Can I Have Your Attention?

Each week in Moms Talk, our Moms Council of experts and smart moms take your questions, give advice and share solutions.

Moms, dads, grandparents and the diverse families who make up our community will have a new resource for questions about local neighborhood schools, the best pediatricians, 24-hour pharmacies and the thousands of other issues that arise while raising children.

Moms Talk will also be the place to drop in for a talk about the latest parenting hot topic. Do you know of local moms raising their children in the Tiger Mother's way and is it the best way? Where can we get information on local flu shot clinics for children? How do we talk to our children about the Tucson shootings? How can we help our children's schools weather their budget cutbacks?

We start the conversation today with a question: "How do I deal with my child's attention deficit?"

(Keep in mind, this applies to any kind of attention lapse, from a first-time phase to a diagnosed disorder. Whatever insight you can bring, please add it in the comments section.)

Response from Moms Councilmember Karen Ebbert (mother of two):

"The most important asset for helping your child to meet the challenges of ADD/ADHD is to maintain a positive attitude. Being calm and focused will help you connect with your child and will help him ot her to be calm and focused as well. If you believe that your child can succeed, it will give you hope and you will begin to trust that your child can learn, change, and mature."

Response from Moms Councilmember Jim Speer (father of three):

"We've found that by limiting television viewing and other screen time we are able to be more careful about planning family activities. We plan family group activities which our kids seem to look forward to and seem to be more invested in with their attention."