5 Smart Parenting Tips to Manage Children with ADHD
Does your child have attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)?
ADHD is a well-researched learning disorder which affects children, teens and adults. This disorder makes it challenging for a child or teen to pay attention and control impulsive behaviours. The symptoms of ADHD usually begin to surface during childhood.
Some common signs of ADHD include:
- Inattention – difficulty paying attention on one subject
- Hyperactivity – being too active
- Impulsivity – acting without thinking
Children with ADHD could also face learning difficulties in school. For instance, a student might have difficulties sustaining attention during lessons or playtime. One might also have problems following instructions, completing schoolwork and organizing tasks and activities. Children with ADHD also have a tendency to lose school supplies and become easily distracted.
In order for a child to reach his/her full potential and succeed academically in addition to becoming a well-rounded individual, parents of children with ADHD must create a nurturing learning environment at home.
1. Keep Discipline Consistent
According to Health Central, children with ADHD are relatively more difficult to discipline compared to children without as children with ADHD tend to forget their punishments and wrongdoings. In this sense, it’s important for both parents to work together and create their own consistent discipline process.
Structure is highly useful for parents who need to discipline children with ADHD. Come up with a discipline system that works best for your child and use it consistently to deal with misbehaviours.
For instance, if you use a time-out to discipline your child when he misbehaves, try to stick to the same disciplinary method.
2. Define House Rules
Aside from disciplining your child, all parents would need to put some house rules in place.
Come up with a list of house rules that are consistently enforced. They define expectations for your home and guide your children to acquire important social skills.
Write your home rules on a paper or poster and hang it somewhere in the house where everyone frequents.
Try to keep your rules short and positive. Avoid negatives like “don’t” and “no” and craft rules that are uplifting.
Here are some examples:
- “Help others in need”
- “Always believe in yourself”
- “Show compassion for others”
3. Break Tasks into Bite-sized Chunks
Staying focused is one of the biggest challenges of ADHD. Therefore, by reorganizing big tasks into smaller ones, a child with ADHD would be more able to keep their head in the game.
By helping a child reach his/her short-term goals, he/she would be more focused and inclined to get things done.
4. Regulate Your Child’s Sleeping Patterns
For children with ADHD, it can be tough to keep their minds quiet and relaxed enough to sleep. Insomnia could also affect a child’s learning disabilities and his/her mental health. To mitigate this issue, try to keep a regular sleeping schedule with no compromises.
5. Be Willing to Ask for Help
ADHD might be a challenging disorder to manage, but it is important for you, as a parent, to be optimistic and create a nurturing home environment for your child to grow up happily and healthily.
However, even the most well-oiled machine needs some support. Likewise, parents of children with ADHD should ask the school for support whenever they feel overwhelmed. Consulting qualified learning disabilities therapists and specialists in your child’s school could help facilitate a more interactive and engaging learning environment in school and home.