Pedal Desk : Movement Solution for ADHD and Active Learners
Have you ever wished your child would just sit still and do his schoolwork?
If you find yourself constantly saying, “Sit down,” or “Sit still,” or you find your child is wandering around the house again when his work isn’t done, then you may need a solution to let your child move while doing his school work.
Kids with ADHD, or who are kinesthetic learners, may have difficulty sitting still long enough to complete their assignments. Kids with ADHD are often like popcorn–up and down–up and down.
Kinesthetic learners will constantly move while learning, and moving is the key for enabling their learning retention. But how do you let a child move all day, while trying to get school work completed?
Why Use a Pedal Desk ?
Kinesthetic learners MUST move to learn. Kids with Active-type ADHD need to move a lot too, so their movement behaviors are often a distraction to their teachers or homeschooling moms!
For some kids, the need to move can be so overwhelming it interferes with the child’s school work.
Thus, using a pedal desk is a good way to give your child a way to move while working. Having such a desk can keep your active child on task and academically engaged for longer periods of time.
Pedal Desk Options
There are different styles and types of pedals and/or pedal desks you can use.
For a smaller, growing child, or for portability under kitchen or work tables, I like the under-the-desk pedal option the best. These small, weighted desk pedals can be used under a table, under a child-sized table-desk, or under a work table. They can be used as a child grows in size too, which is a great benefit.
For larger kids in middle or high school, using a standing or walking desk or a bike pedal desk tends to work better. Either of these desk styles are adjustable in height. The adjust-ability lets you change the desk’s dimensions as your child grows.
As a high schooler, my son liked the standing pedal desk type of option the best! Since we already had a treadmill, we used a WalkTop Treadmill Desk type of solution to make a standing / walking desk.
How to use a pedal desk
The biggest key to using a pedal desk while doing school work, particularly the standing desk, is to take it slowly. The goal is not to pedal hard or walk fast, but rather to provide rhythmic movement for an extended period of time.
Your child will have more stamina and the pedal desk will work better if our child uses a slow, steady pace for pedaling or walking. My son sets our treadmill desk to one mile per hour, so it is a slow pace he can easily walk while reading. He can walk a long time at that pace.
Additionally, by taking it slowly, your child is better able to focus on the school work and is less likely to get injured.
For many kids, the slow, rhythmic pedaling or walking becomes soothing. They can pedal or walk for hours throughout the day!
Using a pedal desk or a walking desk really is a great option for kids who need to move it, move it!
➜ See Pedal Desk Options Available on Amazon
Reference: Check out the research links at the bottom of this page:
http://www.edimprovement.org/2015/06/kinetic-classroom-pedal-desk-adhd-mind-body-connection/