How did you tell your child that they needed to be on meds without hurting their self esteem??

[Love11]

Hi- I need advice. We have decided to put our son on medication. It was a hard decision but we feel that this is what he needs right now. But I don't want his self esteem to suffer because he is a great kid. He already knows what I said to the doctor about his behaviors and hetold me that he needs the medication. I think that he sees my fusttation. That just breaks my heart that he feels this way. Any advice for us please?

[anirush]

Both boys have been on meds since kindergarten and they are now in Middle School. They just accept it as part of life right now. Don't remember how we started it , maybe telling them this will help them in school?

I don't know how it would affect their self-esteem unless they were told this is not normal. Most people take some kind of medication even if it's just an aspirin or vitamin. It's just part of keeping yourself healthy.

[Love11 in reply to anirush]

Hi thanks for teplying. Keeping himself healthy does sound like a good way to describe it to him. My son does notice that the other kids don't take a medicine regularly and I was reading a bio on Michael phelps and how it bothered him when the school nurse came in the classroom to give him his medication. I'm just trying to be prepared for this. Thanks😊

[Boymom3]

I told mine it was just to help him focus better on his school work. He has a few friends that have it and takes medication. He’s ok with it. I point out to him the improvement in his grades and the things his teachers say that are positive. Don’t worry so much. It won’t be a big deal to him if it’s not a big deal to you. That’s my opinion anyway.

[lacylu22]

We talked to our son about his frustrations with his chores (farm) and forgetting steps (daily) and feeling like he's letting his dad and grandpa down even though he really tries. We started with just therapy a few years ago and then decided to start medicine a few weeks ago. He's 9 and calls it his "brain medicine." (He came up with that, not us) He takes it at home so his peers aren't aware he takes it but his dad and I approached it as "this will help with your frustrations with forgetting steps in your chores and feeling like you aren't doing things right. We are so proud of you but if it doesn't make you feel better will stop." He was really happy to hear that. There are obviously other things going on but we just talked about the one thing that bothers him the most. We didn't talk about school concerns or other concerns we have because we didn't want to bring up all of his ADHD behaviors. He immediately started to see an improvement with his daily chores and so he wants to take it every day. I hope this helps!

[ScatteredMom]

"I know you have a hard time with, (whatever task seems to frustrate him a lot)." It might be because your brain works a little differently than most people. Medicine might help, though, so I'd like to try it and see if it makes things easier for you."

[outnumbered1]

We have compared it to kids who need glasses. Just like their eyes need glasses to focus, his brain needs a pill to focus. We also talked about diabetes and how some kids need shots daily and at least he only needs a pill. Good luck.

[Love11]

Thanks everyone for the replies. There are some great ideas. I guess that I'm just nervous about this while process. Hopefully everything will work out. Have a great day!!😊