Parenting Your ADHD Kid with Confidence Angela Pruess
Parenting is always a challenge. We aren’t given a manual when our kid is born. Parents whose kids have ADHD are even more unprepared. The Dad Edge constantly receives emails from dads who are struggling with their ADHD son or daughter. Most feel frustrated and helpless. They don’t enjoy parenting, and their kids can sense that. But there is hope for ADHD parents. All we need is the right skillset.
Angela Pruess is a licensed family therapist with a background in Child Psychology, Child Development, and Play Therapy. She is the founder of Parents with Confidence and also the mother of three children, two having special needs.
Angela explains the 3 different types of ADHD and the best way to manage each one. She talks about how to create an environment that encourages emotional intelligence and a growth mindset. She also tells us how to develop and leverage our parent-child connection, understand the true motivation behind our child’s behavior, and discipline our children without emotional damage.
Empower yourself to grow emotionally resilient ADHD kids who will live their best lives!
Angela Pruess
Angela Pruess, LMFT, is a Child and Family Therapist and special needs parent on a mission to support and empower parents of behaviorally challenging kids. Over at parentswithconfidence.com, she wants to make life easier for you by decoding your child’s maddening behaviors, as well as their developmental and emotional needs. When she’s not supporting parents, or seeing kids in her private practice, she is at home being challenged (a lot) by her own three kids (and sometimes husband).
“Kids do better when they feel better.”—Angela Pruess, LMFT
What You’ll Learn
- Parents forget to try to understand their kids. We need to know what drives them.
- There is no quick fix for helping an ADHD child.
- How amazingly resilient kids are. Their high-plasticity brains keep them openminded to learning about themselves.
- How to manage emotional resentment towards your child.
- ADHD cannot be helped. There are differences in the child’s brain structure since birth. Executive functions are limited as well as a broad range of important skills that bleed into everything.
- Has ADHD always been around? How come we haven’t heard of it till now?
- The outdated diagnostic criteria for ADHD.
- The 3 different types of ADHD: Hyperactive, Inattentive, and Combined
- Hyperactive: Physically hyper, but also impulsive, these children have a hard time stopping and thinking before the act. They show a limited ability for self-control and taking time to make best decisions.
- Inattentive: It may look like these children are lazy and not paying attention, but there is an invisible piece. They don’t know where to start and get stuck. Parents have to be on child’s back to get things done. These are the dreamers, staring out the window. They are observant, curious.
- Combined: These children present both aspects of ADHD. All of these children struggle with emotional control and regulating their attention.
- How does ADHD show up besides hyperactivity and poor academic performance?
- How to tell if your child has ADHD and is not just misbehaving.
- Playing too much video games, not getting sleep, and too much sugar are some habits that lead to ADHD behaviors.
- Parents expect to treat each kid the same, but they must seek to better understand each individual child’s neurobiology and personality.
- The more you know about how each child ticks, the more you can influence your kids.
- Use a humble, open approach instead of being authoritarian.
- Kids put their needs out in the form of their behavior.
- Unwanted behavior will not end until your child’s needs are met.
- Their behavior is just the tip of the iceberg. Underneath is a huge variety of internal factors and drivers.
- Be aware of your child’s sensory needs. Some are triggered by noises or being touched.
- Being the “behavior police” with your ADHD child breeds disconnect and resentment.
- How to draw the line between positive parenting and giving into bad behavior.
- Get into the habit of thinking of the golden rule when interacting with your child. How would you want to be addressed? What would inspire you to do better?
- ADHD kids are bright and advanced in other ways. They want to be acknowledged and respected for their gifts.
- When children are upset, they shift into stress brain and their thinking brain goes offline.
- How to teach your child to be aware of their emotions and help him/her be genuinely motivated to learn how to cope with their feelings.
- All humans are wired with a negativity bias. Try to focus on the positives and achievements instead of everything your child does wrong.
- Growth Mindset. Think of the whole picture when it comes to dealing with your ADHD child, not just right now. Instead of putting out fires, use challenging situations as a learning experience.
RELATED EPISODES:
Faster than Normal: Secrets of the ADHD Brain with Peter Shankman
How to Unlock ADHD Superpowers with Peter Shankman
Anxiety and Depression in Kids: A Parent’s Survival Guide with Natasha Daniels
How to Help Kids with Anxiety and Depression – Exclusive Dad Edge Alliance Q&A with Natasha Daniels
Strategy Guide for Parenting ADHD Kids with Brian King
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