Do you have Hyper Kids?

I have a lot of parents come to me saying their child is hyper or very energetic and are looking for an activity or camp to have their kids run off their energy. Usually they are young, 3-6 years old, or boys :)

Being in this business for over 20 years, I have had my fair share of energetic children. And as a new parent or a parent of a boy (yes, boys are usually different than raising girls) I totally see where they are coming from. It's exhausting. I get it.

The issue with having these children run out their energy is that they are then on a go-go mode ALL THE TIME. This is why they are exhausting. If you take them to a playground or have them run around the field, you may have run them out of physical energy but they never learn control. Then they burn out and usually it ends in a tantrum over something small. Then no one is happy :( They need to be taught to settle down. To control their energy and emotions.

In my experience these children need to learn self control and self regulation. How do they learn this? In our classes we integrate lessons that teach them self control with high energy drills. This way, they learn to control their bodies and their emotions. For instance, after a high energy drill, they may sit or come to attention to learn to control that energy. It is a behavior that needs to be taught. Changes can happen, but consistency is key.