What's the difference between punishment and discipline? What are the long-term effects of punishment? How does setting limits affect discipline? What does all of this have to do with Attention Deficit Disorder?

Against Punishment for Kids with ADD

Many kids with ADD have been punished a lot. At home, at school, whenever they have symptoms of inattention or hyperactivity. Children do need to learn how to behave, but inattention and hyperactivity are symptoms. Kids with ADD DO NEED to learn how to control their symptoms. Punishment DOES NOT help with that.

Parents setting limits and enforcing them helps.

When a child is willfully disobeying, that child needs to have limits imposed on his life. There is nothing sadder than a child who knows no limits, has grown up doing anything that they feel like doing, and gets into trouble after he turns 18.

What do you think is the best way to discipline?

What rewards have you found to be effective for kids with ADD?

What do you think is the best time to talk to kids about the purposes of discipline?

Especially with the high-stress times of the holidays coming up, it is wise to remember that helping kids with ADD to control their behavior is better done with incentives, rather than punishment.

Find the incentives that work and use them!