{Raising Boys Day 23} How to Speak to Boys With ADHD

 I want to give a big SHOUT OUT to Kaylene for inviting me to join in the fun, and work, of raising boys! Thank you so much for allowing me to share my heart with your readers!!!

I have a lot to say, but I felt God gave me a special boy with special needs, and I want to focus on that with y’all today.

I love my little guy. He’s cute and bubbly and sings well and is smart and funny. Some days I call him “MiniMe.” 😉

But there’s a problem lurking deep underneath.

It’s ADHD.

In some kids, they’re raucous individuals. My little guy gets agitated. He wants what he wants, and you better not get in his way. He sees no reason to participate in keeping the house clean. He fights with his sister – and it can get a little ugly.
Well, that’s not gonna fly in our house or God’s, so I’ve tried various methods to find that sweet, contemplative, compliant child that I know is in there. We’ve tried

1. strict discipline
2. time outs
3. no electronics except weekends
4. medicine
5. behavioral therapy
6. neurobiofeedback
7. testing
8. special diets
9. rewards
10. and routines, to name a few.

 
One thing that I think really works well is speaking scriptures to him. He loves God and has invited Jesus into his heart, so why not have Jesus work on it while He’s there? When I speak through the Bible, he seems to hear my heart, not my words. I thought I’d share a few scriptures that I have used {or paraphrased!} with you!

[bctt tweet=”Powerful scriptures to speak over boys with ADHD. #boymom @rachellepierce8″]

Scriptures to Speak Over Boys with ADHD

The first thing I have to do is assert that God is the ultimate authority and my authority was given to me by God:

James 4:12 ¹² God alone, who gave the law, is the Judge. He alone has the power to save or to destroy.
Ephesians 6:1-3 Children, obey your parents because you belong to the Lord, for this is the right thing to do. ² “Honor your father and mother.” This is the first commandment with a promise: ³ If you honor your father and mother, “things will go well for you, and you will have a long life on the earth.”
1 Peter 5:5 ⁵ In the same way, you who are younger must accept the authority of the elders.

He should submit to us, but what’s in it for him? Wisdom and Knowledge.

Proverbs 13:1
A wise son heeds his father’s instruction,
But a scoffer does not listen to rebuke.
 
Proverbs 1:7
Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

And we establish WHY his behavior matters:

James 2:14
¹⁴ What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? ¹⁵ Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, ¹⁶ and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?

And then, we need to point our babies in the right direction, toward righteous living:

1 Peter 1:13
¹³ So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. ¹⁴ So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then.

James 5:16
¹⁶ Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.

I believe this last one is crucial at getting to the heart of the matter: PRIDE. Pride keeps us from asking for forgiveness from God and from others. Pride keeps us from incriminating ourselves. Pride is at the root of entitlement. A prideful heart will be our stumbling block.
 

But we can’t stop there.

This is a battle for their minds, hearts, and soul – by soul, I mean their daily walk with the Lord. Could you imagine your child leaving the nest and getting into real trouble? I can’t with my first child, my second is impetuous so I see struggles, but my little one worries me. My prayer for him is that he will grow strong in the Lord, and that the Lord will grow him in spiritual maturity.
 

Ephesians 3:14-19
¹⁴ When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, ¹⁵ the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. ¹⁶ I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. ¹⁷ Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. ¹⁸ And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. ¹⁹ May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

And, for my own peace of mind, I keep this one from James 1 in my cap and meditate on it:

¹² God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

 
This is a time of life that we have to step up to the challenge and not give up, and do it with patience and love. I’m short on patience, but long on love…and that love sees me through.
 

 
I hope you found this blog post informational and helpful. God has given us the challenge of our lifetime with these amazing kids! Thanks again to Kaylene for sharing her much-loved readers with me!

Love {hugs} and blessings,

Rachelle