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All parents know to toddler-proof their home. But parents of ADHD children must take extra measures to keep their ball of energy out of harm’s way.
One family, with a highly adventurous four-year-old, worried about the dangerous situations he might get into before they were awake and on-duty. The answer? They installed a Dutch door in his room -- with the lock on the outside. The bottom door was locked when they went to bed, so their accidental explorer was safely confined to his room. The top door, which was too high for him to climb over, was left open, so he didn’t feel cut off from the family.
Ask any mother of a hyperactive preschooler, and she’ll tell you that she is permanently overwhelmed. “The crying, the noise, the fact that they’re always there. He goes to sleep when I do, and, often, he wakes up before me. I never get enough rest. He runs all over the house during the day. I hate myself for yelling at him. I never feel good about myself as a parent.”
Is your three- to five-year-old running your household? First, give yourself a break. The preschool years are the most intense for parents. Second, try these at-home tweaks to prevent your child from getting hurt -— and yourself from going crazy.
Step One: Buy Child-Proof Furnishings
This article comes from the Fall 2009 issue of ADDitude.
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