A Day in the Life of Young Children with ADHD

The On-Again, Off-Again Child

It is 4:30 a.m. Joey, a 5-year-old, bounds out of bed and runs noisily to his parents bedroom as he does every morning. No matter how early or how late Joey went to bed the night before, he always wakes up at 4:30 a.m. Joey's parents, Alan and Lisa, often joke that they never need an alarm clock in the house. Alan and Lisa are still sleeping as Joey bursts through the door and pounces on their bed like a cannonball, trying to snuggle in between the twisted maze of blankets, sheets, arms, and legs. With his brown hair disheveled from tossing and turning in his own bed the previous night, Joey sports a mischievous, impish grin. Joey simply cannot lay still. He wiggles, giggles, pokes his parents in their ears, and does his best to wake them up.

Alan and Lisa, rudely awakened from their blissful sleep, try feebly to negotiate a peaceful truce with Joey, but it is no use. Joey isn't taking prisoners. The only way Joey is going to leave his parents' bedroom is together with them. Alan and Lisa will either trudge along half-awake to get Joey's breakfast ready, or storm after Joey to catch him and send him to the corner for waking them up so early.

Joey takes forever getting dressed before having his breakfast. He is always distracted by a toy, a bird singing outside his bedroom window, a spider on the wall, or any other little thing that draws his attention from the task at hand. After waiting in vain for nearly 15 minutes for Joey to get dressed, Alan and Lisa decide not to wait for him anymore and start breakfast without him.

Joey gets upset for being left out. He is certain they are eating some yummy pastry or other sweets without him. He starts whining and throws a tantrum, still in his underwear. Alan and Lisa try their best to ignore Joey's protests, but Joey escalates things by taking his sideshow from his bedroom to the dining table. At five years of age, Joey is already an expert at pushing his parents' buttons. In no time at all, Joey manages to frustrate his parents, spoiling breakfast for everyone. Alan can't take it any longer, and angrily marches Joey back to his room and orders him to get dressed. The classic power struggle begins, as it has every day since Joey could talk.

"No!" Joey screams, as Alan points to the clothes which Joey should have put on, now strewn all around the room. "I don't want to!" Alan can feel his temper boiling, but he tries to be firm.