So after a short break, getting into new routine of pre-school with oldest Kids Storyworld is back. I say routine…what I mean is the drop off and pick up times are always the same and the rest seems a crazy whirlwind of me repeating myself 3billion times to get shoes/coat/stop sitting on your brother/ and tantrums (mainly the 2 year old but occasionally me if I get to the 4 billionth time of “Stop doing that and get dressed we’ll be late!”

Anyhow all settling in ok and eldest loves the new nursery. However he has sooooooooooo much energy!!! Constant bouncing around and not sitting still more so if he’s tired or excited or bored. It’s been tricky getting him to listen. I was chatting to his gymnastics instructor about it and explained how he doesn’t sit still and she coincidentally mentioned that they’d recently had a blog about it. Apparently (and I am not a doctor or a professional so cannot medically verify) children who are still developing their core muscles fidget. If they sit still for too long then their brain essentially goes to sleep and they fidget to wake it up again. Also children are spending more time having to sit still when they need to be outside playing and running and jumping etc. At the school on the parents’ morning the teacher mentioned that she’d started taking O outside with a few others for a quick run around before sitting down again. The days are shorter than at his previous Nursery and I had noticed a change in behaviour (always hyper but more so now) but had put it down to overtiredness and new environment so kept afternoons pretty calm and not too much activity. Since speaking to the children’s gym instructor and having a quick nosy online at articles I’ve changed that and now we go to the park or have an activity after school. I thought it would be too much for him but it’s actually helped.

Every child is different and there are of course times where hyperactivity isn’t just a case of a run around in the park and it’s necessary to seek professional help but here are a couple of articles that have really helped me:

Why Children Fidget: And What We Can Do About It- Balanced and Barefoot

The Real Reason Your Child Can’t Sit Still…

Why so many kids can’t sit still in school today

Children need to learn to focus and to learn that quiet is sometimes necessary but I’m definitely encouraging him to move more and if we have something we need to concentrate on then I try and give him an aim and a sort of wriggle reward. For example we did an alphabet puzzle as he’s still not quite there with letter recognition (which I’m fine with but he loves puzzles so I thought it would be a good way to encourage concentration and learn letters). I told him we could get to E and then go outside and have a “bubble blowing break”. The break was only for a couple of minutes and we did this ever few minutes but the overall task was quicker than if I’d spent the time trying to get him to sit still from A-Z and we enjoyed it.

So thanks for reading! Would love to hear any tips or stories you might like to share.

Book Review

So the last 2 weeks the book of choice has been The Tickle Book by Ian Whybrow & Axel Scheffler. It’s sooooo much fun!!!! There are things to turn, lift and push and pull and is great for tickles and giggles. Would also make a lovely gift. The age would probably be from around 3 – whatever age they still enjoy tickles at. Really love this book!