October 21, 2011
How to end the bickering and nagging, and motivate your ADHD child to finish his boring-but-oh-so-important chores.
by Linda Karanzalis (re-published with permission from ADDitudemag.com)
Quick word-association game: When you hear “chores,” you think “stimulating,” “fascinating,” and “creative,” right? Fat chance.
Even for people without
attention deficit (ADD/ADHD), chores are nothing short of torture. But they also help lay the groundwork for success in life — forcing us to
clear the clutter, establish priorities, and be held accountable to family, friends, and colleagues.
In fact, research conducted recently at the University of Minnesota concluded that the best predictor of young-adult success is not IQ or even internal motivation, but rather chores. The earlier a child starts doing chores, the more successful he will be.
Now, here’s the problem: ADHD brains don’t produce enough of the
neurotransmitters needed to maintain sustained focus. This chemical imbalance makes it tough for children with attention deficit to complete anything, let alone boring chores that provide none of the stimulation or feedback that engages an ADD mind.
Thus the “chore wars” — a daily reality in many ADHD and non-ADHD households. As parents, we know that chores help our kids develop the life skills they need to become independent adults. But we also know that the fight can be exhausting — sometimes more exhausting than just doing the work ourselves.
But this stuff is important, and behavior modification can help. So here are some tips and pointers that will help you (along with a lot of perseverance) implement a consistent, accountable routine of chores in your household.
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Many children with ADHD/ADD have difficulty getting up in the morning. Many parents are at their wit’s end trying to get their children up and to school on time. This is due to the fact many with ADHD/ADD have hypersomnia caused by the difficulty with the brains ability to shifting from the sleep state to the awake state. A few of my favorite helpful alarm clocks are as follows:
Puzzle Alarm Clock
This clocks wakes children up by firing four puzzle pieces in the air. The child must put them back in the alarm clock to turn it off, requiring physical activity is the key to get kids up and moving. You can purchase this at gizmodo.com
KuKu Alarm Clock
This clock crows and lays eggs. It won’t stop chirping until you’ve returned the eggs . To view this alarm and more go to uberreview.com
What are your Strategies for Getting Your Child Up in the Morning?
Linda Karanzalis, M.S., is an adult with ADD/ADHD, a learning specialist, the founder of ADDvantages Learning Center, and an ADD/ADHD coach who specializes in helping both children and adults with ADD/ADHD and learning disabilities to reach their potential.You have permission to republish this article as long as it retains this information box and the link.
LIndaKaranzalis©2011
