Home
>
Parenting
>
ADHD: Some Survival Strategies for Parents

ADHD: Some Survival Strategies for Parents

In our last issue we posted some of our suggested Survival Strategies for parents, and then asked readers to contribute some of their thoughts or tips. Since this newsletter is already running pretty long, I'll only list a few of them below. Thank you to all of you who contributed!

Laugh. Be silly with your kids. Humor is a life saver with 'high-impact' children. --Laurie O'

I really enjoyed your newsletter. I am a School Psychologist and find your information valuable. I also taught Learning Disabled children for many year-some of them ADD or ADHD. I used to suggest to my parents to organize little boxes filled with activities for those "I'm Bored" times. Each box should have a different activity-sometimes having specific directions-sometimes permitting the child to be creative with whatever is in the box. (This is kind of like Andy Warhol's time capsules) It works best if the child does not know about the contents of each box. Also, I recommended that my parents keep a journal of their child's progress- and then to read it periodically. Parents always know when their child is NOT doing well-but sometimes do not realize the progress the child is making. Sincerely, Toni H

Again, thanks to all who wrote with tips and strategies!

Here are Our Own Ten Tips to Surviving Your ADHD Child

1. Have Realistic Expectations. We all have expectations for our child, just make sure that your expectations are * Realistic * for your individual child. If your expectations are too high (or unrealistic) then you will be constantly be subject to feelings of hurt or disappointment or anger. Be * Realistic *.

2. Keep Your Home Organized. The more "scheduled" you can keep your home, or the more "organized" you can be at home, the better for your ADD/ADHD child. Routines can help your child to accept order in his life. Be consistent with routines.

3. Simplify Your Life. Please don't try to do all things, be all things, lead all groups. Reduce the number of your commitments to others. Your child needs your time and attention more than others do (except perhaps your spouse). Spend more time at home with your child and family.

4. Accept Your Child's Situation. If your child is hyperactive, then come to the place of acceptance that your child is, has been, and will be, a person with very high levels of energy, limited impulse control, and difficulty sitting still. Don't feel guilty about. Did you cause it? No. Is the child intentionally hyperactive? No. Don't waste your time trying to eliminate the hyperactivity, just learn how to redirect it into positive channels. Be patient.

5. Be Fair, Firm, and Consistent with your Discipline. Make sure your child knows the rules ahead of time. Review them as you need to. Always be fair to the child. Be firm, don't reward inappropriate behaviors by ignoring them, but use your best wisdom on how to discipline or punish.

6. Teach to Incompetent Behaviors and Punish Rebellious Behaviors. Kids are weird. And, know the difference between "incompetence" and "rebelliousness." Kids will forget to put the lid down on the toilet seat. They run through the house. They do kid things. When your child acts incompetently, then teach him how to do things the right way, and have him practice doing it right. Rebellious or defiant behaviors, however, need to be disciplined through punishment. Yes, your child does need to know who's in charge, and that person needs to be you, not him.

7. Avoid Allowing Either You or Your Child to Become Fatigued. We all get grouchy and irritable when fatigued. Don't schedule so many activities in your day that you get tired, or he does. If it happens, either you'll be hard to live with, or he will. Cut back on your activities, do less, not more. Save your energy. Slow down.

8. Only Take Your Child to Places Where He Has a Chance to Be Successful. If your child simply cannot handle going to the store, or to church, or to birthday parties where they are serving punch and cake, then don't take him there. Or go but stay around and provide the supervision that he'll need so that he doesn't blow it with his behavior and have the event turn into just another failure in his life.

9. Watch Less TV, Not More. When we are tired, the tendency is to turn on the TV and just "veg out" in front of it. The problem is that the average person (yes, the average person) watches over 35 hours of TV per week. Since I don't watch TV at all, someone else out there is watching more than 35 hours to make up for me! Watching TV simply steals our precious time and the attention that we should be giving our family. Read books, talk to each other, play board games, go for walks --- but don't watch TV.

10. Take Care of Yourself Too! Eat right, work out, spend time with your spouse, your friends, and yourself. Don't focus all of your energies on your ADD child. There is more to life. Read good books, not just ADD books. Pray. Enjoy sunsets. Go for walks. If your life reflects a sense of balance, then in a crisis you will respond with more wisdom and discernment.

Douglas Cowan, Psy.D., is a family therapist who has been working with ADHD children and their families since 1986. He is the clinical director of the ADHD Information Library's family of seven web sites, including http://www.newideas.net, helping over 350,000 parents and teachers learn more about ADHD each year. Dr. Cowan also serves on the Medical Advisory Board of VAXA International of Tampa, FL., is President of the Board of Directors for KAXL 88.3 FM in central California, and is President of NewIdeas.net Incorporated.

licensed cleaning services Park Ridge ..

In The News:

Chrome extension spyware disguised as a free VPN service highlights security risks after it captured private browsing data from trusted sites.

New research shows how fatty acids in cooking oil can safely dissolve and recover silver from circuit boards without harmful chemicals or environmental damage.

The Fox News AI newsletter gives you information on the latest AI technology advancements, and about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

Anthropic investigates alarming AI abuse case where hacker automated entire cybercrime campaign using Claude, stealing sensitive data from defense and healthcare firms.

TikTok, Meta and YouTube restrict Charlie Kirk shooting videos with age gates and warnings while X faces criticism for allowing continued circulation.

Cybercriminals use fake troubleshooting websites to trick Mac users into running terminal commands that install Shamos malware through ClickFix tactics.

San Francisco startup Fable launches Showrunner, an AI platform dubbed the 'Netflix of AI' that generates animated episodes from text descriptions with Amazon support.

Apple raised iPhone prices for some models despite receiving tariff relief from President Donald Trump, with the new lineup starting at $799 for the base model.

A two-story 3D concrete printed home in Western Australia demonstrates faster construction methods that could reshape American housing amid rising costs.

Credit scores remain important during retirement for insurance rates and housing applications, while seniors become prime targets for identity theft and financial scams.

Scammers now send unexpected packages with QR codes that redirect victims to fraudulent websites or download malicious software to steal sensitive information.

Meeting AI tools record private conversations alongside work discussions, creating privacy risks that can be managed with proper settings and awareness.

Hotel privacy concerns are valid but rare, with methods to detect hidden tech using smartphone flashlights, mirror tests and scanning apps.

Improve your Wi-Fi speed and reliability with 10 simple router optimization tips that don't require special apps or expensive subscriptions.

A Columbia University breach exposed names, Social Security numbers and academic records of nearly 869,000 people, with notifications beginning in August.

Rental car drivers use AI-powered apps like Proofr to protect themselves from unfair damage fees as major companies deploy automated inspection tools.

Fox News' AI newsletter brings you the latest on technology advancements around artificial intelligence.

OnTrac data breach between April 13-15, 2025, exposed personal information of over 40,000 people including Social Security numbers and medical records.

A woman named Wika announces her engagement to an AI chatbot sparking worldwide debate about virtual relationships and technology.

The notorious people search site National Public Data relaunches despite a previous breach affecting 3 billion individuals, raising fresh privacy concerns.

Revolutionary TRAUMAGEL gel controls life-threatening bleeding from gunshot wounds and traumatic injuries, helping first responders prevent prehospital deaths.

Protect your home network by enabling proper encryption, creating strong passwords, checking connected devices and using VPN and antivirus software.

The Navy's solar-powered Skydweller drone flew nonstop for 73 hours in Mississippi, proving renewable energy can power long-endurance military missions.

Moving and downsizing expose seniors to identity theft and scams as data brokers collect real estate records and personal information to sell to criminals.

ShengShu's Vidar technology revolutionizes humanoid robot training by using AI-generated synthetic video, reducing required training data from hours to just 20 minutes.

ADHD: Some Survival Strategies for Parents

Parenting