Seeking activities that keep interest of 12 year old boy with ADHD

[StopbirdGee]

My 12 year old grandson has been diagnosed with ADHD. Other than playing computer games it is difficult to find things for him to do that will hold his interest when he visits. Any suggestions of games or other activities that have worked with your child.

[Onthemove1971]

Great questions I have a few:

1. Small plastic basketball hoop for back of door and cloth basketball ( not sure if he likes sports)

2. Any kind of Rubic cube ( I think he currently has 13 with a variety of shapes and sizes of squares

3. Snap circuit set ( or any type of these) its teaches in a fun way how electricity and currents work.

4. Any hand held or wooden puzzle that involves patterns

5. Board games: battleship, clue, hedbanz game.

6. Rainbow/etch game/art

7. Fidget spinners ( kind old)

8. The hardest on the list lazer tag type games ( some use phones/ipods). some people are against shooting.

Most of these help with using hands and the mind together.

Good luck!

Hope these help keep him busy..we always have some of these for him while he is watching TV so he can keep busy and not get into trouble.

[Pennywink]

Maybe see what his interests are & go from there. If he doesn’t have know interests, maybe look at his strengths & do some trial & error. Like if he’s an active kid, find more sports & physical activities. If he’s good at math & science, try science kits. My son loves puzzles & reading and inventing things and hiking and science / engineering kits and crafting and board games - for a few ideas.

Mostly, take the screen away and after complaining for awhile, eventually they will figure something out.

[regardingtheboys]

I would just focus on keeping the kiddo engaged. I wouldn't expect him to entertain himself.

When my parents do regular stuff with my son and ask him for his help (and opinions), they do well together. A few examples...

1. I am going to make a banana bread, I need you to mash the bananas for me.

2. Let's read/watch Harry Potter together. I want to know what that is all about.

3. Let me teach you how to play cribbage. If you like it I'll get you your own board.

4. Let's go to the driving range and see if this is a good driver.

5. Help me fill out my basketball bracket for March Madness.

6. Let's each learn a magic trick and show your mom.

[spb1234]

If you want something that could really better his future career choice, try getting him into programming. It’s never too early to start at that age and it can prepare him for a very high paying career in the future, should he enjoy it. As someone who has ADD I can relate to needing things to keep me engaged and eventually programming became the thing I’m studying now in college. Sure it may mean more screen time but trust me, it’s worth it in the long run

[dredoug02]

My son plays soccer and Lacrosse

[christieb]

My 11 yo son loves his video games also. He plays online with his friends so that is his way of communicating with them. But he also like a simple pull bar which you can hang in a doorway. I’ve just recently purchased Scrabble to see if that will catch his interest.

[Janice_H]

You may want to enroll him in a sport that he enjoys. Fidget spinners and Bey Blades are popular too.