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Thread : Mom to an ADHD child cleaning tip  
24 May 2008 @ 1:59 AM
cantonmom Join Date: Sat 24th May 2008
Threads: 1 Posts: 3
Mom to an ADHD child cleaning tip

The biggest thing I learned as a mother to ADHD/Impulsive child was what toys she could and could not have.

I went in to her toy box and anything smaller then my hand went into the garbage! She is not allowed to have small toys, or board games etc. I just now allowed her Pokemon cards that is going so so. I started this rule a couple of years ago and my house stays MUCH cleaner. She drags out toys that are 1) bigger 2) dont have parts or pieces to scatter. It is wonderful.

New issues to tackle.. she doesnt know what a garbage can is and when she gets dressed in the morning all clothes come out of the dresser to find what she wants to wear :(

Hope this tip helps other parents. I know it helped me keep my sanity with toys!

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24 May 2008 @ 9:32 PM Reply # 1
ADD RN Join Date: Wed 21st Nov 2007
Threads: 11 Posts: 358
I hope it helps

Try color coding things so it may be alittle easier for her to find things that match. If she has a certain flair for accessiories get some thing she hang them up on such as I have for necklaces, bracelets , scarves and anything thatshould would need. Shoes I have all over I haven't come up with a system for them. I have all my jewlery similiar colors etc in certain parts of my jewlry box so I don't have to find matching things.Truthfully as she gets older and she already a messy little things you may want to lock it up in her room so it doesn't grow to the rest of the house . I am ADD adullt female and with alll the stuff I have is pretty kept in my two rooms that doesn't really go out of here so when i am my messiest like during school the hoards of books , papers are encapsulated into these two room.My husband hates to come up here and very rarely does it stresses him out As far as toyes I found as my daughter got older the things got smalller and lot less peices it was more like Ipods , gameboys nitendos, Wii and things If she likes music get her a karaocke machine I bought one for my friends son it used it so much he blew it out and we had to buy another one . This provided hours of fun but didn't have really any pieces

I wish I couild say we get neater; and I did during my highschool years and it changed after gettting married. I still pull out clothes and leave them all over until I wear it then throw it in the wash but at least it is in my room

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10 Sep 2008 @ 1:09 PM Reply # 2
CTmom Join Date: Wed 10th Sep 2008
Threads: 1 Posts: 3
Awesome tips!

I love this idea of only allowing large toys to play with, although I hate to get rid of her Legos. Right now we just simply have too many toys in the house. Another problem is books. My daughter taught herself to read at an extremely young age and has ever since been a voracious reader. For just about any holiday you can think of, people give her tons of books. I feel like I'm constantly weeding loads of books from her shelves, but the collection never gets any smaller! Worse is that she leaves them all over the house - in her bed, under the sofa, on a kitchen table, etc. It's hard to blame her when I know her shelf space is limited.

One recent thing I've done to try to help her keep her clothes organized is to hang all her school clothes up in her closet with bright pink stickers wrapped around the top part of the hanger. This way, when she's getting ready for school, she can immediaterly see what she has available to wear and can get herself dressed without pulling out 5 different outfits from her drawers and then leaving them all over her room. Now, if I can just get her to walk 5 feet to throw dirty clothes into the hamper instead of leaving them on the floor!

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12 Sep 2008 @ 9:38 AM Reply # 3
Patti J. Join Date: Fri 25th Jan 2008
Threads: 1 Posts: 61
Cleaning tips - kind of

First thing, I have 2 boys (1-30 yrs. old/married), 2nd 16 yrs old @ home. I have learned that expecting any child (whether ADHD or not) to keep their room in perfect condition is nonexistent unless your are a real dictator. Organization is wonderful, but remember, it is YOUR house. They just live there. (Remember how you felt when you left your home and got your OWN first place?) This is a priority thing. If it is important, try to come to a consensus with your child and other house residents. Keep things picked up and out of my sight. Like in your room and close the door. That way it's their space, no one has to see and you don't necessarily have to worry about it. My son's basket is truly only 1 foot away from his bed. He rarely makes it! But at least on the average, every 2-3 months he really goes in and cleans up the major floor area and sometimes even rearranges his room (that means he cleans under the bed then too, yahoo). I know when I lived at home, I kept my room picked up, but not spotless. I do the same now. It should be the #1 chore for your child to keep their room and personal items in order (but don't have a cow if they don't!). Be glad your child reads-so many find reading to be too confining, be glad your child invites the friends they have over (that means they aren't interested in whether or not there is dust or dust bunnies anywhere, it just means they aren't ashamed of their home, no matter the condition AND that they have friends). I'm proud of that. I'm not spotless and you can't eat off my floors. But my kid still invites his friends over. Oh well, I live my life, not look at it. So do most ADHD people. There are other battles to pick -- school, homework, courtesy and being a gentleman, coming in on time, not making me pull my hair regarding attitude, behavior, are some of my higher priorities. Cleaning his room is like 1x month seriously and otherwise, my job. I'm the adult and am more concerned than my kid. Most kids were/are the same way. Even those not ADHD. Remember, pick your priorities carefully and try to remember what the really, really important ones are.

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21 Sep 2008 @ 5:07 PM Reply # 4
FrostinGal@yahoo.com Join Date: Tue 16th Sep 2008
Threads: 1 Posts: 9
ADHD and toys

My mom, who is part of our household, believes that kids should be able to be organized and keep things "just so." Well, she lives in a home with three ADDers. Good luck! She is finally realizing that she is only causing stress to herself by having unrealistic expectations of us. That is why there are several drawers and toyboxes and shelves in the toyroom! As long as it gets back into a drawer/toybox, or on a shelf, and not on the floor, it is clean for me. Not being able to find what you want/need when you want it is a consequence of disorganization. When they get tired of not being able to find a certain item, they learn to take better care with where they leave it or create a "place" for items of value. Case in point, Game Boy Advance and Game Boy accessories and games. My son has managed to make sure they end up in the case together 90% of the time. Not bad! Eventually they get the point. DD, 17 has managed to loosely organize her items and is almost always able to find what she is looking for, now. Now, it's mommy's turn! But I've only been diagnosed for two months and meds for a month, so I have some catching up to do! A bit more progress every day!

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14 Oct 2008 @ 9:00 PM Reply # 5
bmiller4753 Join Date: Mon 7th Jan 2008
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5 minutes goes a long way

My son (12 yrs old) tries just about every night to spend 5 minutes to pick up his room. He realizes that 5 minutes isn't a lot of time and usually that's all it takes to get his room looking presentable. When I was a kid, I NEVER made my bed until someone told me to time myself. I realized that I could spend 60 seconds to making my bed every day. Using a timer can make these mundane things (which people with ADHD don't like) seem much more manageable and not quite so boring.

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