What are the symptoms of ADHD in children?
Inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity are the key behaviors of ADHD. It is normal for all children to be inattentive, hyperactive, or impulsive sometimes, but for children with ADHD, these behaviors are more severe and occur more often. To be diagnosed with the disorder, a child must have symptoms for 6 or more months and to a degree that is greater than other children of the same age.

Children who have symptoms of inattention may:

Be easily distracted, miss details, forget things, and frequently switch from one activity to another
Have difficulty focusing on one thing
Become bored with a task after only a few minutes, unless they are doing something enjoyable
Have difficulty focusing attention on organizing and completing a task or learning something new
Have trouble completing or turning in homework assignments, often losing things (e.g., pencils, toys, assignments) needed to complete tasks or activities
Not seem to listen when spoken to
Daydream, become easily confused, and move slowly
Have difficulty processing information as quickly and accurately as others
Struggle to follow instructions.
Children who have symptoms of hyperactivity may:

Fidget and squirm in their seats
Talk nonstop
Dash around, touching or playing with anything and everything in sight
Have trouble sitting still during dinner, school, and story time
Be constantly in motion
Have difficulty doing quiet tasks or activities.
Children who have symptoms of impulsivity may:

Be very impatient
Blurt out inappropriate comments, show their emotions without restraint, and act without regard for consequences
Have difficulty waiting for things they want or waiting their turns in games
Often interrupt conversations or others’ activities.
ADHD Can Be Mistaken for Other Problems
Parents and teachers can miss the fact that children with symptoms of inattention have the disorder because they are often quiet and less likely to act out. They may sit quietly, seeming to work, but they are often not paying attention to what they are doing. They may get along well with other children, compared with those with the other subtypes, who tend to have social problems. But children with the inattentive kind of ADHD are not the only ones whose disorders can be missed. For example, adults may think that children with the hyperactive and impulsive subtypes just have emotional or disciplinary problems.

How Do You Discipline Your Child?

Discipline is something that needs to be started and followed through on at a very young age. You do not want your child to feel that he or she can do whatever they want. This is hard for a small child because his or her ego is generally in charge. We know that they want things their way all of the time. While this is normal, there still needs to be discipline to help your child learn right from wrong.

We have all heard of the terrible twos. This can be a very difficult time for you and your toddler. However, when it comes to discipline there are a few things to keep in mind at this stage of your child’s life. First of all, time outs can be very effective for a child at this age. If you find your child doing something that he or she should not be doing, you need to place them in time out. The rule of thumb is that you place the child in time out for one minute for each year that your child is old. Therefore, if your child is two, he or she will remain in timeout for two minutes. Whenever you are giving timeout to your child you need to remember to be consistent with your punishment. If you give time out for throwing a toy on Tuesday, you need to do the same thing on Wednesday. This goes for every punishment that you give your child. They are going to learn best from consistency.

You also need to remember that your children are going to learn from you. Because they watch you and follow your lead, you are going to need to be very aware of how you handle stressful situations and problems that you encounter. If you are angry and you throw something your child is going to think that it is ok to do the same thing when he or she is made. You are only going to be creating negative behavior that you may need to discipline later. Teach your child how to express themselves appropriately so that you do not have to worry about fixing the behavior later.

When your child gets older you are going to want to talk to him or her about the rules and what you expect of them. You want to help them understand right from wrong. Be sure to set the groundwork first. Once you have established guidelines for your child to follow you can begin disciplining if he or she is not following the rules. Be sure that you are remaining consistent with this a well. The same principle applies for older children just as it does for younger children.