Best Ways to Support Your ADHD Child at Home

Parenting a child with ADHD comes with its own unique set of challenges. Routines are difficult to develop, getting your child to complete a task feels unnecessarily complicated, organization & clutter is a regular thorn in your side, and you struggle to keep up with your child’s constant flow of energy. That is a lot to handle! Let’s take a look at three strategies to help make parenting a child with ADHD feel more manageable, and discuss some solutions to two of the most common frustrations parents have when it comes to raising their ADHD child.

Visual Reminders & Consistent Routines

Your child’s brain is always thinking, and this makes it easy for tasks to get lost in the constant shuffle of thoughts. Having a visual reminder of what they need to do can help them stay on task while managing the constant chatter going on inside their brain. 

It can also be helpful to establish consistent routines to cut back on decision making & decrease their mental load. As mentioned, their brain is always thinking, and that takes up energy. Routines help save energy & provide structure, which can help ground their nervous system. Bonus points if you can create a visual chart to go with your routines!

Physical Activity (Muscle Work + Movement)

The ADHD brain has lower levels of dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin. These neurotransmitters regulate attention, motivation, & impulse control. Physical activity stimulates the release of these transmitters, which recharges the brain’s reward + attention systems (exactly what the ADHD brain craves!).

This is why regular muscle work & movement is so important for people with ADHD. Take any opportunity to play sports, go on a walk or bike ride, play on the playground, ect. Rhythmical movement like swinging or rocking back & forth, jumping rope, or hula hooping is especially regulating for the nervous system.

The more consistent you can be with physical activity the better. We recommend being physically active at least once a day.

Music

Music can help organize the brain & break out from being ‘stuck’. Having trouble transitioning? Running low on motivation or energy? Music can be a great help! We suggest music that has a predictable rhythm and follows a 4/4 time signature. A few examples include “We Will Rock You” by Queen or “Stayin’ Alive” by the Bee Gees. We’ve put together a playlist with songs that meet the criteria to make it easy for you to start – check it out here.

Working Through Common Parenting Frustrations

In our experiencing working with families who have children with ADHD, we have observed two main frustrations, or struggles –

Having to remind your child to do something a million times

For children with ADHD, visual reminders work better than auditory reminders. You could make a list, create a chart, use post it notes – get visual! A major hack that works really well for ADHD brains is making tasks into challenges. This will help increase your child’s motivation & initiation. See how fast they can complete a certain task, or see how many [fill in the blank] they can complete in a set amount of time. You could even track their results in a chart to continue to keep their interest. In those moments where you find yourself getting frustrated, remember that your child isn’t trying to give you a hard time. They are trying to manage their ADHD, and they want to do good by you.

Struggling with your own follow through, schedule management, & routines

ADHD is hereditary, so if your child has ADHD then there is a chance that you do too. All of the strategies we’ve mentioned so far can also be helpful for adults. Make lists, use reminders on your phone, use a visual calendar. As far as routines go, start with focusing on your morning routine first. If you can, get some sort of movement or muscle work in & avoid getting on your phone right away. Lastly, try to find time for your own hobbies. I know this can be challenging as a parent, but remember that time spent on your own health & wellness is not selfish. It’s actually self preservation & allows you to continue to show up and give even more to your family.

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In short, remember these strategies to make parenting a child with ADHD feel more manageable –

• Use visual reminders
• Build consistent routines
• Prioritize daily physical activity
• Use music to generate energy & motivation

If you are looking for specific direction & individualized support our team of experienced therapists would love to help you. We can create a suite of custom visual reminders, help you build consistent routines that will sustain time by breaking down the process into small steps, and ensure your child gets the support they need to thrive with ADHD. Fill out our contact form to get started!