• Skip to content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • Shop ModernMom
  • Become An Insider

ModernMom

The premiere destination for moms

  • Parenting
    • Pregnancy
    • Baby
    • Kids
    • Tweens and Teens
    • ModernMom Monday Videos
  • Cooking
  • Living Healthy
    • Breast Cancer
    • Health & Fitness
    • Body after Baby
    • Beauty
    • Relationships
    • Love
  • Lifestyle
    • Crafts
    • At Home
    • Education
    • Travel
    • Pets
    • Decorate
    • Money
    • Brooke Burke
  • Celebrate
    • Holidays
      • Easter
      • Valentine’s Day
      • New Year’s
      • Christmas
      • Hanukah
      • Halloween
      • Thanksgiving
    • Birthdays
    • Parties
  • Must Have
  • Contests
  • Entertainment

Medicating Hyperactive Kids

December 10, 2010 by ds_48763 Leave a Comment

Once you’ve determined that you have a hyperactive kid, you may feel pressure to medicate him. Maybe the school administrators are telling you that medication can help your child do better in school. It may, but medication is not the only option you have for treating a hyperactive kid or a kid who has attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Hyperactive Kids

Hyperactive kids typically have trouble paying attention in school, are more active or impulsive than other kids, often lose things and are easily distracted. They can be fidgety, blurt out answers in school, have trouble waiting in line, interrupt people and have difficulty sitting still or playing quietly.

Stimulants

It may sound odd, but stimulants such as Ritalin, Adderall and Dexedrine are the drugs of choice to medicate hyperactive kids. They work by increasing dopamine levels. By increasing dopamine, you increase pleasure, motivation and attention, helping your kid to focus and concentrate. Not surprisingly, many teens who are not prescribed these medications like to abuse them because these pills give them a boost when cramming for tests or to help them lose weight. If you decide to get a stimulant medication for your child, make sure that she doesn’t share her pills.

Stimulant Side Effects

If you give your child stimulants for his hyperactivity, he might experience side effects, such as feeling restless, loss of appetite, headaches, mood swings and depression. He may also become withdrawn, listless, less talkative and less spontaneous. Stimulants also raise heart rate and blood pressure. The American Heart Association recommends that your child have a cardiac evaluation prior to starting on a stimulant. You must monitor the medication’s effects while your child takes it. Give your child the lowest possible dose.

Lifestyle Changes

Medications for hyperactive kids are not magic pills. The pills won’t cure your child; the best they can do is to relieve symptoms. Medications won’t solve all your child’s problems, either. A hyperactive child needs lifestyle changes in addition to any medication. Eating healthy foods, getting enough exercise and sleep and having an organized household can help a hyperactive child.

Food, Exercise, Sleep and Routines

What and when you eat can affect your mood and your energy level. Not only should you limit junk food and sugary drinks, your child should eat on a schedule. Exercise is one of the best methods to alleviate hyperactive symptoms because exercise naturally boosts the brain’s dopamine levels. Hyperactive kids often have difficulty falling asleep and have difficulty waking up as a result. This makes a child irritable. By implementing a quiet time one or two hours before bed and by enforcing a regular bedtime, you can help your child sleep better. Routines and simple schedules help your child keep focused and on track. Try the behavioral techniques first before you start your child on medication.

Comments

comments

Filed Under: Parenting

About ds_48763

Laura Agadoni has been writing professionally since 1983. Her feature stories on area businesses, human interest, and health and fitness appear in her local newspaper. She has also written and edited for a grassroots outreach effort and has been published in "Clean Eating" magazine and in "Dimensions" magazine, a CUNA Mutual publication. Agadoni has a Bachelor of Arts in communications from California State University-Fullerton.

Reader Interactions

Primary Sidebar

Tell a friend

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Search

ModernMom Boutique

ModernMom TV

Featured

Coconut Oil

Why Coconut Oil Is So Good For Pregnant & Nursing Mothers

“Coconut oil contains large amounts of lauric acid, a … [Read More...] about Why Coconut Oil Is So Good For Pregnant & Nursing Mothers

Must Have

ToniBox

Meet Toniebox – A Loveable Storytime Friend For Your Kids

If you are looking for something to occupy your children … [Read More...] about Meet Toniebox – A Loveable Storytime Friend For Your Kids

Did you know?

women get pregnant if she Is not ovulating

Can a Women Get Pregnant if She Is Not Ovulating?

How to Fix a Broken Slab of Marble

pregnancy & tooth pain

Pregnancy & Tooth Pain

stop a new piercing from itching

How to Stop a New Piercing From Itching

Advantages & Disadvantages for Children in a Single-Parent Family

average breast size of a woman

The Average Breast Size of a Woman

Academic Parental Pressure on Kids

The Effects of Academic Parental Pressure on Kids

Footer

  • About Us
  • Contact ModernMom
  • Advertise With Us
  • Press
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Contributors

Copyright © 2021 Modern Mom. All Rights Reserved.

Reproduction of any portion of this website only at the express permission of Mom, Inc.

The information provided on ModernMom is for educational use only. It should not be used as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.