Mindful parenting for ADHD: what it is and how it helps
Mindfulness practices can support ADHD traits in kids and parents by reducing stress, improving attention, and building emotional connection when practiced consistently.
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Mindfulness practices can support ADHD traits in kids and parents by reducing stress, improving attention, and building emotional connection when practiced consistently.
Content warning: This article discusses mental health challenges, including elevated suicide risk among children and teens with ADHD. If you or someone you know is struggling, support is available. In the U.S., you can contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988. For international resources, visit findahelpline.com.
Raising a child with ADHD can come with stress, impulsivity, and emotional intensity, sometimes on all sides. While medication and behavioral therapy remain common supports, a growing body of research suggests that mindfulness training may also improve focus, mood, and connection for children and their caregivers.
For families navigating ADHD together, mindfulness offers more than just calm. It helps build the emotional regulation and executive functioning skills that many people with ADHD struggle with while strengthening relationships in the process.
ADHD is often linked to executive functioning differences like trouble with memory, impulse control, and emotional regulation. But research shows that stress makes these traits even harder to manage. Kids with ADHD typically have higher cortisol levels, the body’s stress hormone, which can:
For many children and teens, the stress of navigating school, relationships, and expectations compounds ADHD traits. That’s where mindfulness may offer relief.
Mindfulness training, adapted for children and teens, can help reduce stress and improve attention. Studies show that mindfulness meditation enhances performance on tasks related to focus, working memory, and cognitive control. Importantly, these improvements are also reported by parents and confirmed by standardized attention tests.
In multiple studies, children and adolescents who practiced mindfulness experienced:
Table 1 below summarizes key studies, showing consistent improvements across both child and parent outcomes
.
Mindfulness is a practice rooted in observing the present moment with non-judgmental awareness. For children and teens with ADHD, this means developing the capacity to pause, notice what they’re feeling, and shift attention more deliberately.
Mindfulness for kids might include:
One study using Sahaja yoga meditation with children ages 4–12 showed improvements in anxiety, self-esteem, and parent-child connection. Another found that teens who practiced mindfulness reported fewer behavioral and attention problems, supported by improvements on attention tests.
ADHD often runs in families. Many parents of children with ADHD experience traits themselves, sometimes without a diagnosis. This makes parenting under pressure even more complex, especially when executive function challenges show up on both sides.
Mindful parenting helps caregivers:
When both child and parent participated in mindfulness-based training, studies reported the best outcomes. In some cases, parents also experienced reduced ADHD symptoms themselves.
One limitation? Most studies found that the benefits of mindfulness fade if the practice stops. That’s why small, consistent routines work better than intense one-off efforts.
You can support mindfulness with:
Mindfulness isn’t about perfection. It’s about showing up, with awareness, again and again.
Mindful parenting isn’t a cure, and it won’t eliminate ADHD traits but it can make them easier to live with. For children and teens, mindfulness offers tools to manage stress, improve focus, and feel more in control. For parents, it can rebuild emotional reserves and restore connection.
Most importantly, it shifts the dynamic from discipline to understanding, from reacting to responding.
de Bruin, Esther I., and Susan M. Bögels. Mindfulness Training for Childhood ADHD. 2016, http://adhd-meditatieofmedicatie.nl/images/Meppelink%20-%20Mindfulness%20training%20for%20Childhood%20ADHD.pdf.
Grosswald, Sarina J., William R. Stixrud, Fred Travis, and Maria A. Bateh. “Use of the Transcendental Meditation Technique to Reduce Symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) by Reducing Stress and Anxiety: An Exploratory Study.” Current Issues in Education, vol. 10, no. 2, 2008, https://cie.asu.edu/ojs/index.php/cieatasu/article/view/1569/614.
Van de Weijer-Bergsma, Elisabeth, Anne R. Formsma, Esther I. de Bruin, and Susan M. Bögels. “The Effectiveness of Mindfulness Training on Behavioral Problems and Attentional Functioning in Adolescents with ADHD.” Journal of Child and Family Studies, vol. 21, no. 5, 2012, pp. 775–787. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-011-9531-7.
Van der Oord, Saskia, Susan M. Bögels, and Daan Peijnenburg. “The Effectiveness of Mindfulness Training for Children with ADHD and Mindful Parenting for Their Parents.” Journal of Child and Family Studies, vol. 21, no. 1, 2012, pp. 139–147. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-011-9457-0.
Mindfulness practices can support ADHD traits in kids and parents by reducing stress, improving attention, and building emotional connection when practiced consistently.
Content warning: This article discusses mental health challenges, including elevated suicide risk among children and teens with ADHD. If you or someone you know is struggling, support is available. In the U.S., you can contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988. For international resources, visit findahelpline.com.
Raising a child with ADHD can come with stress, impulsivity, and emotional intensity, sometimes on all sides. While medication and behavioral therapy remain common supports, a growing body of research suggests that mindfulness training may also improve focus, mood, and connection for children and their caregivers.
For families navigating ADHD together, mindfulness offers more than just calm. It helps build the emotional regulation and executive functioning skills that many people with ADHD struggle with while strengthening relationships in the process.
ADHD is often linked to executive functioning differences like trouble with memory, impulse control, and emotional regulation. But research shows that stress makes these traits even harder to manage. Kids with ADHD typically have higher cortisol levels, the body’s stress hormone, which can:
For many children and teens, the stress of navigating school, relationships, and expectations compounds ADHD traits. That’s where mindfulness may offer relief.
Mindfulness training, adapted for children and teens, can help reduce stress and improve attention. Studies show that mindfulness meditation enhances performance on tasks related to focus, working memory, and cognitive control. Importantly, these improvements are also reported by parents and confirmed by standardized attention tests.
In multiple studies, children and adolescents who practiced mindfulness experienced:
Table 1 below summarizes key studies, showing consistent improvements across both child and parent outcomes
.
Mindfulness is a practice rooted in observing the present moment with non-judgmental awareness. For children and teens with ADHD, this means developing the capacity to pause, notice what they’re feeling, and shift attention more deliberately.
Mindfulness for kids might include:
One study using Sahaja yoga meditation with children ages 4–12 showed improvements in anxiety, self-esteem, and parent-child connection. Another found that teens who practiced mindfulness reported fewer behavioral and attention problems, supported by improvements on attention tests.
ADHD often runs in families. Many parents of children with ADHD experience traits themselves, sometimes without a diagnosis. This makes parenting under pressure even more complex, especially when executive function challenges show up on both sides.
Mindful parenting helps caregivers:
When both child and parent participated in mindfulness-based training, studies reported the best outcomes. In some cases, parents also experienced reduced ADHD symptoms themselves.
One limitation? Most studies found that the benefits of mindfulness fade if the practice stops. That’s why small, consistent routines work better than intense one-off efforts.
You can support mindfulness with:
Mindfulness isn’t about perfection. It’s about showing up, with awareness, again and again.
Mindful parenting isn’t a cure, and it won’t eliminate ADHD traits but it can make them easier to live with. For children and teens, mindfulness offers tools to manage stress, improve focus, and feel more in control. For parents, it can rebuild emotional reserves and restore connection.
Most importantly, it shifts the dynamic from discipline to understanding, from reacting to responding.
de Bruin, Esther I., and Susan M. Bögels. Mindfulness Training for Childhood ADHD. 2016, http://adhd-meditatieofmedicatie.nl/images/Meppelink%20-%20Mindfulness%20training%20for%20Childhood%20ADHD.pdf.
Grosswald, Sarina J., William R. Stixrud, Fred Travis, and Maria A. Bateh. “Use of the Transcendental Meditation Technique to Reduce Symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) by Reducing Stress and Anxiety: An Exploratory Study.” Current Issues in Education, vol. 10, no. 2, 2008, https://cie.asu.edu/ojs/index.php/cieatasu/article/view/1569/614.
Van de Weijer-Bergsma, Elisabeth, Anne R. Formsma, Esther I. de Bruin, and Susan M. Bögels. “The Effectiveness of Mindfulness Training on Behavioral Problems and Attentional Functioning in Adolescents with ADHD.” Journal of Child and Family Studies, vol. 21, no. 5, 2012, pp. 775–787. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-011-9531-7.
Van der Oord, Saskia, Susan M. Bögels, and Daan Peijnenburg. “The Effectiveness of Mindfulness Training for Children with ADHD and Mindful Parenting for Their Parents.” Journal of Child and Family Studies, vol. 21, no. 1, 2012, pp. 139–147. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-011-9457-0.
Mindfulness practices can support ADHD traits in kids and parents by reducing stress, improving attention, and building emotional connection when practiced consistently.
Content warning: This article discusses mental health challenges, including elevated suicide risk among children and teens with ADHD. If you or someone you know is struggling, support is available. In the U.S., you can contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988. For international resources, visit findahelpline.com.
Raising a child with ADHD can come with stress, impulsivity, and emotional intensity, sometimes on all sides. While medication and behavioral therapy remain common supports, a growing body of research suggests that mindfulness training may also improve focus, mood, and connection for children and their caregivers.
For families navigating ADHD together, mindfulness offers more than just calm. It helps build the emotional regulation and executive functioning skills that many people with ADHD struggle with while strengthening relationships in the process.
ADHD is often linked to executive functioning differences like trouble with memory, impulse control, and emotional regulation. But research shows that stress makes these traits even harder to manage. Kids with ADHD typically have higher cortisol levels, the body’s stress hormone, which can:
For many children and teens, the stress of navigating school, relationships, and expectations compounds ADHD traits. That’s where mindfulness may offer relief.
Mindfulness training, adapted for children and teens, can help reduce stress and improve attention. Studies show that mindfulness meditation enhances performance on tasks related to focus, working memory, and cognitive control. Importantly, these improvements are also reported by parents and confirmed by standardized attention tests.
In multiple studies, children and adolescents who practiced mindfulness experienced:
Table 1 below summarizes key studies, showing consistent improvements across both child and parent outcomes
.
Mindfulness is a practice rooted in observing the present moment with non-judgmental awareness. For children and teens with ADHD, this means developing the capacity to pause, notice what they’re feeling, and shift attention more deliberately.
Mindfulness for kids might include:
One study using Sahaja yoga meditation with children ages 4–12 showed improvements in anxiety, self-esteem, and parent-child connection. Another found that teens who practiced mindfulness reported fewer behavioral and attention problems, supported by improvements on attention tests.
ADHD often runs in families. Many parents of children with ADHD experience traits themselves, sometimes without a diagnosis. This makes parenting under pressure even more complex, especially when executive function challenges show up on both sides.
Mindful parenting helps caregivers:
When both child and parent participated in mindfulness-based training, studies reported the best outcomes. In some cases, parents also experienced reduced ADHD symptoms themselves.
One limitation? Most studies found that the benefits of mindfulness fade if the practice stops. That’s why small, consistent routines work better than intense one-off efforts.
You can support mindfulness with:
Mindfulness isn’t about perfection. It’s about showing up, with awareness, again and again.
Mindful parenting isn’t a cure, and it won’t eliminate ADHD traits but it can make them easier to live with. For children and teens, mindfulness offers tools to manage stress, improve focus, and feel more in control. For parents, it can rebuild emotional reserves and restore connection.
Most importantly, it shifts the dynamic from discipline to understanding, from reacting to responding.
de Bruin, Esther I., and Susan M. Bögels. Mindfulness Training for Childhood ADHD. 2016, http://adhd-meditatieofmedicatie.nl/images/Meppelink%20-%20Mindfulness%20training%20for%20Childhood%20ADHD.pdf.
Grosswald, Sarina J., William R. Stixrud, Fred Travis, and Maria A. Bateh. “Use of the Transcendental Meditation Technique to Reduce Symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) by Reducing Stress and Anxiety: An Exploratory Study.” Current Issues in Education, vol. 10, no. 2, 2008, https://cie.asu.edu/ojs/index.php/cieatasu/article/view/1569/614.
Van de Weijer-Bergsma, Elisabeth, Anne R. Formsma, Esther I. de Bruin, and Susan M. Bögels. “The Effectiveness of Mindfulness Training on Behavioral Problems and Attentional Functioning in Adolescents with ADHD.” Journal of Child and Family Studies, vol. 21, no. 5, 2012, pp. 775–787. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-011-9531-7.
Van der Oord, Saskia, Susan M. Bögels, and Daan Peijnenburg. “The Effectiveness of Mindfulness Training for Children with ADHD and Mindful Parenting for Their Parents.” Journal of Child and Family Studies, vol. 21, no. 1, 2012, pp. 139–147. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-011-9457-0.
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