Hand waving is common in several disorders including ADHD, which points to a neurological cause. It may be part of a repetitive movement disorder or just the expenditure of extra energy. This is also a commonly observed behavior in average preschool aged children.

    My son used to wave his hands when he got excited. He is seven now and doesn’t do it as much as he did in preschool. I asked him not to do it when he was in a public place. But, I never tried to control these movements. Some doctors say that physical suppression of hand movement may actually be harmful to children, kind of like making left-handed children write with their right hands, which often results in stuttering. If the energy is in your child’s body, it will get out one way or the other.

    Although it may look unusual, it isn’t harmful. She’s just waving her hands. She isn’t hitting herself or others, or breaking things. So, talk to your doctor if you have concerns. Ask her not to do it in public if it bothers you or else just ignore it.

Hope this is helpful.

Sue H,
        Yes, that does help alot.  Thanks for the input.    -Tony-

We used a squishy balls so he had something in his hands to play with. You can get different kinds to keep them entertained….some feel gooey and have tentacles, others feel like they have little beads in them.

It is a neurological response. Some kids rock or bounce. It is most often a response to stress, good or bad. The stressors are not always obvious to us as parents and can even be as simple as getting into the car or seeing water and sometimes it is more obvious like a stimulating environment (mall or store with lots of lights or a place with lots of people. It is often helped with just a verbal que or handing them something to hold. It’s hard to always think ahead and have an item for her at the ready but (can you hold my purse for a minute, dad- would you hold this pocket change for me or this bag) little things you already have is just as good. Gently help her try to retake control but realize she doesn’t really have the ability and probably won’t for a long time to recognize the onset and control it alone without any que from you but it will draw more attention and bring extra stress to her if you try to do it for her and I have heard as another responder that it is best not to try to directly control it.

Hi, sorry, I just read something here about rocking possibly being a neurological reaction. Since my daughter was very young, about 4 months old, she has done this rocking thing with her legs, as a baby she usually only did it when she wanted to sleep, or so we thought, but she is 3 now and still rocks every now and again, and I can’t figure out if she is actually aware that she is rocking. She has not been diagnosed with ADHD, but i am suspecting she does have it, since half of my family does and her father has ADHD and dislexia. Is this also a form of a neurological reaction, and if yes, is it an extra disorder on top of the ADHD or part of it?