PARENTING AN ADOLESCENT WITH ADD

Parenting is one of the most difficult tasks on earth and parenting a teenager is harder. But think about the parents of an adolescent with ADD!! It is definitely a job that faces superhuman challenges. It is often difficult to comprehend or accept the attitudes and behaviors of a teenager with ADD that The parents of such sufferers cannot come to terms with these unconventional behaviors and become clueless about the way to respond.

Experts say that the basic thing for the parents of ADHD teenager is to rub shoulders with a basic set of principles which play guide to them in bringing up their son or daughter.

Let me clarify, these set of principles are just guidelines rather than rigid rules for behavior.

Some of the basic guidelines are:

Allowing independence: adolescence seeks for independence. Even the adolescents with ADD need independence. But they do need some additional guidelines to make adjustments and for adapting to the novel behaviors. If you are a parent of an ADHD teenager, look for the opportunities that permit you to give increasing responsibility and independence gradually at a rate that is manageable and controllable.

Supervision and structure that is reasonable: relax your supervision and structure gradually for your child with ADD when you observe that your child’s behavior and grade is improving. When your child achieves good grades and proper behavior, it means the apt level of supervision and structure is fulfilled. However, remember that this level of structure and supervision must be maintained for a longer period than should be done for a teenager without ADD.

The above principles are some of the basic guidelines for the parents of ADHD adolescents. Always remain well informed and educated while parenting children with ADHD.