How are your mornings? | ADHD Information
Hi. Mornings can be so tough. Is the "singing" the only problem you are encountering? When younger, my son didn't so much as "sing", but he jump around and make really goofy silly noises. Let's just say he acted a lot like the comedian Jim Carrey in the mornings! :) Add to the silliness things like being extra loud, not listening to any requests from me, being unable to dress himself without something being on backwards/insideout, having NO concept of time, making additional wierd sound effects, refusing to brush teeth on time, being unable to complete a task without getting distracted, etc.etc.... You get the picture. The thing that helped make our mornings more managable and smoother was taking his morning meds 1 hour before wake up time. Yes....I eventually had to resort to this just to give my son the ability to "pull it together" in the mornings. I'd make a glass of Ovaltine or Instant Breakfast and then wake my son up 1 hour before his normal wake up time. He'd take the meds with the Ovaltine (for calories and vitamins) while still half asleep, eyes closed, then snuggle down for another hour of sleep.
This tactic worked wonders for our household. The downside.....meds wear off 1 hr earlier in pm. But for our family......the benefit FAR outweighed this downside. Gone was the morning pleading, threats, fits, yelling, etc. Of course this technique doesn't work for everyone, but it did for us....especially when I combined it with things like having his clothes/shoes laid out the night before and backpack ready to go already placed in car. Okiemom
Are you sure you don't live at my house? This is our exact story, right down to using focalin, and being dx last fall. My son does not sing though, his is more like shouts. (YOW, WOOHOO, OWE WOWWE!) I also try not to yell, I don't give him meds until we walk out the door for school so it will last longer in school. (focalin xr) But after 30 min. it wears me out telling him to settle down, inside voice, eat breakfast, get dressed, etc. I don't have an answer for you, but just know that your family is not the only one.Hi, yeah, when they was little, mornings were a nightmare, now they are a bit older & i have got a good rutine going its not so bad, weekends are harder & school holidays becoz there is change every day, if they dont want to go to play scheme & we decide to do some thing else, mikey is very uneasy & impulsive as to where we are going even to the point of actually getting there!!!I dislike mornings too. I'm not a morning person, so I try to have things as organized as possible. I have a lot of noisy little people around my home and I like quiet, not a great combo. LOL
Could your son keep his bedroom door shut, so you won't hear the singing ? Could you wear earplugs ?
I'm banking on having some peace & quiet when the last kid moves out (in about 12 years LOL).
Hugs to you.
Hi
Mornings are a real nightmare for me
Thanks for not making me feel alone in all this. I try to get him to eat and
then go to his room to change and hang out until the meds kick in. It
usually takes 45 minutes. During the summer we let him play his game
cube in the mornings so we can sleep a little later. During the school year, I
want to do away with that. I will try to let him play on the computer more in
the mornings perhaps. Earplugs sound like a good idea as well! Thanks!My ds is turning 6 this week. He was dx with ADHD last fall. He is
currently taking focalin and it is a livesaver. However, he "sings" as soon
as he gets up in the morning and is very loud. (no real songs, just random
music and words). Sometimes I have to wait to give him his meds
because he is up early and the foclin is short-acting. We tried Focalin XR,
but it lasted just as long as the short acting. How can I have a calm
morning? I hate mornings right now, because of all the craziness. I love
my ds very much, but his "singing" is driving me crazy. He would do this
singing alot before he was diagnosed. I suppose he is trying to "wake up
his brain" a little. He doesn't fidget at all and has stopped biting his nails.
His impulse control has been fine, even before meds. He is just at an
higher energy level when not on meds or engaged in an activity he is
interested in. I really hate yelling in the mornings, because I don't think it
accomplishes much. Any suggestions? Right now, I sent him to his room
to get dressed and play until the med kicks in. Once they kick in, he's
fine. He had his birthday party yesterday and ran his energy out there.
He didn't have much meds as well. We have cut down significantly during
the summer.Singing is better than crabbing I get either crabbiness or I dress her while she is out of it. Mornings and evenings are stressful in general but you do learn to live with it by venting once in a while. I would probibly go with it and try singing with him to keep his mood happy I try to be silly with my daughter at times make it fun. I do not know what else to tell you.I'd ask him to keep it to an "inside voice level" and then ignore it as best I could. There are so many worse ways to start the day, not that I want to minimize your stress. Maybe you should get headphones for yourself or him, so that he can listen to music instead of singing it. I don't know, good luck!Fast/ crazy! For this reason kids clothes/shoes all out night before bed for next day. We also do quick breakfast stuff also. Kids school mornings start at 6:30.have tried a structured time right after he gets up? have him do some coloring or drawing? I wouldn't mind the singing much. But, I can say that, my son is not a singing one.
But, if he did do the singing I'd probably get irritated by the end of 2 mornings in a row. it'll pass, it's just a faze.oh, one last thing. you might want to record it. you never know when you will need a was to embarrass him w/ listening to it. 
My son is exactly the same way, however, he tarzan yells, or bellows or squeals. Its like his cup runneth over with happiness from the time he opens his eyes. I don't know how he does it. Sometimes he is so overcome he runs outside and shouts to the world. No telling what the neighbors think. I can never get him to get ready in time. He will be starting 4th grade this year, I don't know how he will be then. I get my son up at the last possible moment. He doesn't need extra time to wake up. He eats breakfast at school. I get him up, either help him get dressed, dress him or direct him while he gets dressed. Its not that he can't do it on his own but until his medicines kick in it could take HOURS. We get him dressed, I give him his medicines, he grabs his stuff and he is on his way. On days that he does have to spend some extra time before leaving for the bus, he is very happy to watch cartoons. By this time, the whoops and hollars are intermitant, not constant. Its hard to try and explain to someone how "perpetual happiness" can get on your nerves but it can. On the other hand, I never have trouble locating him when we get seperated at Walmart !!! lolI agree our family are night owls which doesn't help out. We love to sleep in. Can't give medacine until right before leaving or won't last/ Depakote only lasts 12 hrs. We give vitamins with meals. Our kids are 10 and 13 and still no change. If not woken up they would be late daily even with a early bed time. It would take a parade to wake these 2 up. oldtimer38926.2369212963Yes i no exactly how u feel as it the same in my house my 9 yr old son gets up screaming shouting making strange noises even mking up songs that dont mke sence 2 us but obviously does 2 him (bless him lol) ive tryed asking him 2 stop nicely as they tell u 2 but obviously it get's annoying early in the morning as my son gets up at the crack of dawn so it's not the sort of noise u want as soon as u woken up lol there nothing i can suggest 2 u but if u find anything that works please let me no as i love 2 no
thanks tke cre and good luck 
One suggestion that I have is something I saw on "Supernanny"...I did it and it really helped last year (though nothing makes my mornings wonderful )
She makes what she calls a "get up and go" chart. I think it would keep your ds busy. You make a candyland type game with locations like brush teeth, make bed, get dressed, have Bfast...all the typical things. Then you create a game piece with velcro on the back...She uses a photo of the child. Then you move your game piece along the route, sticking it to the velcro attached to the velcro on the board and then as he accomplishes each task, he moves himself along until he reaches the finish line. May help him to be so busy running back and forth he will forget about singing! hee hee!
Good luck with it!
HA HA,
SORRY I DON'T MEAN TO LAUGH BUT MY SON DOES THE SAME THING. AND YEAH IT DRIVES ME CRAZY TOO. THE MORNINGS ARE REALLY FRUSTRATING ESPECIALLY DURING SCHOOL. HE IS CONSTANTLY FORGETTING TO DO THINGS.EACH MORNING BEFORE HE GETS UP I SAY TO MYSELF THAT I'M NOT GOING TO LET HIM GET TO ME AND IT DOESN'T WORK. I FEEL BAD SAYING THIS BUT SOMETIMES I DON'T LIKE MY OWN CHILD. THANKFULLY THOUGH HE HAS A PERSONALITY THAT MAKES UP FOR SOME OF THE STRESS I GET EACH DAY.
I'd try the earplugs, that way you don't suffer and he still gets to sing. I have found that routine in the am is the way to go. For the last two years, we've only allowed ds to take a shower for 8 minutes. After that, we turn off the hot water. It seems to have taken, because this summer no one's timed him and he gets in and out in and doesn't just stand there letting the water run over him. My ds also drinks coffee in the am. This helps him focus before the meds kick in. If he won't drink coffee, have you thought about Mt Dew with breakfast? I would do the marble thing that anther person suggested. Where you get acertain number of marbles for say being queit in the morning and you can
lose marbles too and when the marbles add up, he can redeem them for a
prize.Quoted from Kimber26 "Then he knows he can take his shower, bring down
his dirty laundry, make
his bed, brush his teeth. Mostly, the only time i know hear him singing is in
the shower. Busy work seems to keep the mouth closed (for right now
anyway). For doing all his "chores" he earns one hour of play station. I'll
admit-sometimes it is longer than an hour-depends on how long I "sleep
in".
He actually does all that stuff himself? You mean, there's hope for the rest
of us? Very impressive! ChrisDay2838933.9128009259