Best remedy for fidgeting and walking around

[Anonymous]

I agree that this sounds like what might be a flag for ADHD in a 6 year old. Are there concerns from school? I have a kid being assessed for potentially mild ADHD (age 5) so I understand how hard it can be to differentiate because we always hear it's "normal" for kids to be wiggly, and it is. But I'm learning that level of wiggly usually goes down for most kids. Especially by 6. So while it might be common for a 6 year old to want to get up from the table quicker than his parents, most 6 year olds do sit at the table to eat their food and then want to get up. But getting up after 2 bites and not being able to sit through a book is not as typical at that age. Doesn't mean it's ADHD but it might be good to have you feelers out as others have said.

ANd if it is adhd no you truly don't want to punish. Our therapist has said actually the most important thing is to not get too upset about the behaviors because the side effects of being constantly corrected and feeling like crap about yourself are far worse than the adhd behaviors (anxiety, depression that often hits kids with adhd). So I would try to figure out what's going wrong and generally ADHD books recommend positive reinforcement instead. If he does have adhd, letting him move around while you read is a reasonable accommodation.

[Anonymous]

I think walking while eating is a choking issue: I ask my kid to sit while there is food in her mouth. But, she can get up between bites.

The moving while reading is fine, as others have said. At that age I had DD in multiple physical classes and activities to burn off energy, or we'd have to go run around the park a bunch. She slowed down a lot around 8 if that helps.