As parents, we always want the best for our children. However, sometimes we may notice certain behavioral patterns or struggles that might raise concerns or the need for extra support. If you suspect your child might have ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), it's essential to take proactive steps to support their well-being and development, and the earlier the better. In this guide, we'll explore common traits of ADHD, practical tips to manage symptoms, and how the Thumsters Parenting App can offer a valuable resource for families with neurodivergent children.

1. Inattention: Difficulty staying focused at home and school, often easily distracted or quick to overwhelm, frequently forgetful, or regularly struggles to follow instructions or complete tasks.

2. Hyperactivity: Constant fidgeting, inability to stay seated, excessive talking, and difficulty playing quietly.

3. Impulsivity: Acting without thinking, difficulty waiting for their turn, and interrupting conversations or activities.

4. Executive Function Differences: Difficulty organizing tasks, home/work spaces, often late for appointments or activities, and forgets about or is easily overwhelmed by responsibilities or new concepts.

Practical Strategies for Parenting Children with ADHD:

Once diagnosed, supporting your child's needs is the next step. Whilst ADHD can sound scary, with the right support neurodivergent kids (and adults!) can be high functioning, successful people. ADHD can even offer some significant strengths! Here are some practical strategies for parents to help children with ADHD thrive:

1. Establish Routines: Consistent daily routines provide safe boundaries, structure and predictability, which can be particularly beneficial for children with ADHD.

2. Break Tasks into Smaller Steps: Dividing tasks into manageable steps can help children feel less overwhelmed and boost their confidence as they complete each step. Giving them a Thumsters thumbs up gives them an extra dopamine hit and confidence boost!

3. Use Visual Aids: Visual schedules, rewards charts or apps, and reminders can help your child stay organized and focused throughout the day.

4. Provide Positive Reinforcement: Celebrate your child's positie choices, achievements and progress. Using positive reinforcement tools like Thumsters App to motivate and encourage positive behaviors works WONDERS for ADHD kids! The fun visuals, sounds and extra motivation, delivering an instant dopamine hit, helping kids learn to be self-motivated and develop awesome positive behavior habits. With neurodivergent kiddos, developing habits through consistency is what it's all about!

5. Encourage Physical Activity: Regular physical exercise can help channel excess energy, imcrease dopamine, and improve focus and self-regulation.

6. Establish a healthy sleep routine: people with ADHD can find sleep difficult for a myriad of reasons, however having healthy sleep is important for brain and cognitive function (for everyone, but particularly for ADHD kids!) We have a handful of blogs on creating a healthy sleep routine, you can check them out here.

Thumsters offers a customizable recognition and reward goal based system that allows parents to set up positive reinforcement for specific behaviors and tasks, such as following routines, completing chores, or managing time effectively. Children are given digital thumbs up for their achievements and receive small goals/rewards overtime for their positive behavior choices. Kids with ADHD love the instant recognition and fun sounds and visuals, which offer an instant dopamine hit (something their neurodiverse brains seek out and CRAVE). Whilst they get instant feedback/dopamine via the thumbs up sounds and visuals, it also helps them stick with learning a new task or behavior, and motivates them to remember to complete a task or practise self-regulate by giving them a goal/reward to work towards. It may also help motivate them to stay on top of that impulsive type behavior….. What starts as an extrinsically motivated goal (the reward) easily and efficiently becomes an INTRINSICALLY motivated positive habit using the Thumsters app.

Positive reinforcement leads to a 78% retention rate in positive behaviours among children, even after rewards are phased out! Reference: https://positivepsychology.com/positive-reinforcement-psychology/

Endorsement by Family Therapists and Psychologists:

Thumsters is highly recommended by child therapists, behavior support specialists, and psychologists for its efficacy in encouraging positive behavior choices and with consistency, developing healthy long term behavior habits. By involving children in the process of setting up their own goals, and providing positive recognition for their positive behavior choices, Thumsters fosters a sense of ownership and motivation in children, which is especially beneficial for those with ADHD or other neurodivergent conditions.

With consistent use, Thumsters helps create a calmer home environment by giving parents with ADHD kids a more respectful and calm way of recognising negative behavior via the thumbs down button if they choose. This eliminates the need for yelling, smacking, grounding or timeouts, or other shame-based parenting techniques.

If you suspect your child may have ADHD, seeking professional evaluation is the first step towards understanding their needs better and learning how to be their advocate and safe support person. Implementing practical strategies and utilizing tools like the Thumsters Parenting App can provide valuable support in helping your child and family thrive. By focusing on positive recognition and reinforcement and fostering independence by motivating them towards self-regulation and healthy habit building, parents can empower their neurodivergent children to build lasting habits that promote growth and well-being. Children who receive regular positive reinforcement are 70% MORE likely to develop strong self-discipline and habit persistence over time. https://www.earlyadvantagedcc.com/early-advantage-parent-resources/the-impact-positive-reinforcement-has-on-a-childs-behavior/

At Thumsters, it would be our honour to support you as you embark on a journey of positive parenting and growth with your neurodivergent child, empowering them to develop essential habits, embrace routines, and foster a sense of self confidence and accomplishment. Join tens of thousands of families thriving with Thumsters and create a happier and more fulfilling parenting experience and a calmer, positive home environment. Take the first step towards supporting your child's development by downloading the Thumsters Parenting App today. EMPOWERING families by creating more thumbs up moments together!