ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) affects from 3 to 7 percent of children ages 5 to 17, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Described as a neurobehavioral disorder, ADHD is one of the most common diagnoses of childhood. Symptoms generally include lack of focus, fidgeting, hyperactivity, impulsivity and daydreaming. These symptoms impact life at home, with friends and in school. Treatment generally involves a combination of medication and behavioral intervention strategies.
Step 1
Adjust and modify your parenting attitude to successfully parent your ADHD child. A large portion of the success of modifying your child's behaviors depends on your parenting attitude. Children with ADHD frustrate and annoy their parents. However, you need to show calm and patience. Anger or frustration from you will add to your child's stress and limit his ability to make appropriate choices. In addition, remind yourself that your child's behavior will not change immediately. Patience is required as you wait for the behavioral changes to occur. ADHD Child Parenting reminds parents that memory takes longer to form with hyperactive children.
Step 2
Identify the behavioral challenges your child displays. While ADHD may explain why your child exhibits certain behaviors, that does not excuse your child from needing to change those behaviors. Make a list of behaviors and situations that challenge your child. These might include getting up in the morning, forgetting to take out the trash or interrupting. After you make the list, prioritize the behaviors by placing the most egregious at the top of the list.
Step 3
Create a behavioral plan, including positive rewards and negative consequences for your ADHD child. Whether you create a behavior chart or a daily schedule, communicate to your child the specifics of how she can earn privileges (extra play time, pizza, a new game) and what the consequences are--timeout, removal of MP3 player, earlier bedtime--for negative behaviors. Be clear in your explanation and answer any questions your child has.
Step 4
Follow through with implementation of the plan. Especially, at first, as you begin putting the plan in place, keep a copy nearby and review it regularly. Evaluate your child's degree of compliance with the plan. Be prompt and consistent with the rewards and the negative consequences. Health Central suggests that parents work with each other's strengths and weaknesses to back up one another to provide consistency in parenting.
Step 5
Monitor and modify your parenting plan as your ADHD child's behavior changes. As your child's behaviors improve or even deteriorate, make appropriate changes to your behavior plan. Whenever possible, find ways to reward the behaviors you want to see more of, instead of always providing a negative consequence for poor behavior.
