GRAND RAPIDS — For parents in West Michigan, the pandemic has forced them to transition to more of a teacher-role for their kids, now that they are learning remotely.
Parents who have children with ADHD might be a little bit more challenged. Psychiatrist, Dr. Greg Mattingly, has several tips for parents to turn this situation into a positive one.
He says structure is absolutely key for kids with ADHD; make sure the kids get up at a certain time, take a shower, get dressed, eat breakfast, and so on. Then, get right into their school work.
"It's good to start with a favorite subject. You know, one of the core challenges of kids with ADHD is sometimes they procrastinate, give them something they enjoy doing to start with, start with a favorite subject. So they get an affirmation, Hey, I got this accomplished. It was fun. Let me show you what I did dad, and then work your way towards the more difficult challenging classes."
Dr. Mattingly also reminds parents to pay very close attention to your behavior while working with your kids.
"If you're running around with your hair on fire, your kids are going to have their hair on fire. If you're getting stressed and blowing up and raising your voice, your kids are going to raise their voice. So it's important as a parent, as a parent educator, that we model behavior. We stay consistent, we stay positive, we give affirmations to our children, we give affirmations to ourselves," said Mattingly.
He also said a great idea for parents is to break down the assignments into chunks, so kids can see the beginning, and the end and feel a sense of accomplishment.
If parents want more help, check out www.moretoadhd.com
