My kid really struggles with time perception. It does help him somewhat to know that time blindness is a thing, helps him not feel like such a screwup.
An electric keyboard with a built in metronome to play with helped me to cement a rhythm, then time in my head. Playing at 60bpm helps to cement what 1 second feels like. From there the foundation builds. 60 beats is a minute, most songs are 3 minutes, that’s 180 beats.
I still remind myself that it’s a thing and I’m not a screwup. I’m in my 30’s and have been diagnosed for decades. Patience and grace is the best thing we can do for ourselves and other ADHD brains.
Cheers to that. If you have any magic tricks to help a little one deal with emotional reactivity, though, I’m all ears. Little fella gets upset faster than a dog eats bacon.
I feel like I’m just gonna regurgitate one of my therapists, but there are two things I try to do.
In the moment I try to stay mindful and recognize I’m getting worked up, that way I can take a step back, take a break, and come back with a clearer perspective.
Journaling also helps to reflect on the situation that triggered it and the response I had in the moment. Obviously the journaling depends on their age, but I think it’s probably a good practice to start as soon as they are able.
I’m a little OCD on keeping track of the time, not sure why. One thing I enjoy is wearing a watch. I’ll look at it half a dozen times in a row to make sure I read it right, but I also enjoy wearing it because I think it looks neat and I like seeing it and watching it tick.
Maybe a cheapish watch that the kid likes, and would want to wear rather than needing to remember to wear it, could help? A little dose of “that’s neat” while also seeing the time.
He got one of those toy smart watches as a birthday gift, but timekeeping is not really the point of such devices. A cheap simple timepiece would be better, I think.
My kid really struggles with time perception. It does help him somewhat to know that time blindness is a thing, helps him not feel like such a screwup.
An electric keyboard with a built in metronome to play with helped me to cement a rhythm, then time in my head. Playing at 60bpm helps to cement what 1 second feels like. From there the foundation builds. 60 beats is a minute, most songs are 3 minutes, that’s 180 beats.
I still remind myself that it’s a thing and I’m not a screwup. I’m in my 30’s and have been diagnosed for decades. Patience and grace is the best thing we can do for ourselves and other ADHD brains.
Cheers to that. If you have any magic tricks to help a little one deal with emotional reactivity, though, I’m all ears. Little fella gets upset faster than a dog eats bacon.
I feel like I’m just gonna regurgitate one of my therapists, but there are two things I try to do.
In the moment I try to stay mindful and recognize I’m getting worked up, that way I can take a step back, take a break, and come back with a clearer perspective.
Journaling also helps to reflect on the situation that triggered it and the response I had in the moment. Obviously the journaling depends on their age, but I think it’s probably a good practice to start as soon as they are able.
I’m a little OCD on keeping track of the time, not sure why. One thing I enjoy is wearing a watch. I’ll look at it half a dozen times in a row to make sure I read it right, but I also enjoy wearing it because I think it looks neat and I like seeing it and watching it tick.
Maybe a cheapish watch that the kid likes, and would want to wear rather than needing to remember to wear it, could help? A little dose of “that’s neat” while also seeing the time.
He got one of those toy smart watches as a birthday gift, but timekeeping is not really the point of such devices. A cheap simple timepiece would be better, I think.