Something occurred to me the other day... There is a lot of information out there about raising ADHD children. From time to time I also see information about ADHD parents raising ADHD children. What you don't see a lot of is information and stories about ADHD parents raising non-ADHD (neurotypical) children.
As I'm sure you know by now, I have ADHD. My youngest daughter, however, does not. This can be both comical and frustrating at times. For example, I always found it funny that by the age of 8 my daughter was telling me when it was time to leave for appointments and events, and she took over keeping the family calendar updated. If the pantry needs to be organized, she'll be the one to do it.
At the same time, I know it can be frustrating for her. She doesn't understand why I don't always hear her when I'm hyperfocused on something else, or why I forget things, or why I have a difficult time transitioning from one task to the next. It can also be frustrating for me, because there have been times when having ADHD made it difficult to provide structure and accountability for my children.
What Has Helped
There are two keys to parenting when you have ADHD, whether your child has ADHD or not. First, you have to understand your ADHD. When you understand how ADHD affects you, you can find age appropriate ways of explaining some of the symptoms and obstacles. Understanding your ADHD also helps you determine what systems and strategies you need to put in place to minimize its impact on you and your family.
Second, you have to treat your ADHD. Explore treatment options, such as medication and coaching. Make sure you get enough sleep, exercise, and eat a healthy diet to avoid aggravating symptoms, and create systems and strategies for time management, accountability, organization, etc.
