Parenting Children With ADHD: 10 Drug-Free Tips | Children's & Teens Health slideshows | Family Health center

Does my child have ADHD? Symptoms

Because children are naturally full of energy and known to be very active from a young age, it might not be quite obvious to detect whether or not your child suffers from ADHD. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is not diagnosed with only one symptom, but rather following a series of consistent alarming behaviors. Very often, the child has difficulties focusing on one single task. Those children tend to be very distracted, become easily bored with new tasks and are never able to complete their work. Children with ADHD are also very forgetful. Because they are easily distracted, they tend to forget things, loose things (pencils, toys, etc.) and miss important details. Moreover, they have difficulties following instructions. They can also appear fidgety and overtly agitated, always ready to move up and about. They touch everything around, play non-stop, and do not enjoying performing quiet tasks. They may experience trouble sitting down for dinner time or resist going to bed. One important criterion is the fact that the symptoms should occur in different settings, both at home and at school.

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Create A Routine

If your child is suffering from ADHD, one simple way to help him/her stay focus and get things done is to create a routine. This is a pattern system that works perfectly to help adults stay organized as well. The rationale behind this is, the human brain is more likely to register patterns and habits if they are repetitive. With time, these habits become part of us and are performed almost unconsciously. Thus, having a morning routine (example: say a prayer, make your bed, brush your teeth, take your bath, etc.) will help your child to get those simple tasks done without even realizing it.

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Correct Negative Behaviors

Just as you would like to congratulate your children when they do good, they should also be corrected when they make mistakes. This gives them a certain understanding of what is right and wrong. It also helps children to learn to understand that actions have consequences, and accept the consequences of their actions. Although children only achieve a certain maturity at a given age, it is important to introduce them to being responsible as they early as possible, so that the abovementioned value can be integrated in their character.

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Reward Positive Behaviors

Children constantly seek approbation, and this more than any other human being, as a matter of fact. So why not reward them for their good actions? Not only will it help to boost their self-esteem, but it’ll also encourage them to strife for more. This is the principle behind positive reinforcement: rewarding a good behavior causes the behavior to continue. In other words, you praise what you want to see more of! And this is much more important for children with ADHD, as often times they feel inferior from being unable to accomplish anything substantial and being continuously criticized.

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When To Ignore A Behavior?

Like most children, children with ADHD constantly seek love and care, and sometimes an erratic behavior might simply be a cry for attention. As a parent, it is important to detect when your child’s behavior is concerning, or when it ought to be ignore. Unfortunately, there is no baseline tool or medical device that could help you come to a decision, and this strongly depends on your child’s personality, behavior as well as his/her habits. Anything that deviates from what is “normal” (what you are used to, that is) should surely raise some concerns on your side.

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Help Your Kid With Organizing And Planning

Organizing and planning is key in molding and controlling the behavior of a child with ADHD. As mentioned earlier, it is important to develop routines and behavioral patterns in order to get things done. Children with ADHD are easily distracted, and if left alone they will never achieve anything. Henceforth, it is the parent’s responsibility to help his/her child to develop a routine that will fit him/her best.

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Eliminate Distractions

It is easier for a child with ADHD to get distracted if he is constantly surrounded by distractions: toys, TV, technology devices, etc. Now, this doesn't mean that your child has to be completely separated from the world. The point is, keeping your child away from things that could derail his attention from more important tasks (homework or house chores for example) is a great strategy to keep him/her focused. Here, positive reinforcement could also be used to encourage the child to remain focused: an example could be promising your daughter to increase her play time for 5 minutes if she manages to finish her homework on time.

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Don't expect dramatic changes overnight

Lastly, it takes a lot of patience to raise a child with ADHD. It’s not always easy to keep up with their energy and constant need for attention. However, as a parent, it is important to acknowledge that change doesn’t happen overnight. Overt frustration or episodes of uncontrolled anger could produce more harm than good and might make your child unconsciously withdraw. When applying these few proven drug free tips for raising a child with ADHD, stay positive and hopeful that your child will get better. Children are capable of sensing fear, doubt and lack of trust, and they need to know that we love them and trust them to become better.

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Find Areas in Which the Child Excels or Succeeds

Recognizing your child strengths and weaknesses is also essential. When you have identified areas in which your child excels, you can help him/her to focus his/her energy into achieving positive things. Similarly, acknowledging your child’s weaknesses keeps you (and the child) from being disappointed with every failure. Children with ADHD are very prone to low self-esteem, because they tend to develop a feeling of inferiority due to the fact that they are unable to achieve anything. Henceforth, helping them to focus on their strengths is a great start to help them build a strong self-esteem.

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Set Your Rules And Expectations

When raising children with ADHD (or even children in general), it is important to set boundaries for acceptable behavior, goals and expectations. This is particularly crucial because as the child grows up, he gets to learn and understand what is socially acceptable or not. With children with ADHD, this aspect of education needs to be more reinforced as their behavior is likely to derail faster. Henceforth, things like house rules or daily chores will come in very handy. This will help the child to learn how to control his behaviors and invest his energy into something more positive and more productive.