Focus on Siblings: Dealing with Conflict
January 31, 2014
Managing ADHD: Daily Schedule Eliminates Nagging
February 13, 2014
When a child has ADHD, a frequent recommendation is to set aside a specific time every week to plan the schedule for the coming week. The purpose of the schedule is to help the youngster (and family) be more organized and accomplish the tasks that need to be done in a timely fashion.
Having an appreciation of the passage of time is a major challenge for anyone with attention weaknesses, and for young children too. If your family is habitually late, chores don’t get done, homework is forgotten, and you feel like a “nag,” then using a posted schedule could be the cure.
During the weekly schedule planning time, discussion takes place about the special events that are happening in the coming week. You would talk about: what parent may be out of town, the projects due for school, sporting events happening this week. Each person’s daily chore, homework time, practices and free time are also discussed. All of that information is noted on the week’s schedule along with a time when the task will be done.
There are several ways to set up this schedule. Some families use a large dry erase board. Family members each have their own colored marker. Each day is written across the top of the board – Monday through Sunday. Down the left side, times of day are noted, beginning at wake-up time and ending at bedtime. The day of the week and time could be written in permanent marker.
For example, if Joy sets the table at 5:30 on Monday, that would be written on the schedule in green (Joy’s color). Another system would be a weekly schedule for each person with days of the week across the top, and times written along the left side of the paper. For family members who are pre-readers, pictures will also work.
