Being a parent is hard. Having ADHD is hard. Now, let’s combine the two and enter into a whole new level of difficulty. Having THREE teenage daughters myself, while managing my own ADHD symptoms - I know the struggle. Keeping up with schedules & meals, regulating emotions, making sure everyone stays alive…. just feeling the weight of it all is EXHAUSTING. I turned to the internet for help with this topic and honestly, came up short. There are soooo many resources out there for parents with KIDS who have ADHD — but when it comes to help for parents, it’s like a ghost-town out there. So, I saved you the trouble of diving down a rabbit hole and came up with a few tips if you’re a parent struggling to manage it all.
Tips for Parents:
Schedule time with your kids - as in, put it on the calendar. Use Alexa if you need to. Block off time with them, even if it’s just 15 minutes here and there.
Take a time-out if you’re overwhelmed - Feeling touched-out? Over-stimulated? Have a go-to method for what to do when you’re reaching that boiling point. Maybe you need a few minutes in a dark closet, or a hot shower, or a walk around the block.
Set reminders for pretty much everything - If you catch yourself saying “I’ll remember to do that” - you probably won’t. Reminders are your BFF and it’s time to release any shame you might be carrying around for having to need reminders.
Have a weekly family meeting - Use this time to look over events on the calendar that week, make sure permission slips are signed, plan some meals that week, etc. Involve the kids if they’re old enough and delegate, delegate, delegate. *Also, set a reminder for this weekly family meeting, just sayin ;)
One more hot tip: Tune in to this podcast episode about Parenting & ADHD, featuring Dr. Sharon Saline
Dr. Sharon Saline, Psy.D., a licensed clinical psychologist with more than 30 years’ experience, is a top expert on ADHD, anxiety, learning differences and mental health challenges and their impact on school and family dynamics. We talk about the common struggles that we hear within the ADHD community and what we can do to ease some of the stress/anxiety around parenting while ADHD-ing.
