| I was one of those blubbering ADHD children that | | | | my eldest son gets so uncontrollably giggly when he |
| cried about everything. I cried, without fail, every | | | | is happy that I sometimes wonder if he has |
| morning and my mother reports that I did not stop | | | | completely gone off the deep end. |
| crying until I was in High School. I mostly cried about | | | | The negative emotions are of course harder to deal |
| going to school. My mother says that she had to | | | | with. My youngest son gets sad beyond belief when |
| dis-enroll me from Kindergarten because the teachers | | | | he is sad and he gets mad beyond belief when he is |
| complained that I would cry so much that I would | | | | mad. Being able to remain calm and supportive while |
| throw-up. | | | | your children are dealing with big emotions is not |
| I stopped throwing up in first grade because the | | | | always easy. It helps tremendously, however, to |
| 'kind' Sisters of St. Joseph, who ran the Catholic | | | | keep your emotions in check while their's are out of |
| School that I attended in first through third grade, | | | | control. I find the easiest way to be supportive is to |
| had a basket for the poor that was full of old | | | | acknowledge their sadness, anger, frustration, or |
| clothes. If I threw up, I got to wear a piece of | | | | euphoria while reminding them of any house rule that |
| clothing from the basket for the poor. The basket | | | | they may be on the brink of breaking. |
| for the poor did not stop my crying but it did cure | | | | Remembering that the increased emotional response |
| my throwing up. | | | | is all part of the ADHD package helps to put the |
| Russell Barkley, one of the foremost authorities on | | | | emotion in perspective and I feel that learning to be |
| ADHD, reports that children with ADHD have less of | | | | patient and supportive during this kind of parenting |
| an ability to regulate and internalize their emotions | | | | storm is an art worth mastering. I love this quote by |
| than other children. He reports that both children and | | | | Vincent Van Gogh because I think that it applies |
| adults have problems inhibiting their emotional | | | | more to parenting than to fishing: "The fisherman |
| response to events and that while the emotion is | | | | knows that the sea is dangerous and the storm |
| appropriate, the unusually exaggerated public | | | | terrible, but they have never found these dangers |
| manifestation of that emotion is generally not. | | | | sufficient reason for remaining ashore". |
| Children and adults with ADHD are likely to have | | | | I think that you would agree that we, as parents, |
| exaggerated responses to both positive and negative | | | | climbed aboard the parenting boat knowing that the |
| emotions. My youngest son, when he is happy, can | | | | seas might be fickle and it is our responsibility to learn |
| practically knock over furniture with excitement and | | | | how to weather our parenting storms. |