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8 Purposeful Activities For Kids With ADHD to Improve Self-Regulation and Promote Emotional Well-Being

By Malynn Kuangparichat, Psy.D., J.D. 

As a parent or caregiver, you’re often looking for ways to help your child with ADHD improve their self-regulation skills. And, as a parent of three kiddos myself, I can safely assume you’re looking for activities that are simple and easy to implement.

I curated this list of 8 purposeful activities for your child with ADHD to not only boost confidence, but also improve self-regulation skills and promote emotional well-being. If you’re looking specifically for tips on improving executive function for your child, then read my blog post here.

Some of these activities can be incorporated into daily chores and provide a fun way to let out energy while getting things done around the house.

Best of all, these activities foster bonding time that strengthens your relationship with you and your child.

For my own kiddos, we play a lot of word games while driving since we don’t typically allow electronics in the car. 

What we do is say any word and the next person has to take the last sound or letter of the word to come up with a new word. We’re now slowly moving over to categories (e.g., Elephant – Tiger – Rabbit). 

My kids and I play it so often that it has become an inside joke to say “tomato” because they know I have difficulty coming up with “o” words. Then, they end up giggling with glee because I’ve lost that round with them.

So, without further ado, take a look at the list below and try one of the activities with your child. While you play together, feel free to adjust the activity to best fit your child’s needs.

Cleaning Activities For ADHD Kids

CLEAN UP GAME

  • Race to see how many toys you and your child can get into a laundry basket.

SORTING GAME

  • Set a timer and time how quickly he can sort the clean utensils from the dishwasher rack back into the drawer.

LAUNDRY DELIVERY GAME

  • Find a box to use as a ‘laundry delivery vehicle.’ Then have your child fold, sort, and put away laundry.

Cooking Activities For Self-Regulation

PREPPING

  • Have your child help prep a meal by getting a certain # of food items, like tortillas and cheese, out of their respective storage bags.

COOKING

  • Depending on age, your child can help you measure, mix, and stir. This provides opportunities for her to listen and follow directions.

Out-And-About-Waiting Activities That Promotes Emotional Well-Being

CLOUD GAZING

  • This calming activity promotes creativity, imagination, and positively affects mental health. Together, look up at the clouds and share what shapes and animals you can see. Studies have shown that being out in nature has a positive impact on mental health and well-being.

GUESSING GAMES

  • Try playing 20 questions or I Spy while on a car ride or waiting in line at the store. These games get your child categorizing and using selective attention to search for the object.

NATURE SCAVENGER HUNT

  • Search for things in nature with a certain color, shape, or size. If you live in an urban setting, try looking for traffic signs, buildings, or vehicles with a certain color, shape, or size. 

Consider Getting Your Child Tested For ADHD

There are a plethora of fun and engaging activities to help your child with ADHD work on self-regulation and build confidence. At CCWB, we highly recommend, as a first step, getting your child tested for ADHD. 

Our therapy practice specializes in psychological and psycho-educational testing to identify the underlying causes of ADHD behavioral concerns. This allows our trained clinicians to address your child’s emotional and mental health issues affecting their daily life. 

Moreover, testing provides key information to create a customized plan for your child, including skills implementation through therapy activities. You can learn more about testing in my blog post “3 Things to Know About Psychological and Psycho-Educational Testing.”

Lastly, I hope you try some of these engaging and easily implementable activities with your child. Not only are they fun, but they also improve self-regulation and increase mental health and well-being.

Contact Us

Curious about getting your child tested for ADHD? Chester County Well-Being (CCWB) provides a range of mental health services to ensure we meet our community’s needs. We serve youth and families in the Chester County and greater PA area. Reach out to us here.

Our specializations for youth and families include:

  • AD/HD
  • Parenting Support
  • Stress Management
  • Family Counseling
  • Therapy for Depression and Anxiety
  • Self-Harm 
  • Perfectionism
  • Autism spectrum disorders
  • Addiction & Recovery
  • Conflict Resolution

Disclaimer: The contents of this blog does not constitute a clinical relationship or replace the need for professional services. 

Teletherapy

In addition to in-person services, Dr. Malynn Kuangparichat provides high quality and secure telepsychology services in participating PSYPACT states. All other clinicians offer teletherapy services for the state of PA.

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About the Author

Malynn Kuangparichat (Psy.D., J.D.) is founder and psychologist at Chester County Well-Being.  

She has a collaborative approach that results in highly tailored evaluations intended to meet her clients’ unique needs. She focuses on an individual’s strengths, which are integrated in the practical, personalized recommendations identified by the findings of an evaluation. 

In her free time, she enjoys running, spending time with family and friends, and getting ice cream or doughnuts from the local shops.

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