Are you tired of punishing your ADHD child for impulses that he or she cannot control? Most parents who have impulsive ADHD children are often at their wits’ end. Children with ADHD hyperactive/impulsive type are not only unable to learn from past mistakes; their tendency to act before they think often gets them into trouble or places themselves and others in dangerous situations.  Besides natural ADHD treatments like neurofeedback, what else can you do to teach their child control their impulsivity?

Some parents have been able to curb their children’s impulses with a simple game called Remote Control Impulse Control.  This card game aims to reduce impulsivity in children (grades 1 to 9) by imparting skills based on remote control symbols:

STOP what you’re doing and consider alternative actions
REWIND and learn from old mistakes
FAST FORWARD and consider the possible consequences before acting

During the game, the players pick a card and read out the true-to-life situation printed on it, which is based on case studies of actual impulsive children. For instance, one card reads, “You see yourself in the bathroom mirror and notice that a few strands of hair seem unruly. You have the impulse to cut them off.” Then, every player should to choose between one of the three impulse control strategies mentioned above.  If you choose “stop”, you should say what you would do instead of the impulsive behavior (e.g. get a haircut at the barbershop). If you choose “rewind”, you should share a similar impulse you gave into in the past, what happened afterwards, and what you learned from the experience (e.g. you cut a bald spot and had to have your head shaved completely, thus teaching you never to cut unruly hairs by yourself). If the “fast forward” option is picked, you should describe what might happen if the impulse is carried out.  Every player can take turns sharing their impulse control strategy and talk about how they might respond in any given situation.

Aside from better impulse control, the game aims to teach kids to learn from old mistakes, anticipate consequences, think before acting, work cooperatively with others, and improve problem-solving skills.  It’s also a great way for the kids to bond with the family. Together with other ADHD treatments, practicing these impulse control skills in a fun way may help your child make better choices in real life situations.

The Remote Control Impulse Control game can be purchased at Amazon and Toys R Us. Have you ever tried this game? How has it helped your child?