Choosing To Live Better

3 Changes You Can Make To Help Manage Your Child's ADHD

Many parents who find out that their child has been diagnosed with ADHD wonder how they can help minimize the impact this disorder has on their child's life.

Medical professionals often rely on prescription medications to help curb the symptoms of ADHD. Therapists and teachers can also work to create an environment that is conducive to learning when a child has ADHD.

Parents can take action to help manage a child's ADHD as well. Here are three simple changes that you can make in your home to help your child better manage their ADHD in the future.

1. Create a Structured Environment

Children with ADHD often do best in homes with a structured environment. Structure helps your child know what to expect, and can eliminate any sudden distractions that might derail your child's behavior throughout the day.

Work with your child to come up with a daily schedule that will work for you both. Post this schedule somewhere visible so that your child can refer to it often. It's important that you stick with the schedule each and every day so that your child can become accustomed to the flow of an average day.

Creating a more structured environment can minimize the negative effects ADHD has on your child's behavior within the home.

2. Institute a Bedtime Routine

In addition to structuring your child's day, you want to institute a bedtime routine that will help your child improve their sleep. A lack of quality sleep can negatively impact ADHD symptoms and make your child more difficult to deal with over time.

Performing the same routine each night helps your child's brain prepare for bedtime. Incorporating activities like taking a bath, reading a story, and listening to music will help your child get the quality sleep that they need to better manage ADHD.

3. Introduce Wait Time

ADHD is often characterized by impulsive thoughts and behaviors. Children with ADHD may lack the ability to evaluate their thoughts and actions before acting them out. Wait time can be a valuable tool to help your child with this ADHD symptom.

Encourage your child to wait a few seconds before speaking or acting. This slight delay gives the child time to consider whether their thought or behavior is appropriate.

It may take some time for your child to master the art of using wait time, but daily practice with this behavior can have a positive impact on your child's social interactions in the future.

Contact a health care clinic like Mante Pediatrics to learn more. 


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