Children can be tiresome—no matter their age. But oh, they are charming! The wit, the spontaneity, the unadulterated joy—it’s enough to make you crack up, but also drive you mad, isn’t it? Especially when you can’t get them to sit still, follow directions, wait their turn, or listen carefully! And for a child with ADHD, these types of requests or expectations are even harder to meet.

All children will be inattentive, impulsive, or hyperactive sometimes. That’s just part of being a kid. Preschoolers in particular struggle to stay focused on one activity for a sustained amount of time. It’s not unusual for preschoolers to have short attention spans. Plus, isn’t it cute when they get sidetracked by a bug or a pile of rocks with no particularly interesting quality except that they exist?

In school-aged children and teens, it’s not uncommon for their attention spans to depend on their interest in what’s at hand.(1) Pursuing their passion for basketball, reading, or collecting sneakers trumps doing boring stuff like homework any day.