Does The New Year Motivate Kids With ADHD?
It’s hard to believe that it’s almost 2022.
The start of a new year may bring some adults some new motivation to tackle things on their to do list, make some New Years Resolutions, and do the things you’ve always talked about doing. For people with ADHD or parents of kids with ADHD, you might wonder if the new year does help with extra motivation…
Well, let’s talk about what does motivate people with ADHD:
Goals with a clear end in sight
Not some far-off vague goal about being more on-time, procrastinating less, or being a better friend. People with ADHD do better when the goals are reasonably within sight, and there is a clear path towards them.
The goal is close and rewarding.
People with ADHD have trouble delaying rewards and are much more motivated by immediate rather than delayed rewards. So this means that your child is going to be more motivated by a goal that will be completed in 5 minutes rather than a goal that will take 5 months to complete.
The goal isn’t overly challenging.
When goals are way too hard, people in general tend to give up. This is even more important for people with ADHD to feel like they can actually reach the goal that they set. Sometimes, people with ADHD may set goals that are too hard or difficult to achieve for themselves, so this is even more important.
So does the New Year actually help with motivation for people with ADHD?
Maybe if you set realistic New Years Resolutions together as a family…then you may see some spike in motivation at the New Year.
But it’s important to stay realistic with your expectations that setting New Years Resolutions will be something that will lead to lasting changes and increases in motivation in kids with ADHD.
