Parenting and Family Education

Posts Tagged ‘Parenting’

Parenting ADHD children can be stressful, frustrating and overwhelming. ADHD children have a shorter attention span than other kids and they often anger easily when they dont get their way.

Parenting through these difficulties will help raise a happy, healthy child. Here are 9 ADHD parenting tips to help you cope with and support your ADHD child.

1. Be consistent and set down specific rules. Changing the rules mid-stream can be confusing to the ADHD child. Be sure that both parents are on-board with the same rules.

2. Establish routines. All children thrive when they follow a routine but this is especially true of ADHD children. Be strict about the times that things take place but be aware of the fact that your child may have a short attention span. Limit the time children can watch television, play video games or listen to music. Sticking to these rules allows time for the children to think on their own and to use their creativity.

3. Assign weekly or daily chores. Use a chart to keep track of progress. Children love to get a gold star when they complete a task. For ADHD children, this can be a great ego boost. Be sure to explain exactly how to complete the task and even demonstrate it to them yourself.

4. Choose your battles wisely. Decide early on what things are most important and make sure that these things are the ones that get done. If the child wavers on an unimportant item let it go. What strikes the child one way one day may change the next. Be sure that your core values and beliefs are being honored.

5. Teach time management skills. ADHD children can benefit tremendously from learning the art of prioritization and time management. Often the child does not yet understand how to make these types of decisions. For older children utilize a planner or electronic organizers.

6. Break tasks down. Children with ADHD may not be able to stay focused on one task, especially if it is a large one. Break down each task into smaller, more manageable pieces. This will reduce the frustration level of you and your child.

7. Have patience. Parents already know that it takes lots of patience to raise their children with ADHD. To keep your own patience level up try giving tasks when there is plenty of time to complete them and enough time for you to follow up. Try to allow some room for error and always accentuate the positive things your child does.

8. Communicate with your child. One of the best ways to help ADHD children is to spend time with them. Set aside some time each day to talk to your child and get to know him. Help him to learn to communicate well with others and to know that he can come to you with any problems.

9. Be a good role model to your child. This is one of the biggest factors that will determine the outcome of your child as an adult. Although it may not seem like it, your child watches you and strives to be like you.

Before you know it, the “Holiday Season” is here and during this all important season, you can become “Parent of the Year.”   As a single parent how are you preparing for this important season. Some of you look back with an almost child like happiness enjoying the season as much if not more than your kids. A season where the kids get to have both parents for the day.

Having both Parents for the day is the perfect day for the kids.  Yes, this might work in the early stages of your divorce, but will it still be the same way a few years later?

What happens when you and your Ex are both in a serious relationship.  Do you tell the man/woman of your dreams that you can’t make Thanksgiving because you have to spend it with the kids and the Ex.  After all, isn’t everything you do for the kids? This might cause your new and serious relationship to take a turn in the wrong direction.

On the other hand, if every holiday is considered “Family Day” and all of a sudden there’s a change in the game, you will break the hearts of your children.  Not too mention it could cause immense psychological problems changing things.

How do you handle the Holidays now that the divorce is final and become “Parent of the Year?”

As a single parent, you can save a lot of heart ache and disappointment if you think of the holiday as “A Day” instead of “The Day.”

For instance, if your Ex has the children for Thanksgiving, take another day with your children and make a Turkey dinner together, and the fun part, it takes all day. And, it can be any day, like the Saturday after Thanksgiving.  Let the kids make the mashed potatoes and you will really appreciate just how great they taste even if they are lumpy.  What you are doing is making a day a family day. For me — it’s my single Parent family.

The next big holiday, of course, is Christmas. Do you want to be “Parent of the Year?”

Here is an amazing tip to be “Parent of the Year.” Just let the Ex have the children on Christmas.  Then, listen to what they got and ask them what they really wanted to get but didn’t get. Go out on December 26th when those fabulous sales start and everything is reduced 50% and get the gifts they really wanted but didn’t get.  If you’re on good terms with the Ex, do it together and save on those discounted gifts.

Stories questioning the best way to discipline children never completely drop out of the news.

For example, reports about fed-up parents using Nebraska’s safe-haven law to drop off unruly teenagers incited a debate about how to provide families with the parenting advice and disciplinary tools they need.

And when President Barack Obama revealed that his daughters will be required to make their own beds and clean their own rooms at the White House, it was difficult not to wonder how he would react if Sasha or Malia decided to rebel. Does the new president use the naughty step?

In many families, fathers are the ones expected to dole out punishment when the need arises. However, mastering the art of discipline can challenge even the savviest dad’s parenting skills.

Several parenting advice experts stress the need for consistency. In other words, your children need to know what to expect when they misbehave or they may begin acting up to test the limits.

Similarly, one of the biggest mistakes a father can make when disciplining his child is to not follow through on a threat. It is incredible how quickly children learn to disregard words if they are not supported by actions.

Another important point emphasized by child psychologists is to try to refrain from rewarding bad behavior. Every time you buy your child a piece of candy to get them to stop crying, you are effectively demonstrating that acting up will earn them a reward.

Although it may require you to muster up all of your parenting skills and patience, experts also recommend staying calm while correcting your children’s behavior. Shouting or losing your temper may just end up encouraging kids to yell back and respond to conflict with anger.

Finally, some of the best parenting advice may be to maintain realistic expectations for children. For example, it may be very difficult for a toddler to sit still for an hour, so demanding that they do so is almost like setting them up to fail.

Remember: your children are not perfect – and neither are you