My son, Matthew, is seven years old. He’s a very bright boy. He was diagnosed as ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder) when he was four years old. As a result, he sometimes doesn’t follow directions. Like most children.
Here’s my problem - we recently (three weeks ago) moved to a new town, due to my getting a great job. There are lots of children in the neighbourhood that Matthew has become friends with. I let him play outside, or at his friends’ houses after supper almost nightly, and it’s rare to see him other than for meals and bedtime on the weekends.
Matthew left this evening to go play at Gabe’s house, across the street. My explicit instructions to him were “If Gabe isn’t home, come straight back here, don’t go anywhere else without letting me know. Be back at 7:00.”
7:00 came and went, with no Matthew. I went out at 7:10 to pick him up, thinking that he was across the street. When I got there, the neighbour said that he had been by there, but that since their boy Gabe wasn’t home, he left.
I walked down to another friends’ house. Rang the doorbell three times. No answer. He was not at three other friends’ houses, either. I came home, frantic, and was about to take the car and start driving around looking for him when he came in the door.
I thought my child had been abducted. I don’t know many people here, but I know that it is a very safe town. It only takes one person, though.
Matthew is now grounded. I yelled, too. What the hell am I supposed to do? I am raising him by myself, my parents are 2500 km away, my closest relative is my sister, 300k away. I can’t seem to get through to him.
Does anyone have any suggestions for me? I can’t continually ground him.