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ADHD Sleep Tips for Kids That Actually Work!

November 2, 2017 by Selena Robinson 32 Comments

Sleep Tips for Kids with ADHD - Look! We're Learning!

Getting enough sleep is a major problem for kids and adults with ADHD. I’ve been a light sleeper for years, but I had no idea it was related to ADHD until I started researching symptoms.

Personally, I CANNOT go to sleep without reading first. If I try to just lie down, my mind will race with a thousand “I need to” and “I really should” thoughts, and eventually I’ll jump up and start doing stuff. Not good if I expect to be a relatively happy mom the next day.

Our kids tend to be light sleepers too. Tigger and Roo take a very long time to fall asleep, and poor Pooh has struggled with night terrors ever since he was an infant. The irony is: The less sleep kids with ADHD get, the worse their symptoms are. So we’ve had quite a few rough homeschooling days due to lack of sleep.

I’ve been reading lots of information about establishing good sleep habits, and today I’m sharing three ADHD sleep tips for kids (and adults)!

If this post is helpful, be sure to read my list of the best ADHD homeschooling tips around!

Does your child with ADHD toss and turn every night? Here are some ADHD sleep tips for kids that really work!

Image: Deyan Georgiev / Dollar Photo Club

ADHD Sleep Tips for Kids

1. Provide plenty of physical activity during the day.

For years, my husband has done manual work. On days that he works, he rests well at night because he’s so exhausted from the day. On weekends, though, he tends to stay up late into the night.

Turns out that’s related to ADHD! When kids and adults with ADHD exert themselves during the day, they sleep more soundly at night. Make time for your kids to get up and move vigorously during the school day and they should rest better.

Ultimate Guide to Brain Breaks

2. End screen time a few hours before bed.

It’s no secret that kids tend to get excited after watching television, but that is true to an even greater degree in kids with ADHD. And it’s not just TV. Any kind of screen time, including computers, tablets, and smartphones, can be overstimulating and make it harder for kids to go to sleep at night. Of course, as I write this, it is 11:38 p.m., so this is a “Do as I say, not as I do” moment. 😉

We’ll be talking more about screen time limits later in the series, but it is critical that we minimize (and even eliminate) screen time when possible to avoid sleep problems and loss of focus. That’s where adding in physical fitness can help, because it gives kids an outlet for their energy instead of adding more stimuli.

3. Establish a bedtime routine and stick to it.

We’ve used a set bedtime in our family for years. But that’s not all that’s involved in establishing a bedtime routine. You know how doctors encourage you to create a routine of bathing, reading, and singing to help babies learn to sleep at night? We should keep that going with our kids long after babyhood.

We covered the importance of routines for ADHD yesterday, and those same points apply to the bedtime routine. That means that consistency is critical. Once you establish your bedtime routine, stick with it every night. Over time, your kids’ bodies will learn that nighttime is for winding down and resting.

Note: I’ve been hearing good things about melatonin. My daughter’s pediatrician actually recommended it to us during her last visit. But I’ve been hesitant to try it, because I’ve heard that it gives some kids nightmares. So if any of you have any thoughts or experiences with melatonin, please tell me about them! (Disclosure: I am not a medical professional. Please consult a doctor before deciding how to treat ADHD in your family.)

Have you struggled with helping your kids with ADHD go to sleep? Do you have any ADHD sleep tips for kids that work in your family? Tell us about them in the comments!

ADHD Sleep Tips for Kids That Actually Work

Need more help parenting and teaching kids with ADHD? Read these posts for ideas!

Teaching a child with ADHD at home? You've got to read this list of the best ADHD homeschooling tips around!

15 Homeschool ADHD Schedule Ideas - Awesome for teaching active kids at home!

Math Activities for ADHD Students

For more help parenting kids with ADHD, follow my ADHD Tips board on Pinterest!

Don’t miss these other great posts!

ASL Alphabet Flashcards The Grouchy Ladybug Printables ADHD Handwriting Help for Kids Middle School Coding Projects for Beginners


Filed Under: 31 Days of ADHD Homeschooling, ADHD Learning, Special Needs Homeschooling Tagged With: adhd, adhd kids, adhd sleep tips, adhd sleep tips for kids, adhd tips, kids, kids with adhd, parenting, special needs

The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling ADHD Students

April 25, 2016 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

We’re parenting three children who have ADHD/ADD in our family. (The jury’s still out on the toddler, so far.) To add to our unique situation, both my husband and I also have ADD. Fun!

Naturally, we have to make use of a LOT of creative tips and ideas for homeschooling ADHD students. We’ve shared lots of posts on this topic over the years and I’ve gotten some great suggestions from other websites as well.

So – without further ado – here is the Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling ADHD Students! I hope that these resources are just as helpful to you as they’ve been to us!

The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling ADHD Students

Image c/o: Rawpixel via depositphotos

The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling ADHD Students

How to Deal with a Homeschooling Dawdler

Homeschooling with ADD and ADHD

Managing Expectations for ADHD Students

How We Homeschooled My Kiddo with ADHD

Adapting as a Teacher to ADHD Kids

When Traditional School Fails: Homeschooling May Be a Better Option

Preparing Kids with ADHD to Learn

Homeschooling Kids with ADHD

Making Lifestyle Changes for Kids with ADHD

Making Lifestyle Changes to Homeschool Kids with ADHD

Why Special Needs Kids Thrive in a Homeschool Environment

How to Consider Other Kids When ADHD Homeschooling

How to Work with ADHD in Your Homeschool

Homeschooling as a Mom with ADHD

Small Muscle Handwriting Practice for Kids with ADHD

Our ADHD-Friendly Homeschool Room

How We Did Spelling In Our ADHD Homeschool

3 Tips for Raising Boys with ADHD - These are great suggestions for parents who are struggling with sons who have this condition!

3 Tips for Raising Boys with ADHD

Pages: 1 2 3 4

Filed Under: ADHD Learning, Special Needs Homeschooling Tagged With: adhd, adhd homeschool, adhd homeschool tips, adhd homeschooling, adhd homeschooling tips, adhd parentings, adhd tips, homeschooling, homeschooling adhd kids, homeschooling kids with adhd, kids with adhd

Must Read Books for ADHD Homeschooling Parents

October 2, 2014 by Selena Robinson 2 Comments

When I first learned that our daughter had ADHD, I was full of questions: What is ADHD? What are the treatment options for ADHD? Should I change my parenting style? Can we manage ADHD without medication?

I Googled and poked around some online sites and found a few great ones (I’ll be sharing those later in the series), but what I really wanted was a comprehensive book about ADHD that would explain the condition, let me know what to expect, and offer suggestions for how we could help Tigger manage her symptoms.

Of course, now that we’ve learned that most of us in the family have ADHD, I’ve had to do even more reading about it. Today I’m recommending my must-read books for ADHD homeschooling parents, but even if you’re not a homeschooling family, you’ll find some excellent advice and tips for managing ADHD in these resources.

Must Read Books for ADHD Homeschooling Parents - Look! We're Learning!

My Must-Read Books for ADHD Homeschooling Parents

  • Healing ADD Revised Edition: The Breakthrough Program that Allows You to See and Heal the 7 Types of ADD

This book by Dr. Daniel Amen has literally been a life changer for our family. In the book, Dr. Amen describes seven types of ADD, including hyper and inattentive versions. We found each of us in this book and we learned about the types of behaviors that are unique to each type.

For example, Tigger tends to show classic ADD symptoms, complete with hyperactivity, while Pooh displays the characteristics of limbic ADD – a type I had never heard of before. It was after reading this book that I decided to adjust our homeschool schedule to allow for a more gradual wake up routine in the morning.

We’ll be talking more about the different types of ADHD later this week. 

  • Raising Girls with ADHD: Secrets for Parenting Healthy, Happy Daughters

Raising Girls with ADHD is a book specifically about helping young girls with the condition to understand their symptoms, manage their behavior, and build self-esteem. Tigger’s dealt with low self-esteem quite a lot over the years, especially when it comes to some of her harder school subjects, so this book was right up our alley!

Look for our full review and a giveaway later this month! 🙂

  • The Out-of-Sync Child Has Fun, Revised Edition: Activities for Kids with Sensory Processing Disorder

Since some of our children have sensory processing disorder, we try to incorporate sensory activities whenever possible. This book, a follow up to The Out-of-Sync Child, is packed with active, sensory-stimulating activities that are simple to do around the house. These activities have provided some great material for our homeschool P.E. classes!

  • Women With Attention Deficit Disorder: Embrace Your Differences and Transform Your Life

I came across this book as I was just beginning to realize that I have ADHD. The author, Sari Solden, is also a woman living with ADD and she is incredibly compassionate and relatable as she describes the challenges and advantages of living with this condition.

As a homeschooling mom, I do the majority of the parenting and the teaching in our home and I really needed some help to understand my tendencies toward disorganization and procrastination. This book has really helped me to work with those tendencies, instead of trying to be “normal”.

  • The Ultimate Guide to Brain Breaks

This ebook, written by homeschooling mom Heather Haupt, is a great way to add movement breaks into your homeschool day! We got a chance to review it a while back and our kids absolutely loved it! We schedule in brain breaks every day and the kids pay attention so much better after we take them.

Do you have any favorite books for ADHD homeschooling parents? Share your recommendations in the comments!

This post is part of our “31 Days of ADHD Homeschooling” series! Be sure to stop by tomorrow for Day 3: Why ADHD Parents Should Let Go of the Homeschooling Ideal!
31 Days of ADHD Homeschooling - Look! We're Learning!

This post is also part of The Massive Guide to Homeschool Reading Lists by iHomeschool Network! Click over to read tons of awesome booklists shared by my fellow homeschooling bloggers!

ReadingLists

Filed Under: 31 Days of ADHD Homeschooling, ADHD Learning, Book Lists, Parenting, Special Needs Homeschooling Tagged With: adhd, adhd homeschooling, adhd parenting, adhd tips, homeschooling with adhd

Hi! I'm Selena, a teacher and a veteran homeschool mom to four. I'm so glad you're here!
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