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Dec
01
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 My friend Cheryl over at A Little Bit Quirky recently wrote a post about the five minute warning and how it is often a cue for her child to engage in either a new activity or to intensify the interest in “whatever.” I find that my son is exactly the same way. For him, sometimes it is about the activity he is doing at the moment, sometimes it is almost a panic that he is NOT doing anything just then, and he just might lose out if he doesn’t start something “Right Now”. | |||
Blog Posts by Melody
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Sep
20
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OMG, the constant cacophony of chaos in my home makes me insane! My two ADHD children and my imaginative musical preschooler make for a great deal of noise. Between the chatter of blatant antagonism, the shrieks of irritable frustration, and the riotous laughter of play, the decibel level in my home is frequently a +10. | |||
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Aug
17
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Not for Nothin’, but today was a great parenting day; albeit interspersed with the loud tantrums of my 8-year-old son. I found a “hook” for him today and seized the opportunity! I’m not sure why it clicked for us today, unless it was the fact that he’s been possessively obsessed with the Toy Story “Woody” doll/guy since he got him for his birthday last night; hence the screaming hit a new high this morning when anyone tried to look at or touch the toy. I snapped this morning and said, “OK, give me Woody.” Of course met with intense “NONONONONO!”, I said, “Give me the guy and show me 15 minutes without screaming at anyone. I’ll set the timer when you’re calm.” It worked! He said, “What!? I can get him back in 15 minutes if I’m calm?” I repeated myself and he handed me the guy with an, “OK.” So that was it; my “hook” and I rolled with it consistently all day! | |||
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Apr
14
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The other day a two-year-old touring NYC with her parents fell into the East River. She darted away, slipped and slid saliently into the water in an instant. Fortunately, she was saved by her alert father within moments. He’s my hero. As a Mom with ADHD and three young and impulsive children (including a two-year-old) I can relate. | |||
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Mar
18
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When you have a child with behavioral issues attached to a mood disorder, the entire family is impacted. Sometimes it’s like experiencing the aftershocks from an earth quake where you live with the trepidation that at any moment the slightest shaking could become cataclysmic. Other days you are aware that every moment is a bombardment of agitated aggression, irritation, and frustration let loose in the form of verbal assaults, whining, and general chaos created in your living space. It is an exhaustive time for all, where your adrenaline is constantly flowing and nerves are left twitching. The child initiating the mayhem can spend hours in and out of time-out, or wrestling with consequences, but in the end he/she has succeeded in monopolizing everyone’s time and attention. This is our life. Read more » | |||
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Feb
17
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For my children, hearing, listening, following directions, and (oh, let me just say it) compliance with others is like pulling teeth. (*Cringe*.) There are many days when I feel like I’ve failed as a parent, and my kids are still so young. When you throw in their ADHD (and mine) into the mix, it makes for some pretty difficult days. Read more » | |||
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Jan
29
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It is late January and my home is knee deep in the post-holiday let down, pre-birthday craze, cabin fever zoo/mess! Now that I’ve finally packed up all the holiday “stuff” and the new toys have been well broken in, it seems we are back to hearing the mantra, “I’m bored! There’s nothing to do…” and the incessant whining or fighting between the kids. Today, all I can think about is how spoiled my children can be! They don’t even know how lucky they truly are; it saddens and frustrates me. Granted we don’t have an extravagant lifestyle by any means, as we are somehow living on one income, but I do my best to provide games, toys and resources for the kids that, in my mind, enable them to never have “nothing” to do. Of course every mother wishes her children would be grateful and enjoy what is offered, but too often they act as if it is just never enough. Sometimes I just want to yell, “Enough!” myself! | |||
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Nov
24
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I ended my last blog post for EP by saying that our daughter was given the diagnosis of ADHD and began Ritalin in first grade, which seemed to be a miracle… | |||
