It takes a lot of energy to keep up with any child, but when it comes to a child who has been diagnosed with ADHD, there are very few parents who can keep up the pace. While children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder are in constant motion but also impulsive, so you never know which direction they might move in next.
3 Fun Ways to Keep Foster Kids with ADHD Entertained
As a result, you will want to find fun things to do that will hold their attention. Not only will the following activities keep foster kids with ADHD entertained, but they are also a great way to get to know a little more about these kids who have come into your life.
1. Crafting
Crafting is a great way to get to know a little bit more about children who are placed in your care. Whether it’s cooking, gardening, woodworking, or any other craft, you can watch what they do to ‘read’ into emotions they might be unwilling to express. Foster care agencies tell you what they know, but there are some things the kids keep hidden for several reasons.
Maybe they are afraid they won’t be accepted if we know their thoughts even though they know we’ve had some family history from the foster agency. For example, the Fostering People in Scotland will give you as much information as possible when placing kids with you, but that may not include what the kids are feeling inside. Crafting might give you visual clues as to their emotions, usually coming out when making something. Their emotions take on a life in whatever they are creating.
2. Scavenger Hunts
A scavenger hunt is a fantastic way to keep kids with ADHD entertained. At the beginning of the game, they are given a list of things they need to find. These typically take place outdoors, where items have been hidden at distances from each other. The kids need to run about seeking the next thing, and until all the items have been collected, they are in constant motion.
Not only does this hold the attention of kids with attention deficit disorder, but if they are hyperactive, it keeps them on their toes! A scavenger hunt, then, seeks to address both hyperactivity and difficulty concentrating simultaneously.
3. Spontaneous Adventures
Since kids with ADHD are impulsive and constantly in motion, a spontaneous adventure typically interests them. On a whim, or so it seems to them, you decide it’s time to go on an adventure to someplace they’ve probably never been before. If they have, it wasn’t with you so that you can make an adventure of it. Perhaps it’s going on a walk through the nearest public park or spending a day in the country looking for the best heather and lavender fields to visit one day.
Fun Ways to Keep Foster Kids with ADHD Entertained
It isn’t about what you are doing so much as it is about ‘deciding at the moment’ to do something other than your homework after school. Of course, as their carer, you will need to plan this all out ahead, but they won’t know you’ve done that. It must be ‘spontaneous’ if it will serve its purpose of being just that, spontaneous. There are so many things you can do to keep them entertained, but whatever you do, remember the one most important rule of thumb. Whatever you do must be a busy activity because that is how they live – spontaneously active. Once you’ve got that down, you are good to go.