What to tell your young child about starting ADHD meds (opens in new tab)

The first medication talk is rarely the last — it sets the template your child will carry into adolescence, when they will manage doses more independently and decide whether to keep taking them at all. A child who learns the medicine is a secret, a punishment, or a hidden "vitamin" eventually feels deceived, and that rupture is hard to repair. A child who hears the truth early, framed with respect, learns that their brain is something to understand, not hide. What you say this week shapes yea...