How do you guys feel about putting a 6 yr. old boy that hasn't been diagnosed with add/adhd (but I full well know that he is: but we are against medications at this time) into Martial Arts? I know 'all' children are different; but we feel that it gives him a 'controlled' setting to let our all of his excess energies. We finally found one that deals with 'focusing' and 'respect' rather than one that just focusing on 'physical' limitations.Martial arts aren't just for add kids. I think it would be good for anykid. As long as he enjoys the activity then I'd say go for it.
As for the diagnoses you don't have to put him on meds after he is diagnosed. That is completely up to you. The good thing about getting a proper diagnoses is you will have more pull with his school if he starts having problems. You can also try to treat his add with behavoral therapy. Medication is usually the last resort but having the officialy diagnosis gives you more options for the future. I did read where it is recommened for ADD/ADHD kids because it teaches them self discipline. If my daughter was not already a dance girl I would have considered it. Uggh her recital is only 1 month and 1 week away.My 12 yr. olds Doctor just suggested he get involved with martial arts. She said it's really good for kids with ADD/ADHD for structure and discipline. ???? I don't know, my son already plays soccer and is going to play football this fall.
Talked with my son's instructor and he said, "IF your son is in soccer, football, t-ball, etc..(other sports) he should NOT come here because he wants the child to 'want' to come first of all but they have to be committed to karate. What I found is that he 'really' enjoys karate and if he learns nothing else he will learn respect as well as 'earn' it himself. Thanks for all your help and words of wisdom. Jillette: G'luck on your daughter's recital. She'll be just fine. Hi. ADHD mom and so are her two kids.
My son, who's not getting into puberty, he took martial arts for awhile and he loved it. He did well at it and he was not going around trying to use it on people or teachers. It's very cool and stimulating. What they teach you in other areas is extremely important too.---my daughter is the dancer.
was always in sports as a kid and then high school sports.
I know that martial arts helps my ADHD quite a bit--excess energy
release and learning how to "control" myself. Over the years I have seen
kids start classes as shy, self-concious, or just out of control and after
about 6 weeks you can see a huge change in them! I'm not saying this will
carry over to home and school--but I think it helps!
I recommend looking for a school that has kids classes that are less than
1 hour long and fairly small classes with kid-friendly teachers. Also ask
about how the karate school merges with home and school. Two of the
schools I have attended require any student under 18 to get progress
reports from parents and teachers when it comes time to test (with going
to college and vet school during my martial arts time I have moved and
have had to choose new schools and I've noticed that the schools that
require this tend to be better structured). This way there is good
communication between everyone and you can monitor improvement in
skills in different situations.
I would avoid schools that emphasize competition (some tournaments are
great!), but with schools that want to compete there tends to be more
focus on the physical part of the art than the mental part.
As mentioned before, I think martial arts are a great sport for anyone!
Good luck!
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