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ADHD Summer Survival: 5 Things Saving My Life Right Now · Raising ADHD: Real Talk For Parents & Educators

• 0:00
  Apryl: If you are just surviving the summer, because we're on what for us, we're going into week five of the summer, just finishing up week four.
• 0:12
  Apryl: And let's just say we may or may not be holding on for dear life around here.
• 0:16
  Apryl: So in this episode, I'm gonna share some of the things that are saving my life right now.
• 0:23
  Apryl: Welcome to Raising ADHD, the podcast for parents and teachers raising ADHD kids.
• 0:29
  Apryl: If you've ever felt frustrated, overwhelmed, or just unsure what to do next, you're not alone.
• 0:35
  Apryl: I'm April Bradford, a former teacher and ADHD mom, and alongside my husband, Dr.
• 0:41
  Apryl: Brian Bradford, a child and adolescent psychiatrist, we're here to give you the clarity, strategies, and support you've been looking for.
• 0:48
  Apryl: Every week we break down the misconceptions, answer your biggest questions, and share real tools you can use right away at home and in the classroom.
• 0:57
  Apryl: So if you're ready to feel more confident and less overwhelmed, you're in the right place.
• 1:02
  Apryl: Hey there, welcome back to Raising ADHD, the podcast for parents raising ADHD kids and the grown-ups who love them.
• 1:08
  Apryl: I'm your host, April Bradford.
• 1:10
  Apryl: Today's episode is a little different, and I'm very excited about it.
• 1:14
  Apryl: It's called What's Saving My Life Right Now?
• 1:17
  Apryl: And I actually got this idea from the Lazy Genius, Kendra Adachi of the Lazy Genius Podcast.
• 1:24
  Apryl: I love her podcast.
• 1:25
  Apryl: If you don't listen to that, I recommend it.
• 1:29
  Apryl: Um, but it she just breaks down simple ways to of like what's saving her life.
• 1:35
  Apryl: And so I thought, you know what?
• 1:37
  Apryl: I think as ADHD parents and professionals, so much of our energy goes towards problems, behaviors, schools, appointments, advocating for our kid, just the day-to-day of raising an ADHD kiddo.
• 1:50
  Apryl: So this practice of what's saving my life right now uh is super helpful because it actually takes you that gives you that pause to look and go, what is actually working?
• 2:01
  Apryl: This is helping.
• 2:03
  Apryl: So it helps us get out of that like problem-solving mode and like the negative of all the bad things that are happening or we're trying to tackle and kind of look at, oh, this is actually working for us.
• 2:13
  Apryl: So today I'm gonna share a list of what's saving my life this particular ADHD summer.
• 2:20
  Apryl: And some of them are bigger, some of them are tiny, some of them are completely ordinary.
• 2:26
  Apryl: Um, but my hope is that it nudges you to make your own list later today, even if you write down only one or two things that's saving your life.
• 2:34
  Apryl: And hopefully this will help you also get some ideas of maybe some things that you can implement, or maybe just some trigger, some ideas that will make you go, oh, that would make my life easier if I did that.
• 2:48
  Apryl: Let's dive into what is saving my life right now.
• 2:51
  Apryl: This one is I'm putting it number one is letting my daughter ride her bike independently.
• 2:58
  Apryl: Okay.
• 2:59
  Apryl: This literally has been game changer and is 100% saving my life because in the evenings, you know, the evenings, the witching hour between like I would say after school, but we're in the summer now.
• 3:11
  Apryl: So um, you know, like that dinner time before bedtime and just yeah, all the um hyperdess and all the things, this has been saving my life.
• 3:25
  Apryl: The other day, I was like, Hey, why don't you get on your bike and ride over to this friend's house and knock on the door and say, Can she ride bikes with me?
• 3:36
  Apryl: And my daughter looked at me, Odilie looked at me.
• 3:40
  Apryl: She was like, Is that even legal?
• 3:42
  Apryl: And I was like, Yes, that is legal.
• 3:44
  Apryl: I was like, that's what we used to do.
• 3:47
  Apryl: That's how we used to find friends.
• 3:48
  Apryl: We'd just go jump on our bikes and go to their house.
• 3:51
  Apryl: Or, you know, you'd find where everyone's bikes are parked at in front of whose house and go knock on the door, right?
• 3:58
  Apryl: So we're very lucky that the neighborhood we live in is a safe neighborhood.
• 4:03
  Apryl: People look out for each other.
• 4:05
  Apryl: We have a few friends that live close by.
• 4:09
  Apryl: So she can literally jump on her bike.
• 4:11
  Apryl: I know this is not something that everyone can do, but if you can do it, I would highly recommend it.
• 4:17
  Apryl: Now, our daughter is eight, gonna be nine, gonna be nine this week, tomorrow, actually.
• 4:24
  Apryl: Um, and so she isn't, you know, super young.
• 4:28
  Apryl: So she is old enough that I trust her to do this.
• 4:31
  Apryl: And um, it's been so fun.
• 4:34
  Apryl: And she's been so like every day, she's like, Okay, can I have a play date?
• 4:39
  Apryl: And meaning, can I jump on my bike and go to someone's house and ride bikes with them?
• 4:45
  Apryl: Um, and in our neighborhood, a lot of kids go to camp during the summer.
• 4:50
  Apryl: We just don't have camp the next few weeks, and um, so I'm like, okay, camp gets over.
• 4:56
  Apryl: They'll be in the neighborhood at 4:30.
• 4:58
  Apryl: And she's like counting down until 4:30.
• 5:00
  Apryl: Anyway, but it's so fun to watch them gain their independence.
• 5:04
  Apryl: They have a pond just down the road that um they've been taking like buckets and nets and going fishing.
• 5:11
  Apryl: They throw the fish back in.
• 5:12
  Apryl: They've been exploring, they call them the tunnels.
• 5:15
  Apryl: Um, they've just been doing it.
• 5:18
  Apryl: Like, I'm like, this is what summer used to be about, and this is exactly what summer should be.
• 5:22
  Apryl: Literally, just last night I went to get her and she was just covered in mud.
• 5:27
  Apryl: She'd slid in the mud, and I wasn't even mad about it.
• 5:30
  Apryl: I was like, this is what summer is about.
• 5:32
  Apryl: Like, if you don't come home dirty, like, did you even have a good summer day?
• 5:35
  Apryl: So it's been great because I'm not organizing the play date.
• 5:39
  Apryl: I'm not supervising every second of the play date.
• 5:43
  Apryl: I'm not trying to manage the social dynamics in my living room because I'll be honest, play dates sometimes get very stressful for me because here I am working at home and I hear what's going on, and I'm like, oh, you know how it is.
• 5:55
  Apryl: ADHD and friendships, they can be a little extra, extra extra in a lot of ways, right?
• 6:02
  Apryl: So traditional playdates can feel very stressful for me.
• 6:06
  Apryl: Not that she's not that the I don't know, I just I just have it's hard for me.
• 6:13
  Apryl: Um you know, like someone's feeling left out or they're not playing what they want to play and all those things.
• 6:20
  Apryl: Anyway, so it's been really nice because when she's outside riding her bike, I'm not stuck in that loop.
• 6:25
  Apryl: She gets into independence and face-to-face play, and I get a little bit of a mental break, and it's truly been a game changer.
• 6:33
  Apryl: So, right now we don't have a way for me to like contact her when she's out, so I am considering maybe getting her a watch, but it's been nice.
• 6:40
  Apryl: Other her other friends have watches so the other parents can check in with them.
• 6:44
  Apryl: So I'm thinking about getting her watch.
• 6:45
  Apryl: I'll keep you updated on that.
• 6:48
  Apryl: Um, but I highly recommend if you live in a safe neighborhood where your kiddo can safely go out and be independent.
• 6:54
  Apryl: Highly recommend that.
• 6:56
  Apryl: This independence has been not just great for me, but it's huge for her as well.
• 7:01
  Apryl: It's been really, really awesome to see her being able to be independent and the confidence that that's brought to her.
• 7:08
  Apryl: So there's number one.
• 7:10
  Apryl: Number two is my air fryer.
• 7:13
  Apryl: When air fryers first came out, I bought an air fryer.
• 7:15
  Apryl: I was like, oh, these are all the rage.
• 7:17
  Apryl: I must, I must need to have one because everyone has one.
• 7:21
  Apryl: Well, I bought one, and everything came out of it tasting like plastic.
• 7:25
  Apryl: And I was like, This is terrible.
• 7:27
  Apryl: Why are everyone like bragging about these?
• 7:30
  Apryl: These are so gross.
• 7:31
  Apryl: So I got rid of it.
• 7:32
  Apryl: I visited my sister and she had a ninja air fryer, so a different brand than what I'd had.
• 7:38
  Apryl: And I was like, and she was like using it to make her broccoli and all this stuff.
• 7:42
  Apryl: And I was like, doesn't everything taste like plastic?
• 7:44
  Apryl: And she's like, no.
• 7:45
  Apryl: And so I tasted the food that she made, and it was actually good.
• 7:48
  Apryl: So I got a ninja air fryer a few years back, and I still have not been like a huge air fryer advocate until this summer because it is absolutely saving my life this summer.
• 8:01
  Apryl: Like, literally, we do from breakfast and lunch, we do breakfast and lunch.
• 8:06
  Apryl: I hate cooking breakfast and lunch and doing all the cleanup because I mean, that can eat your whole day.
• 8:12
  Apryl: Especially again, I work from home.
• 8:14
  Apryl: And so, like doing meals and cleaning up and all the things.
• 8:16
  Apryl: I'm like, where did my time go?
• 8:17
  Apryl: Oh, it was spent in the kitchen all day.
• 8:20
  Apryl: So air fryer saving my life.
• 8:22
  Apryl: Um, we do like the egg bites, the Starbucks style egg bites in the air fryer, chicken nuggets at lunch, um, what else?
• 8:31
  Apryl: Corn dogs, all the things.
• 8:32
  Apryl: And you can come at me about, I know those aren't the healthiest choices, but again, it's what's saving our life right now.
• 8:39
  Apryl: It's simple, it's fast, it's almost no cleanup, and it makes it so I can also get work in and not spend my entire day in the kitchen.
• 8:46
  Apryl: Do I love having it sitting on my counter all day long?
• 8:48
  Apryl: I know I do not.
• 8:50
  Apryl: But does it make feeding uh my people much easier?
• 8:54
  Apryl: Yes, it does.
• 8:55
  Apryl: So um, if midday meal feeding is draining you right now, find a low effort way to make meals.
• 9:06
  Apryl: And it may be the air fryer.
• 9:07
  Apryl: Check it out.
• 9:08
  Apryl: A little star asterisk here, another thing saving my life, another one, please don't come at me, is paper plates.
• 9:16
  Apryl: That one is also saving my life and making it so I'm not in the kitchen all day long.
• 9:20
  Apryl: Another little asterisk is if you hear music in the background, guess what?
• 9:23
  Apryl: Again, we're on summer mode, and I've got both kids home.
• 9:26
  Apryl: My son works, he has an internship, so he works from home on Fridays.
• 9:31
  Apryl: So he's here, my daughter's here, they've got their music playing, they're doing their thing.
• 9:35
  Apryl: So I apologize.
• 9:36
  Apryl: We're all just, you know, living the summer, best summer lives right here.
• 9:40
  Apryl: Okay, so let's dive into number three.
• 9:43
  Apryl: Number two again was the air fryer with the asterisk of paper plates are also saving my life and saving time and making it so I actually get work done in the summer without having a sink full of dishes.
• 9:54
  Apryl: Okay, don't come at me for that.
• 9:56
  Apryl: I don't use styrofoam, I use paper, and yes, I recycle.
• 9:58
  Apryl: All right.
• 9:59
  Apryl: Okay, number three is um the next thing is saving my life, especially in summer when the kids are home all day long and I feel like I never get a break to myself, is having an activity of my own that gets me out of the house and into a different headspace.
• 10:14
  Apryl: Right now, what that looks like for me is reupholstering a chair.
• 10:18
  Apryl: I bought a reupholster chair course um at least a year ago, and I have not done anything with it except collect chairs in my garage to reupholster.
• 10:27
  Apryl: These are like dining room chairs that you like make them super cute.
• 10:31
  Apryl: Anyway, so I'm working on that in my garage, and it's been so nice to have that small bit of distance from the house.
• 10:38
  Apryl: I work again, I work from home, so office, family, everything is like I never leave my house.
• 10:44
  Apryl: So just going from the house to the garage has been so nice.
• 10:50
  Apryl: The kids are inside doing their thing.
• 10:52
  Apryl: Um, Brian's inside doing his thing, or he actually is also working alongside the in the garage with me.
• 10:58
  Apryl: If you saw my stories the other day, he's working on build uh a leather project.
• 11:02
  Apryl: This is his new hyper focus at the moment, is leather working, and he's building me a an adorable purse.
• 11:09
  Apryl: Anyway, he's either in the garage with me, us two working in the garage together, or he's in the house.
• 11:14
  Apryl: But I get to be out in the garage and away, and it's very, very nice.
• 11:20
  Apryl: I can put my AirPods in, listen to an audiobook, and just focus on a hands-on, tangible project.
• 11:28
  Apryl: It's creative, it's not on a screen, and this combination is magic for my mind.
• 11:34
  Apryl: It's been so nice.
• 11:36
  Apryl: So if you're home with your kids, having that physical project that lives in a different space.
• 11:42
  Apryl: So a chair, a garden spot, a puzzle table, anything can give you a tiny reset that doesn't require a huge time block or a full day off.
• 11:52
  Apryl: It reminds you that you are a person who does things besides manage other people's needs.
• 11:58
  Apryl: And it's really, really nice.
• 11:59
  Apryl: So that could even be, you know, getting out of the house and going for a walk, or um, going to the gym, or just maybe going to a coffee shop and just sitting at the coffee shop.
• 12:11
  Apryl: Just getting out of the house and doing something for yourself is key in these summer days when you do not get a break.
• 12:20
  Apryl: Another thing that is always saving my life, not just in this season, but always, is reading.
• 12:26
  Apryl: I read every single night when I get in bed.
• 12:29
  Apryl: I just use my Kindle app on my phone so I don't have to turn on a lamp or sit up.
• 12:34
  Apryl: I literally just have my phone.
• 12:35
  Apryl: It's dark, it's quiet, and I actually read while laying by my daughter because, as you know, sleep is difficult with ADHD kids.
• 12:42
  Apryl: This is this is a routine for us, is um, we lay down, we read together, and then I lay by her for a little bit.
• 12:50
  Apryl: And while I'm laying by her, I get to escape and read my book on my phone, and it doesn't bother her because it's dark screen, all the things.
• 12:58
  Apryl: So um, it's been really, really nice.
• 13:01
  Apryl: I just finished The Five Star Weekend by Ellen Hillerbrand.
• 13:05
  Apryl: It was so good.
• 13:06
  Apryl: I absolutely love Ellen Hilderbrand, and she's a totally reliable summer read.
• 13:12
  Apryl: Most of her books until recently, all of her books have been set on Nantucket, and they make you want to spend the summer there.
• 13:20
  Apryl: Just think salty air, beach houses, beaches, driving Jeeps on the beach, a little bit of romance thrown in.
• 13:28
  Apryl: So good.
• 13:29
  Apryl: It's the perfect escape when you cannot physically escape.
• 13:32
  Apryl: Uh, Ellen Hildebrand is a lovely little portal out of your real life for you know 20 minutes.
• 13:40
  Apryl: So, and just to be clear, this doesn't have to be serious reading.
• 13:45
  Apryl: You do not get extra credit for reading something deep and literary when your nervous system is fried.
• 13:49
  Apryl: This is purely no one needs me, and I get to be somewhere else for a few chapters.
• 13:54
  Apryl: So find a book, pick up a book.
• 13:56
  Apryl: It may be a lifesaver for you.
• 13:59
  Apryl: And finally, number five, the last thing that's saving my life right now is small but very specific.
• 14:05
  Apryl: It is Chobani drinkable yogurts with 20 grams of protein.
• 14:10
  Apryl: It's like the protein drinkable yogurt.
• 14:13
  Apryl: Again, as you can tell from the other ones in this episode, is that working from home with kids home can be a struggle.
• 14:22
  Apryl: Trying to feed everyone all day long, cleaning up messes.
• 14:25
  Apryl: It's not my thing.
• 14:26
  Apryl: So, mornings in our house are not a time for a big, beautiful breakfast with all the pants.
• 14:33
  Apryl: I do not want to cook eggs every day.
• 14:36
  Apryl: Um, you know, that kind of thing.
• 14:38
  Apryl: I don't want to be cleaning up dishes all day long.
• 14:40
  Apryl: These drinkable yogurts have basic basically become my breakfast.
• 14:44
  Apryl: I used to drink Fair Life Shakespeare and they're great, but I just needed something different.
• 14:49
  Apryl: So now I grab a Chobani, get a decent amount of protein in, and move on with my mornings without a sink full of dishes.
• 14:54
  Apryl: It sounds tiny, but having one go-to thing that feeds me quickly without effort or cleanup changes my entire morning.
• 15:02
  Apryl: It makes it so much quicker, easier, and I can get other things done, like getting the bed made, doing a quick cleanup of the house that clears my mind for the rest of the day.
• 15:13
  Apryl: So if you're finding that you end up skipping breakfast or living off your kids' scraps, something this simple can be weirdly life-saving.
• 15:21
  Apryl: These are just a few of the things that are saving my life right now.
• 15:24
  Apryl: Again, for a quick recap, my daughter's independent bike rides, my very beloved air fryer, a hands-on project in the garage for myself, reading on my phone at night, and a protein-packed drinkable yogurt in the morning.
• 15:39
  Apryl: My hope is that sharing this, these with you is not that you go buy the exact same yogurt or reupholster a chair or run out and get an air fryer.
• 15:48
  Apryl: You pause long enough to notice what's quietly holding you up in this season, especially as an ADHD parent.
• 15:56
  Apryl: Even if you only jot down one thing in your notes app on your phone later today, that counts.
• 16:01
  Apryl: All right, before we wrap up, I want to leave you with a mini pep talk for when it feels like absolutely nothing is saving your life right now.
• 16:08
  Apryl: If you're listening to this and thinking that's nice for her, but nothing is saving my life right now, I want you to know you're not broken and you're not doing this wrong.
• 16:18
  Apryl: When you're in a hard season with an ADHD kid, maybe there are school issues, maybe meds are in flux, maybe they're fighting with their siblings all the time, or they're defiant.
• 16:31
  Apryl: It can feel like your entire life is a problem to solve.
• 16:35
  Apryl: Your brain is constantly scanning for what's going wrong because that's what it has has had to do to keep your kid afloat.
• 16:44
  Apryl: Of course, you don't naturally see what's helping.
• 16:47
  Apryl: Your nervous system has been in monitor and manage mode for a very long time.
• 16:53
  Apryl: I want you to instead of pressuring yourself to have a long happy list, I want to invite you to do something much smaller.
• 17:01
  Apryl: I want you to look for one neutral or slightly good thing in the next 24 hours.
• 17:07
  Apryl: Not the best thing ever.
• 17:09
  Apryl: Not this changed my life, just one tiny thing that is not making it worse.
• 17:15
  Apryl: So that might be the five quiet minutes when your kid is absorbed in a show.
• 17:21
  Apryl: That might be the way your coffee tasted actually hot for once.
• 17:26
  Apryl: That might be the 10 minutes you scrolled on your phone and laughed at something funny.
• 17:31
  Apryl: Or the fact that you took a shower and changed your shirt.
• 17:35
  Apryl: Write down one of those.
• 17:36
  Apryl: That's it.
• 17:36
  Apryl: You don't have to feel grateful for it.
• 17:38
  Apryl: You don't have to perform joy about it.
• 17:40
  Apryl: Just notice that it exists.
• 17:42
  Apryl: Because here's the raising ADHD reframe.
• 17:46
  Apryl: You don't build a life that feels lighter by finding one giant thing that saves you.
• 17:51
  Apryl: You build it by noticing a lot of very small things that are keeping you going one more day.
• 17:56
  Apryl: If you can't find anything today, that's also information.
• 18:00
  Apryl: That's your cue that you deserve support and not more self-criticism.
• 18:05
  Apryl: It might be time to text a friend, email a therapist, or tell someone in your life, I'm not okay and I need help.
• 18:13
  Apryl: That is not failure.
• 18:15
  Apryl: Asking for help is not failure.
• 18:16
  Apryl: That is you being a good parent who's trying to stay in the game.
• 18:21
  Apryl: You are doing a hard thing and you're doing it with way more courage and creativity than you give yourself credit for.
• 18:27
  Apryl: If this episode was helpful or if it gave you permission to name even one thing that's saving your life right now, I'd love for you to share it with a friend who's also raising an ADHD kid.
• 18:37
  Apryl: You never know, who needs the reminder that their tiny coping strategies actually matter.
• 18:42
  Apryl: And if you want more support and simple raising ADHD reframes in your week, make sure you're on my email list.
• 18:49
  Apryl: I send out short practical notes that you can read in under five minutes and use right away with your kiddos.
• 18:55
  Apryl: Thanks for listening.
• 18:56
  Apryl: Thanks for the work you're doing every single day.
• 18:59
  Apryl: And remember, you don't have to fix everything this summer.
• 19:02
  Apryl: You just have to take the next small, simple step.
• 19:06
  Apryl: I'm April and I'll see you next time.
• 19:08
  Brian Bradford: Thanks so much for joining us for today's conversation on raising ADHD.
• 19:12
  Brian Bradford: Remember, raising ADHD kids doesn't have to feel overwhelming.
• 19:15
  Brian Bradford: Small shifts can make a big difference.
• 19:18
  Brian Bradford: If you found this episode helpful, it would mean the world if you would hit subscribe, if you'd leave a review, or if you shared it with another parent or teacher who needs this support.
• 19:27
  Brian Bradford: And don't forget to join us next week for more real talk, practical tips, and encouragement.
• 19:32
  Brian Bradford: Until then, you've got this, and we've got your back