Parenting a child with ADHD can sometimes feel like navigating a maze. But fear not, because you’re about to discover the key to unlocking your child’s potential. In this blog post, we’ll explore the answer to the question of what good habits with ADHD are. and provide you with practical tips and strategies to help your neurodivergent child thrive. From establishing routines to promoting self-awareness, we’ve got you covered. So, let’s get started!
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Table of Contents
Establishing Routines: The Foundation of Success
Creating a consistent daily routine is crucial for kids with ADHD. Structure helps them feel secure and reduces anxiety. To establish a routine, set specific times for waking up, meals, homework, and bedtime. Use visual aids like charts or calendars to help your child remember the routine. Be consistent, but also flexible when necessary.
- Wake-up time: 7:00 AM
- Breakfast: 7:30 AM
- School: 8:30 AM – 3:00 PM
- Homework: 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM
- Dinner: 6:00 PM
- Bedtime: 8:30 PM
Encouraging Physical Activity: A Natural Outlet for Energy
Physical activity is essential for kids with ADHD, as it helps them burn off excess energy and improves focus. To encourage exercise, choose activities your child enjoys, such as swimming, biking, or team sports. Make exercise a family affair by participating together. Set achievable goals and celebrate progress.
For example, if your child loves swimming, consider enrolling them in a swim team or scheduling regular family swim sessions. Track their progress by setting goals like swimming a certain number of laps or improving their time in a specific event.
Fostering Self-Awareness: The Key to Emotional Regulation
For kids with thinking and learning differences, understanding their emotions can be challenging. To foster self-awareness, teach your child to recognize and label their emotions. Encourage open communication about feelings and model healthy emotional expression and coping strategies.
One way to help your child develop self-awareness is by using a feelings chart. This visual aid can assist them in identifying and expressing their emotions. For instance:
- Happy
- Sad
- Angry
- Excited
- Worried
- Frustrated
Teaching Time Management: A Lifelong Skill
Time management can be especially difficult for kids with ADHD. To help them develop this skill, break tasks into smaller, manageable steps. Use timers to help your child stay on track. Teach prioritization by focusing on the most important tasks first.
Read more: 3 Time Management Tools for Kids
For instance, if your child has a school project due in a week, help them break it down into smaller tasks, such as:
- Research the topic
- Write an outline
- Create a rough draft
- Edit and revise the draft
- Complete the final draft
Promoting Organization: A Clutter-Free Path to Success
A clutter-free environment can work wonders for kids with ADHD. To promote organization, designate specific spaces for belongings, such as school supplies and toys. Use labels and color-coding to help your child find items easily. Establish a regular cleaning routine to maintain order.
For example, you can create a designated homework station with labeled bins for pencils, erasers, and notebooks. This will help your child stay organized and focused while completing their assignments.
Nurturing Social Skills: Building Connections and Confidence
Developing social skills is vital for neurodivergent kids. To nurture these skills, enroll your child in social skills groups or classes. Arrange playdates with peers who share similar interests. Model and practice appropriate social behaviors together.
Role-playing can be a fun and effective way to teach social skills. For example, practice scenarios like:
- Greeting a new friend
- Asking to join a game
- Sharing toys
- Resolving conflicts
Supporting Academic Success: A Team Effort
Collaborating with your child’s school is essential for academic success. To support your child, communicate regularly with teachers and school staff. Request accommodations, such as extra time on tests or preferential seating. Encourage your child to advocate for themselves when needed.
Consider creating a communication log to track conversations with school staff. This can help ensure everyone is on the same page regarding your child’s needs and progress.
Celebrating Strengths: Focusing on the Positives
Above all, it’s important to celebrate your child’s strengths and achievements. To do this, identify and nurture your child’s talents and interests. Offer praise and encouragement for effort and progress. Reframe challenges as opportunities for growth.
For example, if your child excels in art, consider enrolling them in an art class or showcasing their work at home. Celebrate their accomplishments and encourage them to continue developing their skills.
Try Goally For Your Child With ADHD
Goally helps kids with ADHD stay focused and build skills. Unlike a Kindle or an iPad that kids get easily distracted on, Goally has no YouTube, no social media, no web browser, and especially no ads.
Goally uses game play as a points-based motivator for your kiddo with ADHD and helps them learn emotional regulation skills. It’s simple to set up and has an expert-informed design.
Empowering Your Neurodivergent Child
So, what are good habits with ADHD? They’re the ones that empower your child to thrive in every aspect of life. By establishing routines, encouraging physical activity, fostering self-awareness, teaching time management, promoting organization, nurturing social skills, supporting academic success, and celebrating strengths, you’re providing your neurodivergent child with the tools they need to succeed. Remember, every child is unique, and the journey is filled with twists and turns. But with patience, love, and persistence, you’ll help your child unlock their full potential.
This post was originally published on 05/22/2023. It was updated on 07/24/2023.
Goally
We help parents teach their kids life skills, like doing bedtime and morning independently. Backed by science, we incorporate evidence-based practices and expert-informed designs in all of our apps and content.
