Imagination

Hi! I'm a teacher and a mom, and I can tell you this is not all that unusual. She may very well be gifted--which is even more than having an imagination. Keep an eye on her as she grows up--she may grow out of it. 5 is very young for a child to try to sit still and pay attention. Kindergarten used to be about fingerpainting and fun, but now it is about reading, writing, and arithmetic. Many children just aren't ready for that intensity yet. If it continues as she grows, some may tell you that your daughter has the "girl version" of ADD, which often exhibits this way. My personal opinion, if that is the case, is that it's better to be aware of and work with the child's personality instead of medicating the life (or the imagination) out of her.

There are many questions I have to ask about this.

Did she go to preschool? if not, she may be adjusting to a classroom environment. Give her a few more weeks to adjust and see if she comes around.

Is her teacher fairly new? MANY! Kindergarteners need to be physically touched to "pop out of it" when their mind has wandered. Simply have the teacher touch her shoulder as she’s walking past and she should “wake-up” from her day dream. It is VERY common, and an experienced teacher would recognize the signs.

If neither of these fit, there is a possibility of a learning disability. ADD is different from ADHD. One can be “Attention Deficit” without being “Hyperactive”. ADD, ADHD, and seizers have all been studied as possible “side effects” of exceptionally HIGH intellect. So many people see these terms as “a diagnosis for rejection amongst classmates, and disfavor amongst teachers,” but if people actually understood the cause they would treat them as the Little “Einstiens” they are. BTW- according to current medical protocol, Einstein would likely have been diagnosed with ADHD! Can you imagine if he would have been “labeled” with such a negative connotation as ADHD currently is?!? No more e=mc2. I just laugh at how people see this as BAD, because they don’t understand what the diagnosis REALLY means.

I hope this helps~ J.

You may have her checked for epilepsy. When I was a kid, I had petit-mal seizures that would cause me to "zone out" for minutes at a time. No one knows what caused it with me. I never had a head injury or anything like that. I was on medication from 2nd-7th grades, and when they took me off the meds, the seizures never came back.

Don't want to be all alarmist or anything, but it's a possibility.

I think that if we understand what is normal for each age group it would make parenting a lot less stressful. about a month ago a family friend who is majoring in Early Child Development, told me that at my sons' age it takes up to 60 seconds to process the information I am giving him. I had never heard this before. My son just turned 6 this week. I hope this helps.

its excellent that she is in her world of imagination. If she is a good child then she is perfect! You should support her in her world always. Did she get her immunization shots by the way/ Im just wondering about this becouse I heard awful stories and alot of facts for them being harmful for our children.

i dont want to scare you. But my friend has a daughter who had the same [problem. it turns out than when she zoned out she was having seizures. She has epilepsy. This was 7 years ago and it went away. with medication that is.
Check with her doctor.

M.

Could you buy her an inexpensive tape recorder so she can make up stories and record them? Encourage her to express her imagination outside of school. Have her dictate any stories she has in her head so you can write them down for her.

I too am a single parent of a 5 year old girl. She has a vivid and active imagination. I have found that by giving her a channel to express it has helped her focus at other times.

My daughter starts kinder in a month and I am working on these things with her now.

Also, give her plenty of time and space at home to just be. Yes she needs to do homework and any chores you ask of her, but try not to over schedule her. I know that is hard as a single parent as we often times need an activity for our child so we can work.

Good luck. It is normal and with the right encouragement she will learn when is a good time to use her imagination and when she needs to pay better attention.

M.

I was so much like that as a child. I did great in school but almost all of my report cards have comments saying that I daydreamed too much in class. I would agree that she's probably just in her zone and tuning people out. As long as she's learning, speaking and processing things on a normal level, I wouldn't be too concerned. I'm still like that as an adult. At work I get into my zone and it's an ongoing joke that I tune people out. Good luck and hope my advice eases your mind a little.

hello. i work with special needs and learning disabled children. your daughter may just be a normal 5 year old with that great imagination-like you wrote. as for the hearing test, is your doctor familiar with the different auditory process disorders? you may want a second opinion. be patient. i have a 13 year old with asperger's, i know and understand. i have had teacher's say one thing, the doctor say another, and i myself have my own gut feeling- plus extensive research.