Stress and ADHD

In the time between the end of camp and the beginning of school, our household became quite stressful--and this stress affected both my kids.

Jessica didn't like the last camp I tried to put her in, so she has been home with me for two weeks. Clark has been home for one week. It feels like they have both been home for a month.

Clark has ADHD and wears a 20 mg Daytrana patch. He wears it from wakeup time until 3 p.m. every day. Before the medicine starts to work in the morning, and after it leaves his body at night, he acts like an animal--irrational and wild. Sometimes he is violent. These symptoms are also exacerbated by stress

Jessica whines and clings to me all day, whether I spend very little time with her or all day with her. She is not good at playing by herself.

Both my kids show other signs of stress. Here are some other factors:

--Their dad has not been consistently calling them. He has also proven both to me and the kids in a number of situations that he is not entirely trustworthy.

--We live with my mother and she has been treating me like her 15-year-old daughter. This adds a complicated dynamic to the household and makes it difficult for me to parent. When my mother is around, there is a lot more whining and general bad behavior. These days, she becomes easily overwhelmed with the kids' high energy personalities.

--We also share the house on summer weekends with a childhood friend of my mother's. When she is around, there is extra activity. And when she's here, every morning the kids have to be quiet downstairs until she wakes up.

--Clark and I have been playing musical beds. He has been switching between two beds in two separate rooms. Depending on where he sleeps, I either sleep with Jessica, him, or by myself. Jessica gets very upset when she wakes up and I'm not in the room with her, especially if she's woken up from a nightmare.

--I have had no time to do any work and almost no yoga. This has definitely effected my mood and therefore my parenting.

--There has been no schedule for two weeks. Due to my exhaustion, I let them watch TV every morning and every night.

I am looking forward to the beginning of school, because with school comes schedules and with schedules come structure.