The sign of great parenting is not the child’s behavior. The sign of truly great parenting is the parent’s behavior.”
-Andy Smithson
Parenting a child who struggles with behavioral issues like ADHD can be a demanding and challenging task, but there are many strategies you can employ to make the journey not only manageable but also enjoyable. Without proper management, ADHD can turn the precious early years of childhood into a time of stress rather than the joyful experience most parents anticipate. At Positive Kids, we focus on equipping parents with effective behavior management plans and providing support for ongoing challenges related to ADHD.
Parenting areas that are covered include but are not limited to the following:
- Behavioral Management and Emotional Regulation: Techniques to help manage and guide your child’s behavior in positive ways.
- Self-Control for Parents: Strategies to maintain your composure and respond calmly to challenging situations.
- Communication Skills: Enhancing how you communicate with your child, improving both understanding and cooperation.
- Disciplinary Measures: Finding the right balance in disciplinary actions that foster good behavior.
- Medication—Yes, or No? Discussing the pros and cons of ADHD medication and whether it’s a suitable option for your child.
- Supporting School Success: Strategies to help your child excel academically despite the challenges of ADHD.
- Enhancing Social Skills: Techniques to improve your child’s ability to interact successfully with peers.
- Family Cohesion: Ensuring that all family members are aligned and supportive, creating a consistent and supportive home environment.
- Community Support: Meeting other parents who are facing similar challenges, providing a network of support and understanding.
These sessions are designed to provide you with the tools and knowledge needed to help your child navigate the challenges of ADHD, ensuring they thrive at home, in school, and in social situations. Join us at Positive Kids for support that makes a difference.
Parenting Situations
Co-Parenting
Parenting is already challenging, and there’s no manual for raising your child. When you need to collaborate with another person to achieve parenting goals, it becomes even more complex. Questions about who, what, when, where, and why often create obstacles. When your partner becomes an ex, how do you work together to ensure your child’s needs are met in a safe and supportive manner? Sometimes, you need help, and that’s what Positive Kids offers.
Most of our clients want what’s best for their child. Problems arise when parents disagree on what that is. While courts can make formal decisions when parents can’t agree, a parenting counselor or coach can provide valuable strategies and recommendations.
Areas a Parenting Coach Will Focus On
Communication– This includes establishing mutual boundaries for your child, working through discipline collaboratively, and being on the same page. Our counselors and coaches will help find solutions that work, making a real difference in your family’s communication.
Effective Transitions and Visitation– Transitions between parents can be challenging for children. Saying goodbye and reuniting with the other parent often causes emotional stress. Though transitions are inevitable after separation or divorce, there are ways to ease this stress and make visits more manageable. Positive Kids helps families create thoughtful plans to navigate these challenges effectively.
Resentment and Forgiveness-Children often witness hostility and lingering emotions between separated or divorced parents, which can have long-lasting impacts. Positive Kids helps parents set aside anger, resentment, and hurt, focusing instead on their child’s needs. Mastering this emotional shift is crucial for successful co-parenting. Understanding that co-parenting is about the child’s happiness and stability is key to helping them thrive emotionally and psychologically.
Single Parenting
Raising a child is challenging for two parents, let alone one. However, our research shows that children raised by single parents can be just as happy and mentally healthy as those with two parents. Regardless of whether a child is in a single-parent or dual-parent home, we believe that all children thrive when their parent’s approach is nurturing, warm, sensitive, responsive, and flexible.
Parents are most effective when they:
- Are patient with themselves and understand that there is no such thing as perfect parenting.
- Feel confident that they are doing the best they can with the resources they have.
- Want to be good parents and actively seek ways to improve their parenting.
- Have support from family and friends.
Navigating Transitions
When children experience transitions such as parental separation, divorce, death, or abandonment, they are thrust into the unknown. Whatever the cause, it will have an emotional impact that must be acknowledged. As a single parent, it’s important to have open discussions to let your child know their feelings are normal and to help them navigate through these emotions.
Double Duty Parenting
Being a single parent means balancing the roles of breadwinner and caregiver. Juggling building a healthy relationship with your child while providing for them can be challenging. At Positive Kids, we can help you manage this balance by offering guidance on:
- Making the most of your time with your child and identifying what quality time looks like.
- Being emotionally available and maintaining your capacity for attention.
- Disciplining undesirable behavior with consistency and firmness.
- Recognizing signs that your child may be struggling.
- Setting boundaries for time management, device usage, and self-care.
- Using effective communication skills tailored to your child.
- Establishing safety and security rules at home.
- Managing your own stress and fatigue.
General Parenting
Parenting a child who struggles with behavioral issues such as ADHD can be difficult and challenging, but as a parent, there is a lot you can do to make the journey manageable and even enjoyable. ADHD left unmanaged can make those early childhood years a dread, rather than the enjoyable experience most of us want to have. Positive Kids specializes primarily in helping parents develop the “right” behavior plan as well as support with ongoing challenges that may surface as a result of the ADHD condition.
Our sessions cover areas such as:
- Behavioral Management/Emotional Regulation
- Self Control as a Parent
- Communication Skills
- Disciplinary measures
- Medication- Yes or No
- How to help your child thrive in School
- Helping your child with Social Skills
- Being on the same page as parents and as a Family
- Meet other parents going through your struggle