If one of your children has ADHD, you know what a challenge your life can be sometimes. A child with ADHD makes for an exciting and interesting life, and on some days, it can seem like a bit much. When you have one child who suffers from the disorder, your entire family is affected, and it can be extremely difficult for your other children to cope when one child has special needs.
For the child that suffers from ADHD, life is equally as frustrating. It seems virtually impossible to behave, and it seems that they are always finding trouble in one way or another. This is exhausting for both the parents and your child's siblings. Your family atmosphere may seem that it is in a constant state of chaos. The effort and time spent on a child with ADHD may be greater than the time spent on all of the other children combined.
For your other children, it may seem that the child who is suffering from ADHD is receiving special treatment, and it may be difficult for your non ADHD children to understand why this child is allowed leniency while they are not. Many times, your other children will be resentful and angry, and sometimes will suffer from guilt about these feelings.
Since caring for and coping with a child with ADHD requires so much effort, parents are left feeling exhausted and tired much of the time. Other children in the household learn to cope with the family atmosphere by becoming more self reliant, and most parents just feel relief that they do not have deal with any more stress. However, though you may feel relief that your other children are self sufficient, this type of atmosphere can be detrimental to your non ADHD children.
The siblings of a child with ADHD learn to cope with the disorder by developing a number of personality traits and behaviors. Your non ADHD children may spend a lot of time to themselves and learn to be self sufficient, even though they may not ready. Most times, they will not ask for help even when they require it, not wanting to become an unnecessary burden. These children often go overboard in an effort to please their parents and other authority figures in their lives, just to receive a bit of attention. They may also behave badly and become demanding in order to force you to pay attention to the fact that they have needs too.
When you have a child with ADHD, it is extremely important that you do not neglect the needs of your child's siblings. It is imperative that your non ADHD children feel loved and secure also. You should make an effort to spend time and notice the events in their lives, even if it means that one parent deals with your ADHD child while the other spends quality time with the siblings. It is important that your non ADHD children experience as normal a family life as possible, so that they grow to become healthy and well-adjusted adults.
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