Moms and ADD—The Stressor You May Not Be Aware Of

A friend of mine recently mentioned that she has ADHD, and that it is exacerbating the regular stresses of parenting for her. I was impressed to see that she was brave enough to share that she faced struggles--many moms feel a pressure to project an image of perfection, and even face criticism when they show chinks in the armor. I also saw that what she shared helped other moms she was friends with, as some of them posted that they experience similar struggles. I suspect that there are more who did not share it, but who also face the challenge of parenting as someone with ADD or ADHD. Because mothers are the ones who often shoulder the bulk of the juggling, planning, and managing; are the ones who drop everything for a skinned knee or to perform tantrum management; and spend their days thinking of five things at once by necessity, this stresses and challenges inherent in motherhood are only exacerbated by ADD/ADHD.

You could be an adult with ADD/ADHD and not realize it. You could be aware of your diagnosis, and still struggling with the sometimes overwhelming or unpredictable demands of parenting. Or you could simply find these parenting challenges stressful and desire some new tools for dealing with them. Either way, I would like to share this resource from my colleague, Keath Low, who writes about ADD/ADHD for About.com. I found many helpful tips here that I can use in my own life, and believe that they are generally helpful for moms, but particularly for those with attention challenges. Enjoy:

Help for Adult ADHD Parents

Here are some additional resources from my own site that can help you to manage the stresses and challenges of parenting:

• Common Causes of Stress for Mothers
• Mother Care and Stress Relief
• Stress and Working Moms
• Time Management Tips for Moms

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