A lot of parents, in fact, I would say, most parents, are so concerned about their child that they use the term ‘hyperactive’ so very casually to describe their children. “My child is hyperactive” is a refrain we hear every so often.

Actually, the first step is to stop referring to the child as ‘hyperactive’ even if the child is hyperactive. We never use the word ‘hyperactive’. We use the word ‘playful’.

As is pointed out in this book (see Sec.V, Chap.1, ‘Words & Your Child’), the words we use have an inbuilt karma in them. The moment we label the child ‘hyperactive’, that aspect of the child’s personality starts rising to the fore more and more.

On the other hand, when you say a child is playful, you suddenly see the child in a different perspective, and his playfulness appears as just playfulness and not falling into the category of ‘hyperactivity’.

The child is now seen as one with a tremendous amount of energy. These very playful children just cannot sit in one place; they jump about all the time. What do we do with such children?

But before we study about that, let us look at the probable cause of this high energy level or the so-called hyperactivity in children.

We don’t have to go too far for answers. We just have to look at the parents. There is a high probability of either or both parents being disturbed, anxious, agitated or irritated. There could be a tremendous disturbance in the mother–father relationship, which could have had a bearing on the child’s behaviour. When the parents themselves are not relaxed, or at least one of them is not relaxed, their behaviour definitely affects the child.

So, the easiest way is to harmonise the relationship between the mother and the father, and relax their environment; automatically, we will see a tremendous difference in the child. Considering an existing situation where your child is already displaying the so-called hyperactivity, what do you do?

First things first, such children require a tremendous amount of physical activity to burn their extra energy. So, they need to be taken outdoors, to parks, beaches etc. where the parent or both the parents play rough-and-tough games which involve a great deal of physical activity like running, jumping, swimming etc. Don’t send the child out with the maid; do it yourself. Such children need a huge amount of play outdoors, anything that will tire them out. Once they are tired out, introduce them to music, or a musical instrument, to channelise their energies.

Thus, the parents need to spend a lot of time with their child to help expend and direct his or her physical energy.

In case of an extreme situation where things have really gone out of hand, medical assistance can be sought. But, in most cases, parents altering their own behaviour, and directing and channelising their child’s physical energies through sport sorts matters out.