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Tuning In
15 Strategies for Focusing Children's Energy
By Cara J. Stevens
There are many reasons kids may have low energy at school or on the field. They can be distracted, hungry, tired, not challenged or challenged too much in class, troubled by life issues at home, dealing with a class that may be suffering from a lack of variety or lack of physical activity, or they may simply crash at a certain time of day. We asked some experts for their recommendations on how to help kids tune in and catch the beat in the classroom, at home and on the field.
1. Observe your child. "Part of understanding a child can be to observe and come to know where their energy or enthusiasm seems most apparent," says Charlotte Tilson, a developmental clinical psychologist in San Francisco, Calif. "You can then build on your child's strengths and help him participate in areas in which his natural 'energy' is not high."
2. Share your expectations. "Set consistent routines and expectations for follow through at home, creating routines for school nights, bedtime and mornings," says Yu Linda Song, an educational consultant who works as a literacy coach and program evaluator in San Francisco, Calif. "Students who come to school with a sense of adult authority and limits fare well in school."
3. Enlist teachers' support. If you are concerned about your child's performance in school or at home, a teacher can help provide some insight and guidance and work with you to support your efforts at home.
4. Work with your child. "Build in time for your child to check his work with you," Song says. "And reward focused time with a compliment and a hug." After a significant task has been completed, work in a 15-minute active break – a seventh inning stretch, shooting some hoops, a five-song dance party or a five-point game of table football.
