Feng Shui And A.D.D.

Many children have been diagnosed with A.D.D. or A.D.H.D. It is something that seems to be more and more common. There has been a lot of research into how diet and supplementation can help, but most people don’t realize that there is a lot they can do in their environment to help with this condition.

The first thing to look at is the child’s room. It is not surprising that so many children have trouble focusing and concentrating when you see their rooms. Here are the most common things to look out for:

• Too many things in the room – children today have so many things: toys, computers, televisions, books, etc., in their rooms. Children are very sensitive to energy and all of these things have energy and activity associated with them. If a child is hyperactive it is important to create a very calming environment for them. This applies particularly to their room. It is best to have a separate area for play so that their bedroom is for rest and sleep only. Remove as many toys as possible and just keep a handful of their favorite things in their room. Teach them early on that this room is for sleep or perhaps for reading or any quiet activity and that play and ‘high energy’ activities are done somewhere else.

• Color – Many children have very bright color schemes in their rooms. This does not help with hyperactivity. You need to create a calm space. Use soothing, soft, earthy colors. This gives a feeling of being grounded and has a very calming effect.

• Nature – bringing nature in to the room in some way always helps the child to be grounded. Use pictures of nature (gardens, trees, flowers, a lake and so on). Nothing too active – for example you wouldn’t want a picture of a turbulent ocean or a tornado or lightening. You can use plants but it is important that they have soft, round shaped leaves – nothing pointed or spiky. Silk plants are fine – but they do accumulate dust, so make sure they are kept clean and dust-free. A small aquarium would be fine and can have a very calming effect – make sure it is not near the bed.

• Electrical equipment – there should be very little electrical equipment in the room. Electro-magnetic fields from electrical equipment have a very disruptive effect on a person’s energy, particularly when they are sleeping. If a child suffers from A.D.D. it is important to remove as much electrical equipment as possible from the room – and particularly from near the bed. Computers and Televisions should not be in the room. If there is a digital alarm clock make sure it is as far away from the child’s head as possible. If there is an electric blanket, then switch it on to warm the bed, but once the child is in bed the blanket should be unplugged.

• The bed – it is best to have a wooden bed, not a metal one. Metal conducts electricity and since our bodies are made of electro-magnetic energy it can have a disruptive effect on our energy fields. Wood is much better. Don’t store anything underneath the bed. If the bed has drawers underneath then use them only to store things like bedding and make sure they are kept well organized.

• Clutter - I know it’s difficult to keep a child’s room organized and I’m sure parents spend a lot of time trying to get their children to clean up their rooms. However, it’s even more important if the child has A.D.D. Clutter creates a feeling of chaos, which is the exact opposite of what you want to create. Remember, the room should be as calm as possible, so that means keeping it clean and organized – that goes for the closet as well. Also keep posters and artwork on the walls to a minimum. It is good to have things that represent the child’s interests – such as paintings or drawings they have done or some sports posters if they are particularly interested in a sport. But they should not be all over the room. Keep the visual distractions to a minimum.

• If the bedroom is above a garage this can have a negative effect. The energy of the garage is a chaotic kind of energy, associated with movement and travel. The bedroom needs to be as calm as possible, so, as weird as this may sound, the ideal solution from a Feng Shui perspective is to put a mirror on the floor underneath the bed with the reflective side facing down towards the garage. I know it sounds strange, but it really does help – and what have you got to lose? You can try it for a while and if you don’t think it works, you can remove it.

• Bed position – the ideal position for the bed is so that when they are sitting or lying in bed the child can see the door. It gives a much more safe, secure, in control feeling than having their back to the door. If it is not possible to put the bed in a position where they can see the door, then hang a small mirror so that they can look in the mirror and see the door.

• Desk - If possible, don’t have a desk in the room. Or if it has to be there, then make sure everything on it is cleared away before bed time. Again, the desk is associated with activity – homework, and can create anxiety over work that has to be done or simply a feeling that there is always more to do.

• Pictures – having a family photograph can help. One with that has the child and his or her parents. This helps to give the child a feeling of safety and security.

Paying attention to these things really can help. I’ve worked with people whose children were much more calm and focused after they calmed their bedrooms down. It even helps with children who don’t want to sleep in their rooms – often it’s because the room is just too ‘active’.

These principles not only apply to the child’s room, but to schools. When you see some of the school rooms it is no wonder that children have difficulty concentrating. I once worked with a school in downtown St. Louis. The principal had called me because there were some rooms where, she said no matter what students were in there they were always quiet, focused, and did good work, then there were other rooms where, again, no matter which students were in there, they could not concentrate, there was always noise and chaos and the teacher had difficulty maintaining order and control.

It’s not difficult to imagine what was different about the rooms. The rooms where students were focused and quiet were very well organized. They had plenty of storage space, a place for everything. The rooms where students were disruptive by contrast were cluttered, they did not have enough storage space, in one there was a large television in the corner. They had lots of pictures and posters and drawings on the walls and things hanging from the ceiling and in some cases, no windows.

Once I pointed this out and helped them find more storage space, remove some of the things from the walls and the ceilings, purchase a cabinet to store the television when it was not in use. They put up some nature pictures and brought in some plants. The transformation was amazing. The principal told me that she was working in her office one day shortly after they had made the changes. She had a sense that something was wrong and for a moment couldn’t figure out what it was. Then she realized – the classroom that was just down the hall from her office was one of the ‘noisy’ ones. There were supposed to be children in their having lessons, but she couldn’t hear anything. Usually, she had to go in there several times each day to try to restore order, but she couldn’t hear anything. She went down the hall to the classroom to see what was happening and was amazed to find the students quietly working away. That is the difference between a room that is calm and a room that is chaotic – children pick up on that energy right away.