Hyper Child

My son has ADHD, my daughter does not. My daughter did however, have a difficult time adjusting to kindergarten. Her first month was very difficult and she did come home with the colors, frowny faces, etc. I didn't worry so much about testing etc., because I knew from my son's diagnosis that she wasn't ADD. I worked very closely with the teacher and at home to let her know what kinds of behavior were OK at school and what was expected at school. She struggled for about a month -- then she was fine. Green smiley faces for the rest of the year. Communication with the teacher and working together was the key!

Make sure he is getting enough exercise.
Timeouts and chore charts didn't work for my son starting at about age 5. I make him run laps around our garage and garden area in the backyard. The number of laps depends on what he did and how hyper he was acting. I know they can't do that at school but maybe at home that would help.

He is NOT a hyper child.....He is a NORMAL child.

My daughter started last week as well. She got stickers the first 2 days, I got a CALL from her teacher on the 3rd day (with a red mark), a yellow mark on Thursday, and a yellow mark that was obviously changed to red on Friday. UGH! She knows what school is like - Montessori since 18 months, and daycare since 9 weeks! I think it's just adjustment (as were the crying spells when dropping her off). I think we can both do virtual cheers with a beverage of choice and let our kiddos adjust. I feel your angst...really, I do!
(her issue was talking too much and there is another girl in her class where apparenty they have to be seperated!)

HAve a conversation with your child's teacher to talk about strategies to help him follow directions and concentrate when needed. He can do it from what you say, so he just needs to know that he has to do it in school. Having a lot of energy means that he needs to just keep going and it can be quite tiring. See if you can have conversations with your son about what to do in school and reward that as well since it seems to work for him at home. Between you and your teacher, you'll figure out what's best.

Do not let anyone tell you that your child could have ADHD at this age! That seems to be the typical answer from so many people and school officials. You said that he is capable of learning - that he can sit down and do work. There are some children (and adults) who truly may have ADHD but I think that it is so overdiagnosed and there are so many children out there on these drugs that really don't need them. Go to www.feingold.org and pick up a copy of the book Why Can't My Child Behave?. A lot of kids can be affected by artificial colors, flavorings, and preservatives in food. My son is one of them. He is very smart but can't focus well and can be hyper and very annoying if he does not eat the right foods. We see such a huge difference in him when he eliminates these things from his diet. Exercise is important too! At the kindergarten level you really need to take action to make sure he does not get any of the foods he should not have if you decide to go this route. I hate that schools allow teachers to give out candy/treats and allow parents to bring in treats for their child's birthday. If you can't get the treats/birthday cupcakes eliminated from the classroom tell the teacher that you will provide candy (Trader Joe's has a good selection and so does squirrels nest (on-line)). You can keep alternatives to cupcakes as well in the classroom. Give it a try and good luck!

dont be in a hurry to medicate the child, it may be that the teacher is expecting too much of the child, ask questions, and demand answers. does the teacher expect the same behavior from all the students, the teacher may be playing favorites, or they just might not want to deal with a non medicated child.
K. h.

If your son is hyper most of the time and doesn't respond to rewards charts, he may not be able to control his behavior. Our oldest has ADHD and didn't respond to rewards or punishments. He couldn't control his body so while he wanted to do well, he just couldn't. A lot of people downplayed my concerns "Oh, he's just a typical active boy" when there really was a problem. Trust your gut instinct.

Give it some time but if the bad reports persist, I'd ask the pediatrician for a referral to a specialist who can do an evaluation. If it is ADHD, there's so much that can be done to help him, allowing him to thrive at home and at school.

Give it a week, but also stay in communication with the teacher ... find out from your doctor what he/she would want to see in your child to indicate further testing and watch out for those ... many kids are also Dr Jekell and Mr Hyde and home/school you could have one of those on your hands as well. I would monitor the situation and expect it to get worse before it gets better he may have to fully test the waters here.

BTW my son IS adhd, 4y/o (almost 5) and he has been TOO good at school (day 2) I am waiting for the blow up to happen ... he has been kicked out of two establishments until I decided to stay home ... we shall see what happens.

How colorful. :)

I am probably not the best mom to answer this but I am bored so here we go. In 12 years it is not going to matter what he learned, what colors he got and whether he was perfect sleeper in kindergarten.

Yes, I really just said that......because it is true!

Having said that there are a couple things in your post that would lead me to believe your son could be ADHD but so what? it is kindergarten. If it becomes a real problem, I guess black and blue?, then talk to a doctor about being evaluated.

All four of my kids are ADD one having a mess of letters that leads to Autism spectrum. None of them were diagnosed until the summer between kindergarten and first grade. Two of them are adults and I might add viable members of society. It will work out. :)

Is he tired or over-tired?
Does he get enough sleep?
Many times, an over-tired child... becomes more "hyper" when tired.

My son is like that. When very tired, he gets more hyper.
I know that about him.
Thus, he naps. Still.
And still goes to bed at night just fine.

Kids also when tired, have a hard time following direction.
They can't concentrate.