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Musical Games for Children With ADHD

Playing musical games can be an enjoyable and constructive way to entertain a child with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Children with ADHD find it difficult to cope with long waiting periods or games that are too complex, having numerous stages to be completed. Musical games can be immediately rewarding, helping the child to focus and improve coordination and concentration.

  1. Musical Chairs

    • Musical chairs is a classic children's game that requires attention and good listening skills. By rewarding concentration, it encourages children to focus and pay attention in an enjoyable way. It also is a physically active game. The game is simple and straightforward: children dance around a circle of chairs, in which there is one less chair than there are children. When the music stops, the children must sit. Whoever does not get a seat is out of the game. When the music starts again, another chair is removed. This continues until there is only one chair left. Whoever sits in the last chair is the winner.

    Musical Instruments

    • Learning a musical instrument improves attention span and increases hand-eye coordination. However, learning more complex musical instruments, such as the violin, can involve a lot of patience, which could be frustrating for a child with ADHD. Allowing a child with ADHD to experiment with playing the drums or a keyboard can stimulate an interest in playing, which can lead to a desire for lessons. Playing the drum in time to a CD or to another instrument can be entertaining and has many of the benefits of learning a musical instrument: it improves hand-eye coordination and fosters a sense of rhythm and music appreciation.

    Music & Art

    • Both music and art are good ways for a child with ADHD to express himself. Combining the two allows children to improve their various skills while being creative. Try playing a CD and encouraging the child to draw pictures expressing the beats in the music. Do this with various types of music (fast and slow, hip-hop and classical), while exploring a whole range of colors and watch the child's creativity emerge.

    Music & Dance

    • Dance is a great way to help a child with ADHD to be more active. Simply dancing to music at home can be enjoyable and can improve coordination; however, games involving dance are even more useful, as they can improve concentration. Try musical statues, a classic children's game that involves dancing to music and freezing when the music stops--whoever freezes last is out, and the person left 'at the end of the game is the winner. To improve a child's concentration, imitation games can be useful: one child or adult dances or moves to music, and the other children must imitate the movement, exactly. Movements can get gradually more complex, but the sequences should not be too long, to avoid discouraging a child with ADHD. This fun game can improve memory and focus.

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