Attention Deficient Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) involves a biological set of traits that interfere with cognitive performance and executive function found in 8% of young boys and 3% of young girls.
It’s estimated that 6.4 million American children between the ages of four and 17 years old have been diagnosed with ADHD. If your child is struggling with this cognitive disorder, it can be easy to seek medical assistance and rely too much on Ritalin.
That’s why as a parent, it’s so important to do everything you can to help your struggling child without allowing them to become too dependent on medication.
Here are a few tips that could help you improve your parenting skills in relation to raising your children who are struggling with ADHD:
- Stay consistent — Consistency and routines are essential for young children. If you and your children’s daycare provider, for instance, aren’t consistent with the type of care being offered, children could become easily confused and these complications could lead to ADHD complications. Teaching a toddler to be active through consistent approaches can help him or her feel much more comfortable with learning and will likely combat any signs of early onset ADHD.
- Offer more positivity — Do your best to increase the amount of positive interaction time between you and your child. Even doing something as simply as speaking positive to your kid will help him or her combat hyperactive spells. Don’t just let life’s busy schedule come between you and your toddler; get outside and have some fun with your kids because it will do them (and you) a lot of good.
- Be strict when you have to be — Though you should offer plenty of positivity throughout your child’s early years, you can’t be afraid to implement rules. Don’t go overboard, but implementing some consequences can actually do your children some good. Make them short, reasonable, and tough. Things like taking away video games or TV, requiring a chore to be done, or a time out can all be effective disciplinary strategies..
Don’t just rely on medication to help with your child’s ADHD — be there for them as much as possible.