Hi Kat:

Thanks for posting. You raise a good question about explaining mom's ADHD to a child. I do think honesty is the best policy and you might be surprised to find that your daughter knows all about ADHD because one or more of her classmates has it. Regardless, no need to get technical and detailed with her - just a simple, truthful statement of the facts will probably make everyone feel better. Something like "Mom has something called ADHD. It's a medical condition, but it doesn't hurt and it's nothing for you to worry about. ADHD just means that my brain in wired a little differently than everyone else's - this means I can be more creative and fun, but it also means that I sometimes have trouble concentrating, focusing and feeling comfortable in big crowds."

Here's a good article that ADDitude wrote about explaining ADHD to a child who's just been diagnosed - a little different, but I think the explanation still helps...

Explaining the ADHD Diagnosis to Your Child

Also, here are some helpful articles about moms with ADHD.

Best of luck!

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