Benefits of Parent Education in Raising Children With ADHD

Does bad parenting cause attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)? This is a common misperception, and the answer is No. However, we may sometimes feel like bad parents when it comes to raising our ADHD kids, especially if we are blamed and shamed for our child’s behaviors. Raising an ADHD child is no easy task, and understanding our child’s ADHD behaviors is the best way to reach our goal of being the best parents we can be.

How parental behaviors influence ADHD behaviors

Parents of ADHD children report more parenting stress compared to parents of non-ADHD children. According to Deater‐Deckard (1998), parenting stress occurs when parents don’t feel like they have the resources to deal with the demands of parenting. Parental stress can lead to less-than-ideal family interactions and relationships, which can potentially increase ADHD symptoms in children.

For example, if there is a cycle of a child not being on task and getting bad grades, the parents may become frustrated, and then the child becomes frustrated, which can bring out symptoms of ADHD. When my son would forget to turn in assignments for school, I would get frustrated with him, he would yell at me, I would yell back at him, and then he would have a full-blown meltdown as a result of the emotional dysregulation that occurs in ADHD. After I understood why he was not turning in assignments and why he had extreme emotional responses to frustrating situations, I realized I had to modify my behavior that was contributing to Andrew’s emotional meltdowns.

Parent knowledge (knowing where, with whom, and how your children spend their time) has been found to influence risk-taking and homework behaviors in adolescents with ADHD. More parental involvement and awareness decrease these common behaviors known to negatively impact children with ADHD. Thus, parental influence plays a critical role in successful outcomes in children and adolescents with ADHD.

Parent knowledge of ADHD

A Consumer Reports survey of 934 parents of children diagnosed with ADHD found more than half of the parents did not have a clear understanding of their child’s strengths and weaknesses; nor did they have a plan for managing their child’s behavioral problems. Similarly, Lai-Chu et al. (2021) reported only 65 percent of parents of ADHD children had knowledge of ADHD when they were asked about symptoms, diagnostic criteria, prevalence rates, causes, and managing ADHD-related behavioral problems.

Roughly half of parents of ADHD children do not have an understanding of their child’s ADHD behaviors. Therefore, parent education is key for effective management of ADHD symptoms in children.

Benefits of being an informed, educated parent

Parent education can begin with learning about the symptoms and causes of ADHD, treatment options, and well-known strategies for helping to manage ADHD behaviors (e.g., breaking down larger tasks into smaller, more manageable tasks). According to the organization Children and Adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD), make sure to get your information from reputable sites (e.g., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nonprofit groups, or universities) as there is a lot of misinformation, particularly on the internet and on social media. Being informed is the first step in helping you to support your ADHD child in the best way possible.

Understanding your child’s ADHD behaviors will enable you to effectively advocate for your child. When my son was in middle school and early high school, I contacted his teachers at the beginning of every semester to let them know his strengths and weaknesses, how he learned, and what accommodations in his 504 Plan required the most help. Establishing an open line of communication with your child’s teachers will help you to protect your child’s best interests. Advocating for your child is not only important with teachers but also with coaches and other individuals your child interacts with who may not understand their ADHD behaviors.

Learning all you can about your child’s ADHD will help you to be more mindful in the way you interact with your child. It’s important to remember that your child’s behavior is not intentional—they don’t want to fail classes, be constantly late to practice, or be forgetful. Parent education will help you to understand your child’s strengths and weaknesses, set appropriate expectations for what your child can achieve at that moment, and focus on what your child does right, instead of how to “fix” them.