While children with attention deficit disorder (ADD) often misbehave, much like all children, there are ways to discipline a child with ADD that can make a big difference in how the child reacts. Ineffective parenting skills can be just as damaging to the peace and orderliness of the family as the hyperactivity and short attention span of children with ADD, reports John Taylor, M.D., in "ADDitude Magazine."
Step 1
Move toys, objects and people out of the range of vision when a child is fighting over the object. By removing the toy or person from the line of sight of the child, you can interrupt the misbehavior, point out the appropriate behavior or tell the child what you need him to do instead.
Step 2
Speak in short, sparsely worded sentences. Too many words leave the ADD child behind. Children with ADD lose track of what you are saying if it is too long. Say your piece once, succinctly and stop talking, giving her a chance to digest the information.
Step 3
Set appropriate consequences for bad behavior and let your child know what those consequences will be. Make a chart and post it somewhere easily seen to remind a child about various rules and the punishments that will be made if the rules are broken. For example, if being on time for dinner is an important rule in your house, set up a plan that provides a specific punishment for every five minutes the child is late until he reaches the point where dinner is not available and he goes to his room.
Step 4
Include teachers and counselors, family members and caregivers in your discipline-planning process to develop a clear and concise frame of reference for your child. Order and consistency are especially important for children with ADD, reports the American Psychiatric Association. They need to be able to rely on a consistent message delivered in much the same way from all the adults in his life.
Tips and Warnings
- Take time to cool down if you are angry. Children with ADD do not respond well to yelling and barking. Leave the room for few minutes and return calmly to mete out your punishment or discipline.
- Do not ignore bad behavior. Ignoring often sets children up to try harder to get your attention, including misbehaving in even more drastic ways.
Things You'll Need
- List of rules and corresponding punishments
