Parents with Adhd (attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder) will find a library of amazing ADHD hacks and parenting ADHD hacks on TikTok. Parenting is hard (duh) let alone parenting as a neurodivergent parent. There are not enough hours in the day for a person with exemplary executive function to get everything done. Now, imagine being a parent with ADHD.
One mom on TikTok is working to help moms with ADHD by providing helpful ADHD tips for parents who need a little extra boost to get through the day. Certified parenting coach and mom herself, Destini Ann, went viral after sharing this simple and genius ADHD hack for parents.
She developed the ADHD cart
Instead of changing and adapting to whatever environment she was in, Destini Ann decided to change her environment to work best for her instead. One of the simple, clever, and efficient ways she did this was by creating, what she calls, the ADHD cart.
The ADHD cart is a great ADHD hack for parents because it does not take a lot of extra thinking or initiative to utilize. In the viral TikTok clip, Destini shows her white, three-tier basket on wheels.
“This is the ADHD cart. Throughout the day, I can just throw stuff on it. Things that are out of place, things that don't belong in this room,” she says. “And is it an eyesore? Yeah, but it's a lot easier to just throw that in a closet if somebody comes over versus cleaning up this whole room.”
Brilliant!
How to use the ADHD cart
Like, the OP said, the ADHD rolling cart works for you, and one of the best features of the cart lies in its mobility. The cart can be easily moved from room to room, making picking up and organizing super easy as you pick up items from one location and place them in their proper spot in another.
It’s a much more manageable and practical solution for an ADHD brain than simply making piles here and there or stashing things in a closet or guest bedroom never to be seen again.
ADHD hacks for moms
After showing how she uses her ADHD cart, Destini Ann also provided a few more tips for moms with ADHD. First, Destini Ann recommends using a visual timer when working to get a task done.
“I just go on YouTube and pick one of these timers,” she says showing a search display on YouTube. “Really helps my time blindness.”
Time blindness typically means you are always late, or always way too early to avoid being late. It can also lead to poor estimates of how long a job will take, leading to “over-promising” on deadlines.
Lastly, she doesn’t “do” laundry baskets. For those with ADHD, Destini Ann believes that putting the clothes in a “temporary home” like a laundry basket will lead to the task being put on hold, or never completed at all.
“...we gotta go from dryer to drawer,” she says.
As a mom with ADHD, Destini Ann focuses on how her environment works with her to help make her days go as smooth as possible.
“What works better for me is ‘you-proofing’ my environment to support who I am. Am I a morning person? No. Do I wake up late pretty much every day? Yeah. Does my environment still support us getting into school on time? Yes, most of the time,” she concludes.
Morning hacks for parents with ADHD
In another video, Destini Ann gives even more helpful ADHD tips for parents who may struggle to get out the door in the morning with their kids. First, she makes sure to get herself ready before even starting on the kids.
“I can't be finding your shoes, making your breakfast, and trying to get ready. I'm gonna get overwhelmed and forget something so I'm getting ready first,” she says.
She also makes detailed, focused checklists that work for her and her morning routine.
“I'm not too grown for a checklist, okay? I'm not talking about your standard brush your teeth, wash your face,” she says. “No, don't forget your wallet, Destiny. Grab your AirPods, Destiny.”
“Listen, if you ain't never put your key in the ignition, went to back up, and say to yourself, I didn't turn off a single damn light. I can't relate to you.”
Destini also recommends grouping things together as a helpful hack for parents with ADHD. Destini uses her “morning drawer” to get her morning started on the right foot. Though the items may not go together in a conventional way, they are all part of her morning routine, so she grouped them together in a single drawer.
“My multivitamin don't go in the medicine cabinet. It goes in my morning drawer. My eyebrow pencil don't go in my makeup. Morning drawer,” she says.
“I'ma go ahead and take one for the team and just state it. Those more complex hygiene steps that make us feel better. Out of sight, sometimes, they’re out of mind. That sunscreen, that tongue scraper — put it in the morning drawer.”
Not only will those help get her morning going, but those items also help contribute to her overall mental health. She says when she feels like she’s about to enter into a depressive episode, basic hygiene measures are the “first to go.”
“Ain't nobody thinking about no damn probiotics,” she jokes.
Positives of having ADHD as a parent
There are surely some setbacks to being a parent with ADHD, however, there are also many bright spots. Neurodivergent parents actually have an amazing superpower. ADHD can be a huge strength once you take the steps to see how it can benefit your life. superpower.
Moms with ADHD can truly relate to their children’s interests, exude imagination and creativity, noticing and paying attention to the things that other parents might miss in their kids, accomplish much more through hyperfocus, and share that child-like zest for like with their kids.
And on top of all that, having an ADHD cart can only help.
