When counseling parents of children with ADHD, one of the most common questions I receive is whether or not their child is ready for a sleepover.  Parents are only happy to help their kids build friendships, especially when their child has had difficulties doing so in the past. At the same time, they worry that their child’s ADHD symptoms might be too much for the host to handle, that they might cause trouble, or that their child might feel homesick.  While these instances are certainly plausible, your child can enjoy a fun sleepover at a friend’s or relative’s house with a few preparations. Before saying yes to the slumber party, consider these issues first.

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Numerous studies over the past 3 decades have identified ADHD children as being more accident-prone than kids without the condition. The findings suggest that ADHD kids tend to be able to identify risky situations, but have an impaired ability to estimate just how much damage is possible, and have trouble identifying ways to prevent the accident.

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One of the most difficult parts about natural ADHD treatments – besides figuring out which ones work best for your child – is the support or lack thereof of the people around you.  An ADHD treatment program is only as successful as the people who reinforce it, and there are many times when people allow your child to break the rules you’ve set for him or her.  One such problem is the issue of relatives and grandparents who slip the occasional cookie or forbidden food to a child on an ADHD diet.  Here’s what you can do when this happens.

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If there is one ADHD symptom that creates awkward social situations and hurt feelings, it has to be the lack of tact. It’s normal for children of all ages to say what’s on their mind, but those with ADHD are even more likely to have no sense of control over their speech. Regardless of whether or not your child was speaking the truth (and chances are, he or she is probably right), every parent needs to deflect these inappropriate statements. Once the words have been said, someone is bound to get offended and you, the parent, might feel helpless or embarrassed.
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Gone are the days when kids spent lazy summer afternoons having fun outdoors. Today, the average child spends his or her free time playing video games, which is bad news for those with ADHD.  Research shows that outdoor play can reduce ADHD symptoms in so many ways. The exercise they get serves as an outlet for excess energy, teaches them discipline, and stimulates the postural muscles, the brain’s primary source of stimulation. The best part about exercise is that kids don’t have to join an organized sports team to benefit from it; simply enjoying outdoor activities at least 30 minutes a day will be enough. Here are ten great activities that will get your ADHD child fit and active this summer.

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Summer has finally arrived and kids of all ages are looking forward to two months of doing absolutely nothing. But all this idle time can be detrimental to your ADHD child. As a parent, you may have observed that a lazy summer causes your child to lose the academic skills he or she worked so hard to attain all school year.   In fact, a study from John Hopkins University shows that students experience learning loss (specifically, 2.6 months of grade level equivalency) if they don’t engage in educational activities all summer long. Summer can also be a dangerous time for unsupervised ADHD kids, who may get themselves into accidents or into trouble.  How do you prevent summer learning loss from hurting your child’s progress? Below are some ideas.

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Many parents I’ve spoken to make the same observation about their ADHD children’s sleep habits: they have a hard time falling asleep, staying asleep, or waking up in the morning.  When they don’t get enough sleep the previous night, they spend the rest of the day in an ADHD funk with their symptoms in overdrive. These observations are hardly surprising – sleep problems and ADHD are closely related because the regions of the brain responsible for attention also regulate sleep. While there’s not much you can do to change your child’s biology, there are a few things that can be done to help your child get enough sleep.

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Next to questions about ADHD treatment, many parents turn to me for advice on how to discipline ADHD children effectively.  Although natural treatments will help reduce behavioral problems in the long run, parents have to contend with their children’s stubbornness, hyperactive tendencies, and other misbehaviors today.  Parenting an ADHD child is no easy task. Even the most patient parents end up dropping their compassionate approach for a cycle of nagging, yelling, and punishing, which only seems to make their children misbehave even more.

So how do you get an ADHD child to behave?  As with ADHD treatments, there is no magic bullet or formula to better discipline; each child responds to different techniques. There are a few general guidelines you can follow to keep your child’s misdeeds in check.

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A colleague once remarked that in his experience working with families and children with ADHD, fathers rarely participate in behavior modification programs. This phenomenon has more to do with cultural forces than anything else; generally speaking, topics covered in these programs fall under the mother’s domain (time management, organization, and self-control). Such traditional parenting programs seem more relevant to mothers than fathers.  However, the success of a holistic ADHD treatment program requires the involvement and active participation of both parents. Fathers have just as much influence as mothers when it comes to a child’s academic achievement and self-esteem.

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As a parent of a child with ADHD, you’ve probably noticed something I observe among my patients: kids with ADHD don’t do well in the winter.  As fall turns to winter and a blanket of snow covers the streets, kids with ADHD tend to:

• Become more hyperactive or impulsive as they grow increasingly restless. In the winter, they have fewer opportunities to burn excess energy or do activities they enjoy outside of school or at home.
• Become more argumentative and oppositional due to the inability to use their regular coping skills, such as outdoor activities or sports, to help them vent their feelings and burn off excess energy.
• Become more distracted and inattentive, resulting in difficulties doing homework or completing errands and chores.
• Experience more disciplinary or legal trouble as their frustration, restlessness, impulsivity, and hyperactivity increases.

Does this sound like your child?

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