Survival Strategies for Parents with ADHD
ADHD Parenting Challenges:
Emotional Availability: It's tough to stay present and focused due to emotional dysregulation.
Relationship-Building: Struggling to stay engaged and interested in activities with children.
Planning Ahead: Lack of executive function skills for planning and executing high-level analysis.
Organizing Supplies and Schedules: Strong organizational skills are challenging with ADHD.
Keeping Children Safe: Requires attentional capacity to monitor children without distraction.
Shaping Positive Behavior: Consistently noticing and praising good behavior is difficult.
Staying Regulated in Challenging Situations: Emotional dysregulation and impulsivity make it hard to stay calm.
Setting Boundaries and Consequences: Consistency is challenging due to impulsivity and emotional swings.
ADHD Parenting Skills by Developmental Stage
Early Childhood (Ages 2-5)
Parent-child bonding: Schedule playtime, use timers, leave phone in another room.
Basic needs: Designate spaces, prepare go-bags with essentials.
Structure and routine: Use visual schedules with stickers and drawings.
Safety and play: Create “Yes” spaces for safe, low-risk play.
Positive reinforcement: Praise behavior you want to see more of/encourage
Discipline: Plan simple, short-lived consequences and give warnings.
Elementary School (Ages 6-10)
Forming relationships: Reflective modeling of social skills.
Developing interests and hobbies: Provide materials for independent play.
Complex schedules: Use whiteboards, sticky notes, and digital calendars.
Academic responsibility: Set up “help times” with clear workspaces.
Social life: Set reminders for upcoming plans and create countdowns.
Middle School (Ages 11-13)
Academic functioning: Facilitate organizational skills training.
Parent-child interactions: Cultivate attachment rituals for bonding.
Challenges and transitions: Plan talking points and offer non-judgmental support.
Responsibility and independence: Establish allowances and household chores.
Screen habits: Set clear boundaries and model good screen use.
High School (Ages 14-18)
Privileges: Praise positive behavior and establish contracts.
Social life: Continue family rituals with your teenager.
Risk-seeking behavior: Set clear consequences and validate feelings.
Rigorous schedule: Attend important events for your teen.
Balance of independence and monitoring: Regularly review boundaries and reward rule adherence.
ADHD Parenting Self-Care Checklist
Basic Wellness Tasks
Eat regularly
Hydrate
Exercise
Sleep
Find social support
Keep health appointments
Self-Care Skills
Distress tolerance
Behavioral activation
Emotional monitoring
Mindfulness and relaxation skills
Seek help if needed
Ref: How to Parent with ADHD: Parenting Skills & Strategies (additudemag.com)
Further information: Authoritative Parenting Tips: Neurodivergent Children Need Limits, Praise (additudemag.com)
