6 Tactics You NEED To Know When Parenting An ADHD Child

Parenting can be hard. Do any of these resonate with you?

• Your child makes everyone else in the family late for everything.
• They can't get dressed and ready on their own.
• They seem to not hear what you say, or worse, appear to ignore you when you speak.
• They aren't doing things you feel they ought to or that your other children, or their peers, may be doing at the same age.

If this is YOUR kid, you know the list goes on. From impulsivity, random outbursts, and never finishing something they started, to always fidgeting, getting in trouble in school, and not making or keeping friends. Raising the ADHD child is a challenge, and I know because I raised that kid too! 

Since those with ADHD receive information differently than someone without, knowing some secrets from an ADHD Expert & Parent may help make raising your ADHD child easier.

Here are 6 Tactics You Need to Know:

1. Understand the actual age you are dealing with. Children with ADHD are generally 4 years developmentally behind their peers of the same age. So if you expect your 13-year-old to do things the way a 9 year old would, you will have fewer battles.
2. When you speak use this multi-sense modality: Touch/Look/Speak. So, place your hand on the shoulder of your child to get their attention (touch sense), then look them right in the eye (visual sense), and finally speak clearly (auditory sense).
3. Don't rattle off several things at once for your youngster to do. If you say to them, "Go get dressed, put your shoes and socks on, and brush your teeth," you just lost them in brain overload and they totally missed most of what you said. Use Short, one-task requests and then stop.
4. Allow time for transitions. Always! Little ADHD children can't shift from one activity to another easily, so allow extra time to do this and you will have fewer tantrums on your hands.
5. Time is elusive to most of these kids. "Johnny we are leaving in 5 minutes," may be what you said. "Johnny...leaving…minutes..." is what he processed. So you just as well could have said, "we are leaving when the moon is blue" and it means about the same thing. Use a timer and give various warning times, such as "When this timer goes off, you need to turn off the TV one minute later." And then you, the parent, stand there for that one minute so that they have time to prepare for that 'thing' to happen. And they learn how fast one minute goes.
6. Know that whatever frustration you are experiencing, your child is dealing with way more than you are...exponentially! Do what you need to in order to garner patience.

Your child can be a drain on your energy, patience, and brain power, so be sure to schedule time to re-charge and take care of yourself daily. You will be a better parent for it. 

Parents who want to learn more about living with, managing, and raising ADHD can email and schedule a free 15-minute consultation with Coach Juli Shulem. Easily subscribe to her website www.coachjuli.com and have access to over 100 blog articles. Follow her on Twitter @ADHDCoachJuli, or FaceBook at Coach Juli Shulem.