Surviving Summer Break with ADHD Kids: A Parent's Guide

If you have children with ADHD, the long summer vacation might seem particularly daunting. How do you get through one or two months with ADHD kids who are suddenly out of their much-needed routine? Here are some tips from experts – and experienced parents of kids with ADHD.

Dr. Peter Jaksa, a clinical psychologist who runs ADHD treatment centers in America and has ADHD himself, says there are only two things certain about summer break with ADHD kids: It's absolutely certain that your kids will be easily and often bored, and it's equally certain that they will demand a lot of your resources: more time, more attention, more money...

Children with ADHD thrive on regular routines. So how do you balance their need for a schedule with every kid's need to 'feel free'? Dr. Jaksa offers several suggestions:

• Prepare a large family calendar, hang it in a prominent place, and mark all known activities: family vacation days, trips to the water park 'Chafetz Chaim', regular visits to the beach, and so on.

(Photo: shutterstock)

• Loosen some rules a bit, but don't discard them entirely. For instance, don't drastically change sleeping and waking hours, because it will negatively affect your kids. Moreover, what is forbidden during the year can't suddenly become allowed all the time in summer. Don't allow an entire day of screen time or a day where all meals consist of sweets.
• Don't organize activities for every waking moment. Kids with ADHD might need a schedule, but that doesn't mean they should be told what to do every single minute. Encourage them to think creatively and find their activities now and then.
• If your child is old enough, find them a job. A part-time job can give a teenager the framework they desperately need, boost their self-confidence, teach them new skills – and, of course, partially solve the endless boredom problem.

Dr. Larry Silver, a psychiatrist specializing in ADHD in children, has several more tips.

• If your child takes medication during the school year, don't stop just because it's vacation time. Except in rare cases where the issue is strictly academic, ADHD also has an impact at home. If you want the family vacation to go smoothly, everyone to have fun, and the child with ADHD not to spend half the vacation being scolded and punished – keep the medication going. Silver shares that he has known many parents who stopped medication on their own during breaks, typically with poor results. In one memorable case, the family went on vacation to the grandparents' farm, and after two days of nonstop hyperactivity and mischief, the child climbed onto the tractor and tried to start it by himself…
• Don't negotiate with kids! If you have important rules regarding bedtime, screen time, having friends over, etc. – do not start negotiating just because it's vacation time. A child who asks for 'just ten more minutes' before bedtime will end up going to bed an hour later than usual. Stand firm on the rules important to you and refuse to discuss them. If you need help enforcing the rules due to vacation rebellion, consider launching an incentive plan, but don't compromise on your core values.

(Photo: shutterstock)

• Select activities that suit your child carefully. Kids with ADHD have a low frustration threshold. Accordingly, it's a recipe for trouble to send a child with particularly poor hand-eye coordination to a summer program focused on sports like tennis or soccer. If they struggle with sensory overload and thrive poorly in a bustling environment, an amusement park and a day camp with a few hundred kids aren't likely to be successful solutions.
• Don't expect your child to study all summer. Many kids with ADHD also have learning disabilities, and parents are often stressed that they'll lose all their academic progress over the break. Still, says Dr. Silver, all children need a break – even those who struggle academically. Give them at least a partial break from academics during the summer.

Parents Speak Out

The American magazine ADDitude, catering to families with ADHD members, collected the best tips from parents to get through the summer vacation with ease. Here's what they suggest:

• "Find your child a job. Summer work can do wonders for a child's self-esteem. My son worked for a local grocer last year, and his boss trusted him, which greatly boosted his positive self-image."
• "Don't leave your child with too much free time. I enroll my kids in classes that fill half the day and organize regular playdates with friends. When they have too much free time, they start to fight."
• "Maintain a morning routine. Even during summer vacation, my kids wake up at the same time as during the school year, and their morning routine remains unchanged. Every morning they work on an agreed activity or play outside. The schedule helps them."
• "Use the summer to refine skills the kids are still struggling with: Last year, we dedicated mornings to reading and writing practice, while afternoons were for swimming and playing with friends."
• "Dedicate time to the children's interests. At school, everything is dictated to them – in summer, I let them explore what interests them. In addition, we start a major project each year that the kids can take part in significantly – this summer, for instance, we're planting a garden."
• "Let kids choose activities they want. Before each vacation, I sit down with the kids and offer several activity options – then create a vacation schedule with the activities they chose and want to do."