Child and Baby Care Advice

There are a lot of complicated and complex studies about what causes ADHD, and a lot of folk lore and popular theories.

There are also some basic facts about what does appear to cause ADHD and what doesn’t.

Environmental factors: It appears that tobacco and alcohol use by expectant mothers can cause a higher risk of ADHD in offspring. There is also evidence that high levels of lead may be related to ADHD in children.

Brain injury: One early theory was that attention disorders were caused by brain injury. Some children who have suffered accidents leading to brain injury may show some signs of behavior similar to that of ADHD, but only a small percentage of children with ADHD have been found ot have suffered a traumatic brain injury.

Food additives and sugar: While it is popular to think sugar causes or exacerbates ADHD, this does not seem to be true. In 1982, the National Institutes of Health held a scientific consensus conference on this issue and found that diet restrictions helped about 5 percent of children with ADHD, mostly young children who had food allergies.

Genetics: ADHD runs in family, so there are likely to be genetic influences, but no one knows exactly what those are.

In short, no one really knows what causes ADHD most of the time, but there are some factors, such as prenatal alcohol and tobacco consumption and genetic predisposition, that seem to increase a child’s likelihood of having ADHD.

Information from this article comes from the National Institute of Mental Health Report “Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.”

Angie Dixon is a writer and ADHD mom of an ADHD son, Jack. For a free report on helping your ADHD son, see Angie’s site “That’s My Son!” at http://www.Raising-the-ADHD-boy.com

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Posted on May 29th, 2008 by ryhan
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One of my favorite Emerson quotes is simple: What you
do speaks so loudly that I can not hear what you say.

When my kids were young, I was full of words and a
lot of action too. The actions just didn’t match my
words.

(You can read about that experience and how I changed
it in Bad Dad: 10 Keys to Regaining Trust at
http://www.Bad-Dad.com/baddad_dp.htm.)

Have you ever heard a father or mother say to the
child, “Please don’t take up smoking. It’s such a nasty
habit and so bad for you.”

Of course, hang around parents, you’ll hear that. How
many times have those words fought for breath as the
parent puffs on a Marlboro? Too, too many times.

A 2-year old learns the word “Why?” They ask it until
they go to college. “Why can’t I pull the cat’s tail?”
“Why can’t I hit the ball?” “Why does that girl keep
hanging around?” “Why can’t I have the car?”

“Why is it okay for you to smoke when I can’t!”

As parents, we often fall into the “Because I said so!”
trap. That eventually morphs into “Do as I say, not as
I do.”

Kids are smart. They operate with an emotional truth
that we seem to lose as we get older. The young ones
hear your words and witness your actions. Soon the
words mean nothing because the actions speak so loudly.

You can counsel your children against smoking until
you’re blue in the face, but if you smoke they will not
hear you. If you’re lucky, they’ll be disgusted by your
habit. If not, they will somehow try to create a bond
with you by. . .you guessed it. . .picking up a
cigarette.

It takes courage to change. And it takes cowardice to
watch your children pickup your suicidal habit. Yep,
that was harsh. I’m sorry.

But if you want your children to trust you, you must
change too. Start by stopping.

I know. You’ve tried many times before. Nicotine has a
strong hold on you. But there is help. See the doctor.
Join Nicotine Anonymous. Get the patch. Do whatever you
can to stop. And do it with your child let them see
how much you care.

If you don’t smoke, you’re ahead of the game, but not
out of the woods yet. There’s still that Emerson quote.
It applies to everything, not just smoking.

You must become a role model. Let me rephrase that
you ARE a role model. You must become a POSITIVE role
model.

What you do and how you behave affects your teen all
children in ways you only find later. Smoking is just
one sign.

Next time, if your teen has started, how does she stop?

****************************************************

David Perdew, author of “Bad Dad: 10 Keys to Regaining
Trust,” is a father and former Bad Dad. Claim your free
Special Report — Teen Smoking: Is Your Teen Committing
Suicide Slowly with Cigarettes? at
=> http://www.Bad-Dad.com/srts.htm

****************************************************

Read personal stories of the search for inner peace in
a not-so-peaceful world at
=> http://www.WorldWantingPeace.com/ar.htm

Everyone wants Peace. Today’s a good day to start.

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Posted on May 12th, 2008 by ryhan
Filed under: Child Care | No Comments »