If your child has ADHD, it inevitably comes with its own set of challenges and difficulties both for the parent and the child as well. The child has trouble with self-control and emotional restraint while the parent is often at odds as to disciplining a child with this kind of particular need.
Fortunately, this article can help you figure out some of the discipline techniques that you can adopt as a parent of a child with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.
However, before we go into it, let us first define what the condition is all about and how it mainly manifests in children. This way, we will be able to understand better what we need to do as parents to instill discipline in our children with ADHD.
The Word Meanings
The term ADHD or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, as mentioned earlier, refers to a condition wherein the afflicted individual has extreme difficulty paying attention. He also tends to become impulsive and has problems controlling his emotions.
In a child, ADHD is often manifested in disruptive behavior that could be termed as attention seeking by some people who don’t have enough knowledge about the condition.
However, as a parent, it is imperative that you know how to discipline your child with this particular type of condition so that he can have a semblance of normalcy as he grows up. Here are some useful tips on how you can discipline your child with ADHD as soon as possible without difficulty.
8 Effective Tips to Discipline a Child with ADHD
1. Offer Affirmations
The first thing that you need to do is to make sure that you remain affirming to your child. As the name entails, the child with this particular condition needs parental attention more so than any other youngster. This is why you have to make sure that you can show the child that he is loved and safe at all times.
This way, he will not feel the need to lash out and seek attention in public or anywhere else for that matter.
2. Spend Time with Them Doing Educational Activities
Secondly, you have to make sure that you are able to give them activities to do every day. Children with this condition seek to look for attention because they have too much energy and don’t know how to release it properly.
By giving them a structure of things to do every day, you will be able to divert their attention healthily without making it seem like you want them to stop behaving a certain way. This will also teach them how to release their energies more positively.
Hopefully, through these particular set of activities, they would be able to curb the need to seek attention by themselves over time.
3. Do Not Stop Natural Consequences from Happening to Them
The next thing that you should do is to make sure that they learn the consequences of their actions. Do not try to protect them from the ill effects of what they’re doing. If they become aware that they will get hurt ones they don’t stop throwing tantrums or shouting, chances are they won’t do it again.
4. Follow Through with Your Word
If you tell your child that you are going to do something if he doesn’t behave well, make sure to follow through with your word. This way, he will associate your anger with something tangible and eventually, he will learn to behave accordingly to prevent your negative behavior from ever occurring again.
5. Give Him Positive Reinforcement
In addition to this, you should make sure that you shower him with positive attention whenever he does something good and right. You should be able to strike a healthy balance between teaching discipline in the child and affirming him.
This way, he can effectively associate good behavior with positive reinforcement and vice versa down the line. For example, you can tell him that you would go shopping with him for a new toy if he behaves well in school.
This way, he will have something to look forward to every weekend for good behavior. However, you should learn to wean them off this type of reinforcement eventually to ensure that he will not expect it for every good deed that he does.
Tell them the honestly and sincerely that he just needs to behave well always. That doing things right is still a hefty reward. This way, he will learn to keep the lesson in his heart and take it wherever he goes in life.
6. Make Little Changes to His Routine
Do not be afraid to change his routine from time to time. Introducing little bits and pieces of changes in the child’s routine will help him become more accepting of the differences in the world. This way, he will not be overwhelmed with anything new that he might encounter down the line.
He will also not react violently if he suddenly sees something new weather from the outside world war from within his home environment.
7. Learn to Ignore Your Child
He will learn to seek attention if you keep on giving him what he wants every time he throws a tantrum. Try our best to ignore him if he displays attention seeking behavior such as whining or crying especially in public. He will eventually stop doing this if you don’t pay any attention to him.
8. Provide Clarity
Lastly, it would be best for you as a parent to give clear and definite instructions to your child. Use words that he will understand so that he can follow through with the instructions given to him. If you feel that he still isn’t listening, try to join him in what he is doing and incorporate your teachings into what he likes to do.
For example, if he wants to play a game, but you would like him to do something else, you can ask him to do what you wish to through the game. You can also bargain with him at this point. You can say that after the game, you would want him to do something else, but only if you win.
This way, you will be able to let him enjoy his game while getting what you want eventually.
Conclusion
With all these tips and tricks, you will undoubtedly be able to discipline your child with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder easily. Just be patient with your child, and everything else will follow in the end for sure.
Make sure that he always has a semblance of order in his environment. By establishing a sense of order, you will be able to make him understand the reasons behind your behavior down the line. Additionally, you should make sure that he is always relaxed every time you talk to him.
This way, he will be able to absorb everything that you are going to tell him regarding life and discipline. What are you waiting for? Go ahead and give this list a shot now. You will undoubtedly learn a lot from it not only as a parent but also as an individual who is responsible for another human being.
