Kidsdoneed to learn, pandemic or not, anxiety or not, special needs or not.
And yet,parents are not educators.
And before you know it, a blessed thing happensthey become experienced themselves.
Like, for example, kids with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
If your child has ADHD, chances are that youve learned some great strategies forparentingthem.
Being their full-time educational project manager, however, is not a thing you may have been prepared for.
First, acknowledge the struggle
Kids who are strugglingknowthey are struggling.
Youre not going to do any damage by acknowledging it.
In fact, you should be having open and honest conversations with your kids about their challenges.
And this [conversation] is not in any kind of blaming or judgmental way.
And thats a great place to start.
If youre not sure exactly what their challenges areyou just know therearechallengesKaufman suggests starting with an observation tracker.
Limit distractions
Limiting distractions is obviously easier said than done right now.
Too many Zooms, so little space.)
And second, face them away from anyone else in their immediate vicinity and/or toward a wall.
But we cant just create the schedule for them and demand that they do it, Kaufman says.
We have to have some flexibility so that we can get their buy-in.
And as youre creating the schedule, remember to leave room for lots of breaks.
Look for the small wins
Weand our kidsare living through a challenging and overwhelming time.
Every day is not going to be a smashing success; quite the opposite.
But if you look closely enough, there will be tiny victories sprinkled throughout the day.
A good grade on an assignmentor even just acompletedassignment.
Be on the lookout for those moments.
Our brains are primed to focus on the negative, Kaufman says.
So we actually have to force ourselves to think, What are the things Ive been doing well?
What are the things my child has been doing well?
And then let them know where theyve been doing a good job so that they can build on that.
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