Most parents with ADHD children will make sure that routines and schedules are kept to, tasks are broken down and there is some sort of behaviour contract in force in the home. It helps if there is a similar sort of contract with the child’s teacher at school. These are parenting tips for ADHD which are now well established.
The homework battle is one area where parenting skills will definitely be put to the test. ADHD kids just cannot really cope with the long attention spans needed for homework and together with hyperactivity, distractability and impulsiveness makes it all very difficult.This advice is aimed at ADHD teenagers although some of the principles apply equally well to younger children. Often homework is overlooked in parenting tips for ADHD.
Analyze first the location of the homework zone that your teenager has chosen.
Is it a secluded area ? Is it bright and quiet ? There should be no distractions from any electronic media if they are present. They should all be switched off but if he wants to, he can listen to some music with his headphones, provided it helps him to study.
ADHD teenagers need to make sure that they actually write down the assignments they are to do when the teacher writes them on the board. There should be a back up plan whereby he has telephone numbers of classmates with whom he can check if he has not done this.
A good idea to make sure that he has everything he might need to do the homework is to set the alarm on his cellphone so that it rings at the end of the school day and reminds him to collect all the necessary material.
You come to an agreement not to hassle your teenager about seeing the assignments on his planner sheet continuously and the teenager agrees to let you see it without any fuss.
There is an agreement that homework has to be done within a certain timetable and that when and if the teenager has finished, he can do what he likes but has to agree to let the parent see the completed homework. The parents agrees not to hassle about the starting time and the teenager promises not to start with an attitude. Drawing up a contract like this works very well for behaviour issues and is often mentioned in parenting tips for ADHD.
These are just some of the points that you can agree with your teenager about the homework peace plan ! You can go on to elaborate incentives, rewards, interruptions, breaks and other things. Usually the teenager will enjoy drawing this up as he sees that the parent has duties and responsibilities too and will not be a pain in the neck. This is just the start of a plan or contract and the same technique can be used for behaviour problems as well. These techniques can be learnt by following any ADHD behavioural therapy program and will form an essential element in parenting tips for ADHD.
Robert Locke is a Health enthusiast who specializes in Children’s Health. He has written extensively on ADHD. Discover what ADHD Alternative Therapy is available. Find out how ADHD behavior therapy can save your sanity.
