[bctt tweet=”When our kids are tired, dehydrated, or not getting the nutrition they need, their brains won’t have the fuel they need to make good decisions.” username=”corkboardblog”]

The tricky thing about helping our kids get the proper nutrition is that we can find ourselves in a control battle. After all, you can’t force your child to eat what you want them to.

Here are a couple of tried and true ways you can prioritize nutrition without creating control battles:

Get Sneaky

Take what your child is already eating and boost the nutrition. Does anybody remember the Sneaky Chef? If they’ll only eat Spaghettios, add a tablespoon of carrot baby food into the can before serving. When you make brownies, you can add purees of blueberries, spinach, and/or black beans. This one can kinda be gross, but puree free-range chicken livers or grass-fed beef livers. Freeze in ice cube trays and pop a cube or two into the pan whenever you’re cooking ground meat for tacos or meat sauce. Protein powders hide well in milkshakes and smoothies. And fiber powders hide well in oatmeal, cookies, and pancakes.

Give Choices and Shared Control

It seems counterintuitive, but your child will be more likely to try new things if you flex some of your mealtime rules. Ellen Satter outlines a suggested division of responsibilities on her website. One parent reported, “My son is cautious in all things, and offering him new foods wasn’t much fun at first. If I am careful not to push him, however, I have found he ever so slowly pushes himself along to learn to like new foods. He is so proud when he tries something new!”

Supplement

Even if your child ate the recommended food pyramid at every meal, they’d still benefit from a whole-food supplement. Current soil conditions and modern eating habits make it almost impossible to get all the micronutrients needed just through food. There are a lot of misconceptions out there about supplements and a lot of contradicting advice about what’s good for our kids, and us.

[bctt tweet=”To medicate or not to medicate? #adhdparenting” username=”corkboardblog”]

In full disclaimer, I am not a medical professional and cannot diagnose or prescribe. I am not taking a position for or against medication today, but want to give you some things to consider.

1. This is a personal decision between you and your medical provider. Put horse blinders on to the unsolicited opinions of extended family and friends. Having a mental boundary to those things upfront will make them easier to handle.

2. Understand what medication can and can’t do. It alters brain chemistry which can improve focus or stabilize mood. It cannot magically instill lagging skills of executive function and organization. This is also true of natural treatment such as supplements and essential oils. This is why having parenting tools that work for kids with ADHD is so important.

3. Understand the brain science. Remember that ADHD is a physical brain disability with behavioral symptoms. The brain can have trouble focusing for one of two reasons. Too much brain activity or too little. The behavior symptoms look the same. A stimulant medication for a brain that is overactive will backfire. Ask your medical professional about a QEEG brain scan that can help you know the root of the problem so you can better address it.

4. Educate yourself. Before starting your child on a medication, understand how it works in the brain, the side effects, how long it takes to see a difference, how long it takes to get to a therapeutic dose, how long it takes to wean off if necessary. What happens if your child refuses? Is that a safety concern?