Parenting a child with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder can have its challenges, but you'll often make the situation worse when you lose your patience with the child's behavior. There are plenty of reasons that you might lose your patience, but a common one is that you're taking the child's behavior personally. Taking things personally generally doesn't have a positive outcome, so it's important to try to effectively manage this situation. By remembering that your child isn't acting in a certain manner to defy you, you can work on being gentler so that you're always helping the situation not escalating it.

When The Child Doesn't Follow Your Instructions

One of the more challenging aspects of dealing with a child who has ADHD is when he or she doesn't follow your instructions. You might ask the child to clean his room for example, and then look out the window 10 minutes later and see the child playing in the backyard while the room has barely been touched. Taking the situation personally will escalate it and lead to a major conflict. Take a deep breath and encourage your child to come back inside and continue working on his or her room.

When The Child Struggles At School

Children with ADHD can often struggle in school. Having a lack of attention in the classroom can lead to disciplinary issues and even some struggles academically. Don't make the mistake of taking your child's school struggles personally. For example, you might think, "I work to help the child with his or her homework every night, and he or she forgets to turn it in and thus gets a bad mark." Instead of taking it personally, work on setting up a structure that will help your child to remember to hand in his or her assignments.

When The Child Disrupts His/Her Siblings

Sometimes, you'll face the difficult situation of your child with ADHD acting in a disruptive manner toward his or her siblings. You may feel as though the child is simply being a troublemaker, and this can make you take the situation personally. The reality may be something as simple as the child wants to play with his or her sibling, even though the sibling is busy doing something else. Looking for an activity that your child can enjoy on his or her own for a while can be a solution. Seeking ADHD help from a counselor can be valuable as your child learns to manage this condition.