Parenting Advice for the Holidays with ADD/ADHD Kids |
ADDitude's parenting tips work for kids with and without AD/HD. "It's lovely to picture the whole family gathered around the table with your eight-year-old sitting quietly and complimenting grandma on her sweet potatoes - it's just not realistic," the article says. Adds Kingsley, "Kids normally have difficulty coping with all the visitors, events, rules and responsibilities associated with the holidays. Expecting perfection sets them up for failure." ADDitude offers parents this advice:
Make sure kids understand the arrangements and rules beforehand
Children become anxious when they don't know what's expected of them, and anxiety can give way to frustration and tantrums.
Plan for breaks
Designate a quiet area where kids can get away from the bustle of the crowd to calm down and decompress.
Don't overdo
Be discriminating when deciding which holiday invitations to accept. You don't have to go to every gathering you're invited to. And you're more likely to have a successful experience if you pick and choose carefully.
Be flexible
You don't have to stay for the whole party. When your child shows signs of stress, tell your host it's time to go and leave before a full scale crisis erupts.
Be creative
One frazzled mother, pediatrician Patricia Quinn, M.D., moved Christmas up by two days when her AD/HD kids became overexcited and fixated on their gifts. "Instead of spending all week end saying no, no, no because it wasn't Christmas yet - they got over the hype of the holiday sooner and the whole family calmed down and went visiting on Christmas," she says.
