Reply to What amount of "not listening" is normal for a 6yo?

Forum Index » Elementary School-Aged Kids

Reply to "What amount of "not listening" is normal for a 6yo?"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous]From your examples, I wouldn't characterize it as not listening so much as absent mindedness and poor impulse control.  Both can still be developmentally appropriate at 6yo.  If you really are at your wits end, talk to her ped.  If s/he blows you off, find another one or see a developmental pediatrician.  These can be signs of Inattentive ADHD.  ADHD tends to be underdiagnosed in girls since they generally lack the hyperactivity component.  Even if it's something that she grows out of, there is no downside to asking for help.

Speaking as a parent of boys with ADHD, there are some tricks that can help.

When you need to tell her something or give her direction, get close to her.  Put your hand on her shoulder if she's distracted.  Tell her what you need to say (in a calm, quiet voice).  Have her repeat it back to you.  "Larla, you have 30 minutes on your tablet and then it needs to be off for dinner time.  How many minutes do you have?  And then what do you need to do?"

If she's forgetting things that she knows better about, give a short, non-judgemental reminder.  "Larla, your jacket is on the floor.  Please hang it on the hook now."  There's a huge temptation to lecture, but it's pretty much always counterproductive.  If she's distracted, use the trick of touching her shoulder, quiet short directive, repeat it back.

Most of the time, the best solution for habitual forgetfulness is to create a better organizational system and routine.  If the routine is to go through her school folder and review homework assignments and due dates every evening when she gets home, it's harder to forget to do that.  Things like putting the folder back into her backpack should be done as soon as the work is completed, not "later", because she won't remember to do it later.  Even at 6, it's not too early to start keeping a calendar with her and it will build valuable organizational skills for when things get more complex later.

I'm not sure what the deal is with the eraser, but in general I remove items from easy access if I don't want the kids messing with them.  Diversion also works pretty well even for 6yos ... give her something else that will fill the function she's looking for ... fidget toy maybe?

[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics