.
Methods of dealing with hyperactivity in children
Today, thousands of parents, exhausted by all the tried and tested means to pacify their own child, are wondering how to treat hyperactivity in a child. After all, the presence of such a problem makes life in the family unbearable. Constant quarrels appear over the methods of education. Moms and dads cannot share the responsibilities and role of the head of the family, they do not know how to earn the authority of the baby. To make it easier to find a way to solve this problem, you need to choose an integrated approach to treatment.
Tips for parents
First of all, only parents have the opportunity and responsibility to help the child cope with their increased activity. Not all of them know how to behave correctly with such children, many do not understand the seriousness of the current situation. In order not to aggravate the mental state of the baby with your actions and measures of upbringing, you need to adhere to a few simple rules:
- Specific formulation of tasks … Such children do not always clearly understand what they want from them. To achieve a positive answer, you need to express your wish as accurately as possible. It is also important to avoid the use of complex semantic sentences and speech turns. The addressed speech should be as short and laconic as possible so that the child does not think about its meaning.
- Correct use of prohibitions … You should try to use the “not” particle less often. Instead of telling the child about what not to do, you should try to publicize the allowed option. For example, to prohibit going outside, you might suggest playing with toys at home or doing something else. Thus, the wish will be perceived by children as advice, not a prohibition. Accordingly, the reaction will be calmer and less aggressive.
- Subsequence … Since the main problem of children with hyperactivity is their fussy attitude to everything that happens, you need to help them cope with the correct allocation of priorities. It is necessary to voice the planned activities to the child at least for the next few minutes. Explain that you first need to wash your hands, then sit down to have breakfast, and so on.
- Positive communication … Many parents of naughty children cannot contain their emotions and express them every time they commit any wrongdoing. This causes aggression and isolation in children. They are even more trying to harm and avenge such an attitude towards themselves. Therefore, it is very important that during a conversation, mom or dad do not raise their voice to their child, but, on the contrary, explain important things on positive emotions. In this case, the child will listen to them and change their behavior.
- Excess energy consumption … An excessive amount of activity in such children cannot disappear by itself, even if they are forced to sit still. To help deal with this problem, you need to find the correct disposal site for it. It can be both elementary games and walks for toddlers, and visits to various sections for older children. The main thing is that it brings joy to the child, and also relieves him of excessive activity.
Medical help
This method of therapy causes many parents to hesitate about the harmfulness and effectiveness. Some are of the opinion that it is unnecessary to contact a doctor with such a problem, which is very wrong. A similar tactic is possible, but only if the child is not yet in serious condition.
Seeing a doctor implies the accuracy and correctness of the proposed diagnosis, which is very important. Modern medicine has high hopes for psychiatric therapy. The use of this method allows children to quickly and effectively cope with existing disorders. Due to the presence of several of its options, an individual selection is made for each child. The only drawback is the impossibility of using it for babies who cannot yet independently respond to any outside influences.
Also an important point is the use of drugs. Today, sedatives are considered the most popular remedies. Herbal preparations that are approved for use in children have a very beneficial effect on their condition. Such medications help the child to calm down and focus on any one thing.
To correct this syndrome, a combination of all or several methods of therapy is used at once. This approach not only completely frees the child from the existing problem, but also shortens the recovery time.
How to treat hyperactivity in a child - watch the video:
Hyperactivity in children is a huge problem that affects toddlers around the world. Many parents do not understand the pathological basis of such a condition, which significantly worsens the situation of the child. In order to free children from this and prevent dire consequences, you just need to follow simple rules for communicating with them.
