Moms of 5yr olds/kindergarteners

Am I the only Mom with a kid with NO attention span? I mean, he is always day dreaming, singing and humming. Takes forever to eat food and I have to ask him a few times to do things. I don't get it and I'm worried it may be an attention deficit problem. At parent teacher meeting, the teacher expressed her concern with him daydreaming but she also said that he is learning and reading at level so she doesn't know what's going on in his head. She is not recommending any testing for ADD bc of this. I don't know, it just drives me crazy! I'm constantly worried ab this and hoping it's just a young boy thing.

Re: Moms of 5yr olds/kindergarteners

Could be be bored?

The teacher might have to repeat things for other kids but he got it the first time so he drifts away? That happened w/ my sister. Once she was challenged in school she stopped drifting.

Re: Moms of 5yr olds/kindergarteners

Just because he is reading and testing at K level doesn't mean he doesnt have ADD. There are a few kinds of ADD, they are not all hyperactive. He could have ADD Inattentive.

Or it could just be a normal kid thing lol ! Its so hard to tell.
Did his teacher give you any ideas on how to work on this with him ?

Re: Moms of 5yr olds/kindergarteners

Re: Moms of 5yr olds/kindergarteners

Yes, I was thinking the inattentive one bc he is extremely well behaved in school. The teacher kinda laughed it off like it was not really an issue but said she was aware of the daydreaming. I will def keep an eye on him and see if this doesn't get better. She didn't really give us tips on how to improve his focus. Just thinks it's part of being a boy and young for his class.

Re: Moms of 5yr olds/kindergarteners

I would say it's definitely common for kindergarten boys.

You can ask to have a CSE called where the school will evaluate him or you can bring him to a neurologist for a private evaluation for ADD.

Re: Moms of 5yr olds/kindergarteners

You might want to check out
ADHD

As a school psychologist, there are a few things to consider. How much is your son's daydreaming interfering with his functioning in school and/or at home?

Is your son making progress in school? At this point, if he is doing okay academically, there is not much that the school is likely to do in terms of services. However, if you have concerns/questions, call the school psychologist. S/he may be willing to observe your son in class and/or do an ADHD screening (the disorder is now called ADHD, not ADD). A school psychologist will not, however, make a formal diagnosis. A diagnosis could be made by a pediatrician (though some will refer you to a specialist), psychologist, psychiatrist, or neurologist.

Also, what would you do if your DS were diagnosed with ADHD? Would you consider meds? Would you try behavioral techniques to address problem behaviors? You can always try behavioral strategies without a diagnosis.
Feel free to FM me if you have any questions.

Re: Moms of 5yr olds/kindergarteners

Wow! Your son sounds JUST LIKE MINE. Same thing..I have to tell him something about 5 times before it gets done...but only something that he doesn't want to do like put his shoes on, clean up his toys, etc.
He daydreams in class playing with his gluestick when he should be cutting, hums songs all the time, and his teacher has to redirect him on activities that he isn't interested in (for him its anything to do with art or coloring).

He is completely on his grade level for early reading skills and math. He currently receives speech and through all his testing by his teacher and school psychologist, attention problems consistently comes up as red flag. I am in the process of getting him tested for ADHD. He shows all the signs for the inattentive part, not the hyperactive part.

I get sad sometimes because I can get easily frustrated with him. Its not that he doesn't listen or ignores us on purpose, its that he literally can't help it sometimes. Little things can be such a battle for him too.

Re: Moms of 5yr olds/kindergarteners

It could be nothing or it could be something. Because the teacher has also mentioned it, I think it pays to evaluate further. It's almost always beneficial to know as early as possible if there is an issue and either way, when you explore it further you will get ideas about how to help him out.

Re: Moms of 5yr olds/kindergarteners

My DS is 4 and in Pre-K but, he can sometimes definitely be like this. However, I don't think it's a problem b/c it is only evident when doing things like you describe - eating, listening to me. When he is doing what HE wants to do his attention span is just fine Do you find that your DS is ok other times? I also agree that he might be bored. I have noticed that with my DS in school. He has told me sometimes that he stops listening b/c they are just talking about things he already knows