ADHD Water Park Magic

Natalie arrived home from her weekend away with her friend Harry late Sunday afternoon.

“We got some great pictures,” Harry’s mom, Victoria said. “There’s one of the two of them at a restaurant. Both of them are resting their heads on the table.”

Two kids with ADHD tired out before midnight? Their strategy—let the kids play at the indoor water park until they wear themselves out—apparently worked.

“What you don’t see in the picture is Steve and I clinking our glasses of wine!”

Most of the weekend, it turns out, Natalie and Harry had the water park to themselves. Two ADHD kids vs. two lifeguards and two parents: I like those odds.

Nat’s re-entry into family life went smoothly as well. I used to dread her homecomings from weekends away—not because I didn’t miss her like crazy, but because she’d inevitably freak out. All the control she’d exerted over her behavior for Grandma or Aunt Ann would suddenly give out, and the dam would break. Have you seen that pattern with your ADHD kid? This doesn’t seem to happen anymore with Natalie.

We had a wonderful evening together—decorating our Christmas tree as a family. Sharing some cake for my birthday, which was Saturday.

And when bedtime came, the water’s magic was still working. Nat went right to sleep, no Benadryl needed.

Water park weekend, anyone?