Ask Denny Strecker

Len Stauffenger asked:


You want your kids to have the best and you’ve only got one chance to create the kind of adult you want them to be: thoughtful, enthusiastic, productive, loving and hardworking. These tips complete last month’s list of effective parenting tips to help you with this challenging task.

6. Be What You Want Them To Be. Even if you’ve never taken a class in psychology, just about everyone knows that children learn by modeling and the people they model most often are their parents. We all want our kids to be happy.” Well, are you happy? Do you have honor and integrity? Do you treat people the way you want to be treated? Are you overly materialistic? Are you moody? This article is not designed to lay any guilt on you because it won’t make you a better parent. You can begin right now to change things inside your Self. Try to be the best human you can be. There’s a good chance your children will model your good qualities.

7. Exercise Love not Fear. Don’t belittle anyone – certainly not your children. Don’t be sarcastic. Drop all the negative stuff. Most of us make our decisions based on one or two emotions: fear or love and for most people, they’re driven by fear more often than they are by love. If you want healthy children, teach them to act based on love not fear. They won’t be in the majority, but they’ll be healthy. I can tell you lots of things not to do: don’t be pessimistic or cynical.but what we really mean is don’t inflict damage. Don’t cause pain. Don’t cause fear. Instead, create love. Build self-confidence. Let your children know they are safe and protected.

8. Set Rules and Boundaries. It’s a law of nature that every action has a consequent reaction. Every action of your children has a consequence. Whatever your rules are, make sure your children understand them and understand the consequences of breaking them. Breaking those rules is bound to happen at some point or another, so be sure you follow through with the consequences – not out of anger or emotion, but just because those are the consequences. Discuss with your child what the consequences could be. Let your child help to establish his own consequences. It makes it a lot easier for you to enforce if he’s participated in their creation.

9. Be Your Children’s Hero. Keep promises. Say what you mean and mean what you say. If you lie, your promises become meaningless. Let your children inspire you to be the best you can be. Children will do as you do. I wanted to be my kid’s hero – a role model, a guide, the kind of man they would one day look for in a husband, the kind of man they would try to create if they had sons. I found my meaning in life: I would be great dad. What could be more important than that? What about you? Will you ever do anything that is more important than raising your children?

10. Don’t Resist Change. Have courage. You’ve got no choice. People generally don’t like change. We know that change is inevitable and yet we resist it because we believe it will be painful. But resisting it is, in itself, painful. So we resist the unknown because it might be painful. It all boils down to the fact that we’re afraid of the unknown. Most of our actions are based on fear or love. Divorce was certainly a huge change and it caused all kinds of fear. Have faith. Take courageous risks. Create a stable environment. Don’t make comparisons. Look back from the finish line to move forward. Go out there and really live. You were meant to do this!

Effective parenting isn’t accomplished instantaneously. It will take practice for you to get all of these into your method of operating. Practice still makes perfect, even for you. We’d like to recommend that you re-read this article and keep it at the ready so the next time your children require your practical parenting expertise, you’ll know right where to go for it. These ten effective parenting tips can become your parenting guide to positive discipline so that your children turn out to be successful adults.



SILAS

Paul Banas asked:


Dads spend their lives thinking about their families. They slog hard at work so that they can bring home the bacon. They allow their own preferences to play second fiddle to others at home. And they routinely forgo their own happiness to bring a smile on the lips of their children.

In 1966, President Lyndon Johnson declared Father’s Day a holiday, to be celebrated on the third Sunday of June. Father’s day presents a wonderful opportunity to celebrate fatherhood. It’s a day to reflect back on the special, if often unacknowledged, role dads play in our lives. It’s a time to remember the innumerable sacrifices fathers make for us, and repay them by saying those simple words dads love to hear, “Thanks dad, I love you.”

Here are some great ideas to help you celebrate Father’s Day:

1. Dad doesn’t have to wait for his next birthday to feel special. If there is a shirt, a watch or season tickets to a game that dad has wanted to buy for a long time but just never had the time for, let him know you took the time to care.

2. Dads may not be sentimental around the house but they love to display their Father’s Day cards at work with pride. Give your dad a card. If you have the time, you can even make your own card, letting dad know how much you love him.

3. Spend some quality time with your dad. Make the day a special family occasion by watching a movie together or playing some of his favorite music.

4. Treat your dad to dinner at a fine restaurant. Better still; surprise him by cooking up his favorite dish at home. (If you don’t cook, order out from his favorite restaurant and have a quiet intimate evening with dad.)

5. Get your dad a Father’s Day gift that is personal and which expresses the measure of your love for him. Buy gifts for dad. Give something you know your dad will love and use often. This way, your dad will remember you every time he uses the gift.

Above all, remember, it’s not the gift, as much as the thought behind it that counts—especially, with dads.

For more information about Father’s Day Gifts for Dad, please visit Greatdad.com



KOREY

Julie ann asked:


 

Are you trying to get your baby to take a nap? It’s not always easy to get your baby to sleep when you want him or her to. Here are 5 parenting tips to help your baby fall asleep a little quicker and maybe easier too!

 

First and most important is to make her crib comfortable. Make sure the crib has clean sheets and arranged neatly. Check the air temperature of the room and make sure the crib is in a comfortable spot in the room.

 

The second tip is to make sure your baby is comfortable. Did she eat enough? Is she bathed and clean? Has her diaper been changed? These are all steps to take to make sure your baby is comfortable!

 

Make sure your baby’s room is free of any sunlight or at least out of the direct light. If you have blinds or curtains, shut them. It is not necessary for his room to be in complete darkness, as long as there is a little light shining through.

 

Baby’s love white noise, the sound of your hair dryer or even the dish washer may be comforting to him. Remember your baby spent nine months inside you and he or she used to fall asleep to your heartbeat everynight!

 

Look for signs of tiredness. Usually when your baby is rubbing his or her eyes this can be a sign that they are ready for bed.

 



RONNIE

Elena Neitlich asked:


My husband is an insightful businessman with the unique ability to create something out of nothing, envision the future, work efficiently and strategically, and quickly get to the bottom line. In his books and seminars he teaches useful business strategies to high level executives so that they can grow their businesses successfully. His clients rave about the results they achieve when they implement his lessons.

Eager to have the same successful results parenting that my husband’s clients have with their businesses, I have incorporated four of his business practices into my parenting technique.

Think Strategically

When one thinks strategically he or she devises a careful plan of action to carry out and achieve a goal. Strategic thinking is a helpful tool for today’s busy parents who are pulled in many different directions and pressed for time. Set a goal and devise a smart plan to achieve the goal. Strategic thinking can be used in conjunction with meal planning, grocery shopping, leaving the house in the morning, etc.

For example, getting the kids to bed at the same time every evening is a great goal that can often go awry for many households. Creating a step by step plan, in this case a bedtime ritual, is an excellent means towards achieving the goal of consistent bedtimes. As children become more and more familiar with the bedtime ritual their internal clocks get set and falling asleep gets easier and easier.

Strategic thinking makes parenting easier because the whole family knows and adheres to a good plan and with a minimum of stress, achieves their goals.

Time Management

Good time management asks two questions: Is the activity of value? If the activity is of value, what is the best way to do it efficiently? Parents who find that the day is overwhelming, should ask themselves whether the majority of their time is being spent doing important activities efficiently.

There are four questions that should be asked when determining the efficiency of their activities: Should the activity be done at all? Does the activity need to be done now? Can someone else do it? Does the activity have to be done perfectly or is good enough, good enough?

A simple example is setting the table for the evening meal. The answer for most families is, “Yes, this is an important activity.” Does mom or dad have to step away from the stove to set the table now? “No, a child would feel proud to do it now.” Does it have to be approved by the Queen of England? “No, good enough will do and I am proud my child completed the table, not guilty that it isn’t perfect.”

Create Possibility and Move Things Forward

Creating possibility opens the future to bright and wonderful situations and creates opportunity. Moving things forward happens when the person acts on the possibility created.

Parents should be coming from the possibility of love for children when there is opportunity to express it. For example, when a parent is faced with a challenging discipline situation, he can scream and lose his marbles or he can come up with ideas or possibilities to express his love while still managing the children’s behavior.

“Maybe my kids are out of control because we have been in the car all morning, if I take them to the shore and let them run on the beach for an hour I bet we would all calm down.” Moving things forward is then simply Dad driving to the beach and having a wonderful time rough housing with the kids for an hour.

Another way of thinking about this is Stephen Covey’s concept of choice. As he says in The Seven Habits of Highly Successful People:

“BETWEEN STIMULUS AND RESPONSE IS OUR FREEDOM TO CHOOSE. We have self-awareness, imagination, conscience and independent will. Responsibility is the ability to choose your response. Highly proactive people recognize that responsibility. They do not blame circumstances, conditions, or conditioning for their behavior. Their behavior is a product of their own conscious choice, based on values, rather than a product of their conditions, based on feeling.”

Manage Risk

With every activity in life there is the chance that something could go wrong. Putting a baby in the tub and feeding whole grapes to toddlers are high risk parenting activities. Moving the baby from the crib to a bed with a rail is medium risk and coloring at the counter with washable markers is low risk but risky all the same.

Thinking ahead will help parents manage risk and will minimize the likelihood that something might go wrong. Parents need to get in the habit of asking themselves, “If I let my kids do this, what is the most likely outcome.”

Parents should measure the probability of something (good or bad) happening multiplied by the negative impact if it does happen. They should then ask, “What is the cost of eliminating the risk?”

For example: Electrical outlets are dangerous if a child sticks a fork in one, so parents are willing to go to the baby store and buy outlet protectors. A child might possibly be able to remove an outlet cover, but is that slight risk worth the parent hiring an electrician to come in and move all of the electrical outlets up to the ceiling?

Parents who overestimate the probability that something will happen, compulsively worry and hover. People who underestimate risk don’t provide a safe environment for kids. Good parents are able to correctly estimate risk so that they protect their children when the risk is too high and loosen up the reigns when the risk is low.

Applying these business management practices to the everyday challenges of parenting will help give parents tools to parent more efficiently and with less stress. Parenting thoughtfully and creatively will model effective adult behavior to children and create a calm and peaceful home.



AMADO

Deanna Mascle asked:


Imaginative play is an important part of childhood. Not only is it fun for children but it is also an essential part of learning and developing. Children learn about themselves, about their world, and lay the groundwork for their future through imaginative play. Yet too many children are not encouraged to use their imagination through play. There are three essential ways you can encourage imaginative play in your child — by providing the place, the time, and the supplies.

Does your child have a place for imaginative play? Is there somewhere, even the corner of a room, where they can build a block city or shape play dough monsters? Can they assemble all their stuffed animals into a school or all their cars into a parade? While children should be encouraged to pick up after themselves sometimes it takes a while to build the city of their dreams and they want time to play with it again. Try to strike a balance between your need for order and their need for imaginative play. Give them a day or so to create a complex setting for their imaginative play before forcing them to put away their toys.

Does your child have the time for imaginative play? It is amazing how many young children have a very full schedule. While many of these activities are likely required, such as school or day care, and many are also desirable, such as sports or clubs, it is also important that children be given the opportunity for free, unstructured play that allows the opportunity for imaginative play. It is not desirable that every moment of every day be structured and planned. Children who are not given the opportunity to exercise their imagination run the risk of losing the ability to use it at all.

Does your child have the supplies for imaginative play? As we know from our own childhood that imaginative play does not require extensive and elaborate supplies, but children do need access to objects they can use. A complex wardrobe is not necessary but a few items can be helpful. A bath towel might be a king’s robe or a super hero’s cape or swaddling for a baby. A cardboard tube from wrapping paper might be a sword, the container for a secret map, or a spyglass. A cardboard box might be everything from a treasure chest to a race car. Provide a few basic supplies and try not to be too suggestive in their use. Children will do better if allowed to give their imagination free rein without your interference and control.

Imaginative play can be a wonderful opportunity for your child to not only enjoy their childhood but also to learn and grow as people by trying on different roles such as parents, cooks, police officers, and firefighters but also to experience safe adventures as pirates, explorers and paleontologists. Imaginative play should be encouraged in children by allowing them the place, the time, and the supplies for imaginative play.



FELIX

Veronica Fisher asked:


The toddler years are truly the great learning years in a person’s life. Although it may become taxing for some parents, it may also give some sense of achievement. There are simply so many things parents can teach toddlers. Each and every parenting tip can focus on the different aspects of toddler life. You can have a parenting tip about feeding your toddler and another parenting tip about disciplining your child. Parents however are always after a parenting tip on potty training. Indeed potty training can be a very messy affair and parents will need a practical parenting tip once in a awhile.

Check on Overall Readiness

Every parenting tip about potty training would invariably involve something about checking readiness. Some parents may think that a child’s age is the way to measure potty readiness. Some may offer that parenting tip to potty train a child when he reaches 2 years old. Some potty train their kids even earlier. The fact is, not all kids can be potty trained at the same age. One should remember the parenting tip that each kid is unique. What one should look for therefore is readiness. A good parenting tip is to consider a child’s physical, mental, social and emotional readiness to use the potty. Your child for example will be ready of there are more than 30 minute dry diaper spells, knows that he has to go, imitates adult mannerisms in the toilet and is eager to use the toilet.

Introduce the Topic Casually

A parenting tip that matters greatly is to introduce the issue of the potty in a non-threatening manner. You can perhaps start by reading potty books to your toddler. You can also bring him for a visit to the toilet and demonstrate with dolls where the pooh goes or where everyone else in the family goes to pooh. It is also a vital parenting tip to bring the child along when you shop for a potty and some training pants. Let him make the choices. Another parenting tip is allow your child to play a bit with the potty at home in an area he is comfortable in.

Encourage and Praise

One crucial parenting tip in potty training is continual encouragement and praise. Keep on cheering for your child as he sits on his potty. Make sure to always praise him too when he has been successful. Clap your hands to make him see how happy you are that he is using his potty. You may also consider using a potty chart to let him see that he gets a star every time he uses his potty properly.

Don’t Punish

In line with the parenting tip on encouragement and praise is the parenting tip on not punishing. Even if your child is not successful do not be angry. Smile and say that you’ll try again someday. This parenting tip also means that you shouldn’t show any sign of anger or frustration when accidents happen and your kid ends up making a mess on the carpet. Clean up the mess and show him that the mess goes into the potty or toilet.

Help with Food

It can be very traumatic for your child when he experiences constipation. Help him excrete his waste smoothly by giving him lots of juice and water as well as fruits and vegetables.



JODY

Deanna Mascle asked:


Parenting is a tough job. All too often we do not come to appreciate just how rough our parents had it until we become parents ourselves. While parenting has always been challenging, it seems that parenting today is even tougher than it was for the generations before ours. I believe that is is more difficult because we are raising our children in a far different world than our parents raised us. For the most part, our parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents had a pretty good parenting guide set out for them by watching the other members of their family and the world did not change the greatly from one generation to the next. In addition, previous generations of parents had a strong support system of not only examples but helping hands. Today, our mobile society and high rate of single parenthood (through divorce or from the beginning) have not only destroyed the support system of yesteryear but also created a lot more challenging childhood to parent. In our electronic age we do not lack for parenting advice and parenting tips, but it is so hard to pick and choose from the myriad of “helpful hints” to know just what will work for you and your child. However, just like so many other problems in life we are often our own worst enemies. Whenever the parenting choices get too tough then boil it down in importance by asking yourself one of these three key parenting questions.

First, are you a good role model for your child? You know right from wrong. You know what it means to be an adult. You know what kind of man or woman you hope your child to be when he or she grows up. If you want your child to grow up a certain way then try to give them a role model to follow. Children do as you do, not as you say, my mother always says, and I know this is true from watching my own child as well as my students. If you want your child to be kind then you need to demonstrate kindness. If you want your child to be a good student then model scholarship and demonstrate that you value education. If you want your child to have strong work ethic that show them what it means. You can tell your children you want them to stay in school but if you are a dropout who never pursued a G.E.D. then what message does that send? Our children can learn from our mistakes but too often they simply repeat them unless we show them how to change their life.

Second, are you preparing your child for life and adulthood? Don’t get me wrong. I think children should be allowed to be children. They should have fun and play. All too often today’s child grows up far too soon. I am not talking about talking about sex with your 6-year-old or forcing your 12-year-old to get a job. I mean simply starting when your child is young to teach responsibility, decision-making, and consequences. Start them small with little jobs and little decisions and then as they grow older you can increase the level. If you do too much for your child then they will not be able to do for themselves when they grow older. Also, if you teach your child that life is all fun and games then they are going to be really upset when they discover it is not. I don’t allow my 6-year-old to operate any kitchen equipment without supervision but he can make himself a peanut butter sandwich and pour a glass of milk. He can’t unload the entire dishwasher (and I shudder to think about him putting glassware in a cupboard over his head) but he can put the silverware away.

Finally, are you providing a solid emotional, physical and educational foundation for your child? Remember, your child may well be in charge of your life some day or maybe even in charge of all of our lives (hey somebody’s kid has to be President, why not mine or yours?). Many people with tremendously flawed beginnings grow up to be good people, but why handicap your child that way? No matter how many challenges you face personally it is your job as a parent to provide security and comfort for your child.

I believe that one of the keys to being a good parent is keeping your eyes on the prize. Focus on one universal rule or measuring stick and everything else will get much easier. What measuring stick should you use? That is up to you as this is your life and your child, but the measuring stick my husband and I use is a simple one. We think about what kind of man we want our son to be and apply that goal to the situation at hand. If you focus on being a good role model, preparing your child for life and adulthood, and providing a solid foundation then you are a good parent. Don’t sweat the small stuff if the big stuff is taken care of.



ELVIS

Colleen Langenfeld asked:


Is the after-school, after-work routine creating a crazy, chaotic homelife for your family? Will all the end-of-the-day pressures that descend on the typical family these days, it’s no wonder parents feel frazzled and out-of-control.

I’ve been parenting for over 2 decades and have 4 busy children. Here are my top 3 parenting tips for putting the calm back into your family’s evening routine.

1. Plan it out.

Sometimes chaos comes from everyone needing to unwind at once. Of course, your kids have very little maturity to deal with the fatigue and over-stimulation that comes with a typical day. As the parent, you have to be willing to delay your own need for calm and get the rest of the troops in line first. When your family has a sense of order and control, you’ll feel much calmer, too.

Start with planning out what needs to happen in your evening. Baths, homework, dinner, sports activities all need to be written down. If you attempt to do laundry or cleaning in the evening, write that down, too.

Next write down the amount of time each of those items takes to do (be honest and reasonable). Now add up the times and compare the total to what time you actually have between the hours of after-work and bedtime.

If you’re like many families, something’s gotta give! This simple exercise will help you see why you are frustrated day in and day out. This is where the rubber meets the road; to have a calmer household you’ll need to make the activities you desire fit into your schedule. This often means cutting something out!

Trust me, you’ll never miss whatever you let go of. Take back the time to actually hug and communicate with your children by giving up the activities that don’t directly contribute to family growth. For example, a lot of great conversations can be had between parents and children while cleaning a bathroom. And let’s face it, cleaning bathrooms has to happen!

But usually very little communication can happen between you and your child while they’re on the sports field. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve done plenty of sports over the years and know how great they can be for teaching all types of values. But if your family is reeling in chaos each evening, you’re looking for soothing parenting tips, not high-achievement ideas.

2. Streamline and get organized.

Everyday activities like meal-planning can either produce joy or chaos in a family’s day. Do you have to spend time each evening deciding what’s for dinner, scrounging for ingredients and feeling resentful you have to give up so much time to something you don’t want to do?

Or do you just give in most evenings and either eat out or use take-out food? This is fine if it’s in your budget, but if it’s not, you are simply increasing your stress load which will inevitably spill over into your family time.

There are many effective menu-planning tools available today that can cut your time in the kitchen. Honestly, a smart parenting tip is to help you see that involving your kids in the evening meal routine is one of the easiest ways to add calm to a family.

Depending upon their ages, children can help

– plan the meals.

– shop for the meals, understanding both budgetary and nutritional concerns.

– set the table and help with the clean-up.

– cook the meals with supervision.

The same goes for laundry and cleaning duties, too. If one evening is laundry and cleaning night, then everyone pitches in and that’s the night for pizza. You’ll feel less scattered when the whole family is pulling together.

Of course, these tasks will all go much faster once everyone is trained, practiced and comes to expect that family involvement is a part of the evening agenda.

3. Establish routines.

I’m sure you’ve heard parenting tips like this one before and for good reason. Unfinished homework, lost supplies, missing articles of clothing, and forgotten lunches just add to the chaos level in any home. So abolish them! Establish a place for each family member’s daily stuff (just a basket or bin will do nicely) and remind daily to use them until habits are established.

Hey, you’re going to have to be serious about this one, Mom or Dad. My kids know I would even call them home from their friends’ houses simply to have them pick something up they neglected to put away in the right place before they went off to have fun.

Over the top? Not when you remember your job as a parent is to teach the types of habits that will produce appropriate adult behavior someday. Trust me, you’ll only have to do these kinds of ‘reminders’ a handful of times. Your kids are very bright. They’ll get the message extremely quickly.

Make a game with your kids about developing routines.

– Who can figure out the smartest way to put together a lunchbox station in the kitchen?

– Who sets down to do their homework first, with no complaining?

– Set a timer and see who can get their stuff ready for the next day the fastest.

– Give little prizes for shaving off time in doing everyday duties.

Set the rule that everyone in the household does work before play. You’ll be amazed at the change in your home’s stress levels. One step at a time.

Parenting tips come and go, but the basics in what a family needs don’t change. If you’re looking to calm down the evenings in your home, take a few minutes to plan out what’s important to you, streamline your processes, and establish routines that save time and sanity.

And your reward? How about a quiet time before bed?



WALLACE

Barbara Beccari asked:


One of the most lasting gifts a parent can give their child is encouragement in making decisions. When we do this we support our children in their journey towards independence.

Of course there will be times where parents need to make the decision and times when the decision will be negotiated, but there will also be many times when the child can choose.

There are two easy ways to help your child learn to make choices:

1. Involve them in choosing everyday things eg what to wear, what they want on their sandwich, what’s for dinner

2. Ask for their input in family discussions where you can allow them to choose the outcome eg where to go for an outing, who to invite to a party

Use the word ‘choice’ with your children. ‘Which do you choose?’ ‘What will your choice be?’ Remember, when children are young, to limit choices to two to make their decision making easier. Older children will be able to cope with a wider range of choice. Remember too, don’t offer your child choice if you are not prepared to follow through. Children need to know that their choice will occur.

Giving our kids choice has a couple of bonuses in addition to helping them make decisions and increasing their independence. Children will take more ownership of a situation if they have been involved in the decision and this helps them stick to the agreement. If you often battle with your child about getting them to do things giving choice can be an effective way to get results without the arguments. Such questions as: “Would you like to do it now or within the next half hour?” give the child decision making power instead of being told directly what to do.

The other wonderful bonus is of course children who are encouraged to make choices have a higher self esteem because they are included in family decision making and given chances to express their opinions. They see their point of view as being valued by their family and are more confident when facing new situations.

As you finish reading this article, ask yourself the question: “How can I give my child more choice in his/her life?”

If we parent keeping this question in mind, we will be raising our children to be experienced decision makers and independent thinkers. They will be more confident and able to meet the challenging decisions ahead. We might even reduce some of those every day battles along the way!



COURTNEY

Alvin Toh asked:


Parenting ADHD children can be stressful, frustrating and overwhelming. ADHD children have a shorter attention span than other kids and they often anger easily when they dont get their way.

Parenting through these difficulties will help raise a happy, healthy child. Here are 9 ADHD parenting tips to help you cope with and support your ADHD child.

1. Be consistent and set down specific rules. Changing the rules mid-stream can be confusing to the ADHD child. Be sure that both parents are on-board with the same rules.

2. Establish routines. All children thrive when they follow a routine but this is especially true of ADHD children. Be strict about the times that things take place but be aware of the fact that your child may have a short attention span. Limit the time children can watch television, play video games or listen to music. Sticking to these rules allows time for the children to think on their own and to use their creativity.

3. Assign weekly or daily chores. Use a chart to keep track of progress. Children love to get a gold star when they complete a task. For ADHD children, this can be a great ego boost. Be sure to explain exactly how to complete the task and even demonstrate it to them yourself.

4. Choose your battles wisely. Decide early on what things are most important and make sure that these things are the ones that get done. If the child wavers on an unimportant item let it go. What strikes the child one way one day may change the next. Be sure that your core values and beliefs are being honored.

5. Teach time management skills. ADHD children can benefit tremendously from learning the art of prioritization and time management. Often the child does not yet understand how to make these types of decisions. For older children utilize a planner or electronic organizers.

6. Break tasks down. Children with ADHD may not be able to stay focused on one task, especially if it is a large one. Break down each task into smaller, more manageable pieces. This will reduce the frustration level of you and your child.

7. Have patience. Parents already know that it takes lots of patience to raise their children with ADHD. To keep your own patience level up try giving tasks when there is plenty of time to complete them and enough time for you to follow up. Try to allow some room for error and always accentuate the positive things your child does.

8. Communicate with your child. One of the best ways to help ADHD children is to spend time with them. Set aside some time each day to talk to your child and get to know him. Help him to learn to communicate well with others and to know that he can come to you with any problems.

9. Be a good role model to your child. This is one of the biggest factors that will determine the outcome of your child as an adult. Although it may not seem like it, your child watches you and strives to be like you.



EDGARDO