Teacher Tips on How to Help The Day Dreamer: Where Does the Daydreamer Go?

Every teacher has at least one student who tends to be a daydreamer, at least some of the time. Some students are inclined to daydream more than others. Understanding the nature of daydreaming and being aware of how you as a teacher or parent can help a daydreamer, may prove to be important in terms of his or her education.

Where can you find a daydreamer?

Walk into any classroom unobtrusively and you will see the majority of students engaged in various kinds of activities. Some will be continuously busy, while one student may sit and gaze off into some unknown, vast horizon of thought. Perhaps he or she is taking a quick trip into his or her daydream world, maybe musing, or aspiring towards greatness. Maybe he or she is locked into, possibly lost in a nondescript void.

“Children who suffer from inattention disorder often daydream or look out of windows. Girls suffer from inattention disorder more than boys do. Those who have an inattention disorder get labeled as: preoccupied, lazy, spacey, couch potatoes, slow, etc.”

Inattention disorder is another expression used for a daydreamer, but it must be distinguished from “attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.”

Normally, students dream at night, while the daydreamer is awake, but appears to be out of touch with reality for a time, during the day.        

What is a daydream?

The freedictionary.com suggests that a daydream is an experience that is “a dreamlike musing or fantasy while awake, especially of the fulfillment of wishes or hopes.”

Everyone has hopes and dreams and that is a good thing, not something to be frowned upon by others, including teachers and parents, who become exasperated by daydreamers. Daydreaming becomes problematic when a daydreamer does not accomplish his or her day-to-day tasks. Helping a daydreamer involves bringing him or her back into touch with reality, where he or she can function appropriately.

Consider the following suggestions:

Approach the daydreamer gently, quietly and cautiously, so as not to startle him or her. Perhaps touch him or her gently on his or her shoulder.

Ask the daydreamer what he or she is thinking about at that moment in time, when he or she responds. Invite the daydreamer to share his or her thoughts, ideas or goals with others.

Depending upon the response you receive, you may need to ascertain whether the student is daydreaming, or if something else is happening with him or her. 

At times, a medical assessment may prove beneficial. Note that what appears to be a daydreamer may be a student who is exhausted and falling asleep in class. He or she may have blood glucose problems like hypoglycemia and need medical attention. He or she may also have consumed a large amount of sugar and become sleepy from it. What appears to be daydreaming may also be indicative of a seizure disorder.

For parents and teachers alike, it is important to keep a record of when and where the daydreaming activity appears to be happening. Noting the symptoms may make a diagnosis with appropriate treatment, possible.

At times, daydreaming may indicate boredom in class or a low attention span that resolves itself over time.

Teachers and parents need to regain the attention of the daydreamer who tends to drift off repeatedly. Placing him or her in an active environment or a part of the classroom where there is a better flow of oxygen, may make a difference. Occasional time-out breaks can help a daydreamer.

There are many things parents and teachers can do to help daydreamers. Remember that they too, may have been daydreamers at one time or another; perhaps they still are and understand where daydreamers go in their imaginary travels or musings.