ADHD behavior problems are aggravating for parents and stressful for troubled teens. Since these issues can affect development, learning and social skills, it is crucial for parents to learn how to stop their damaging effects. In this article, you’ll learn three simple and practical steps that you can take that will vastly improve your Struggling Teen’s behavior and your home life.
ADHD emotional problems include things like irritation, moodiness, outbursts, and inappropriate or even aggressive behaviors. Although these are symptoms of the dysfunction in the brain, many researchers believe that this can be relieved by good nutrition. If your child’s brain is not getting the nutrition it needs to generate a happy, relaxed state of mind that is typical in childhood, then nutritious food will help. After all, food is our medicine because it gives us the nutrients that create energy and a sense of well-being.
Good food is needed to produce feel-good neurotransmitters in the brain. If your child is eating a junk food diet that is chock full of chemicals, this can worsen ADHD emotional problems and create a vicious cycle that even medication cannot relieve. Instead of feeding your child fast or packaged food, make simple meals with lean meat, healthy oils, whole grains and plenty of leafy greens and other dark or brightly colored vegetables.
Fresh fruit in season makes for delicious, naturally sweet desserts that are full of vitamins and micronutrients. Supplement this diet with a vitamin and mineral combination. Environmental pollutants and mineral-deficient soils mean that good food is not as healthy as it used to be, so a daily multivitamin and mineral tablet will help your child get what he is not getting in his food.
While a supplement is even more important if your child is still eating junk food, it will work best when given with a balanced diet. You will also want to make sure that your child gets a daily dose of omega-3 fatty acids which is essential for brain and heart health and will repair damage done by years of improper eating.
In addition to feeding to a good diet and a supplement, issues related to ADHD can be quickly minimized by teaching your child the coping strategies that will help him make good choices in the moment, especially when he is under stress or not feeling well. The best way to do this is with an at-home behavioral program that has been designed specifically to deal with ADHD behavior problems and other issues relating to aggressive, disrespectful or even defiant kids.
One program, in particular, was designed by a therapist who was once a troubled teen and understands how to deal with these issues from the inside out as well as from the perspective of a therapist. Teaching your child coping skills will give him a set of tools that he can use throughout his life. An added bonus is that you will learn how to better cope with stress.
So there you have it: three healthy, safe ways to short-circuit ADHD emotional problems and get your child back on track, so he can start to experience what it’s like to have a normal, happy childhood.
