You see, Im a single mom of 4 kids and they were out of control. No amount of help from family, friends, self help books, counselling or love was helping. I had run out of options and was considering giving them up to someone who could better take care of them...

But Then, As If By Magic...

My youngest son Kyle, who was diagnosed with severe ADHD, started responding to one of my last attempts at getting him to pay attention. It was then I realized that everything I had been told to do by the experts was dead wrong.

You see, my family, the counsellors and the books all outlined ways to add structure to the kids lives. Now that in itself isnt a bad thing, but most of that structure had to do with MAKING the kids DO THINGS THEY DIDNT WANT TO DO! It involved schedules, carefully laid out plans, rewards for being good and punishment for being bad, etc

No one ever told me to ask the kids what they wanted, what they enjoyed, what bothered them and what I could do to help them feel better. My kids are people. Theyre individuals with feelings, desires, interests, you name it... Theyre just like you and I. Once I had figured out this one simple thing...

They Immediately Began To Calm Down

I quickly started to put together a journal of what I was doing and how the kids were responding. Based on that journal I jotted down the most effective ways I had found to keep the kids happy and attentive, and ended up with this: