ADHD & Attention Deficits, General Information, Success Stories
Success Story: Veronica
My kids loved the CoordiKids videos and the exercises. But, we had difficulty with “He touched me!” and “She’s in my space.” So, my having to repeat, “No pushing to be in the front” and “Move over” had me worried.
I am glad that I didn’t let the worries overtake me.
We persisted and learned a few lessons so the kids could respect each other’s space. Now while I finish getting ready at 6:45 AM, I can hear one of the kids downstairs taking out the yoga mats and getting Coordi kids set up. A few minutes later, I’ll watch the four kids peacefully following the exercises, like a TV commercial, while I’m fixing breakfast.
Now, in addition to the development benefits gained by doing CoordiKids, (they are enjoying this school year with more confidence than in prior years), they have the benefit of learning to work together – a lesson that also benefits other areas of our daily lives.
You may be working hard for the development of the kids. It isn’t easy, and you wonder how you’ll get them to cooperate. I wanted to offer some lessons learned because it is worth persisting. Perhaps you’ll find an idea that helps you continue and get that feeling like you won a gold medal.
~ Veronica, Parent
4 Tips to Reduce Squabbles with Mulitple Kids doing CoordiKids at Home
- Get yoga mats or some way to identify each child’s space.
Without their own yoga mats, they bumped into each other and wiggled away. With the mats, they had an idea of their space. We learned to stagger each person and give enough space between the yoga mats. Now CoordiKids time is peaceful and productive. - Find a consistent space in the rhythm of YOUR life to do Coordikids.
At first, we tried to do Coordi Kids in the evening. But we were inconsistent, and at least one kid would resist and run off. Eventually, I realized it would work better for me in the morning before school because I had energy and valued the idea of starting our day with movement. Then I had the energy to get all kiddos on the same rhythm to the point one kiddo set up, and everyone would join in. - Every time you feel like criticizing, give a compliment instead.
While remote schooling, when the COVID pandemic first began, I watched my daughter’s kindergarten teacher review each student’s writing. To one child, she’d say, “Look, you remembered the period at the end of the sentence,” to another, ‘Great job spelling our sight word.” The teacher never mentioned the misspellings, missed capitals, or mistakes. Instead, the teacher continued until she taught an entire lesson about writing by complementing each kid on one thing they did well.When I didn’t remember the lesson of the kindergarten teacher and I critiqued my kids, they rarely changed what they were doing. When I remembered the kindergarten teacher’s lesson and gave a compliment, the kiddo smiled, and the others adjusted what they were doing and said, “Look, Mom, how am I doing?” Eventually, I learned that when I got the urge to critique a kiddo, it was time to look for a kiddo who was doing it well and give a compliment. Then everyone felt good, self-corrected, and we made more progress.
- It is progress, not perfection – give grace and celebrate the progress
Pausing and praising progress was very helpful. It looked like occasionally saying something like:
- “Remember when ____ used to be hard? Now you make it look effortless.” Or
- “Did you notice it used to take us 10 minutes to get ready; now we get ready in 5 minutes!”
As we took a moment to notice and praise progress, the good feelings fed our persistence. And after praising progress enough, the kids would help me out if I had a hostile spell. If I critiqued them, they’d say, “But look, Mom, see how much progress we’ve already made!” Then it was easier to step back in and keep it up.
My kids have enjoyed each level of CoordiKids exercises, and I loved the description of what was being worked on before each exercise. It is an excellent program, and I am grateful that my kids are more capable both physically and interpersonally due to CoordiKids.
I hope you found something you can use to help your family and kiddo get to that inner feeling like you’ve just won a gold medal with the progress your kiddo and family make.
