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42. ADHD and Screen Time: Why Taking the iPad Away Won’t Fix Homework

November 4, 2026 · 26 min

Show notes

‘If you can focus on that, you can focus on this.’ You said it standing at the bench, and he looked at you like you’d said it in another language.

He’s just died fifteen times on the same level and gone again. Ten maths questions, Year 4 stuff he’s done before, and a minute and a half later he’s picking the sticker off his drink bottle. Is he lazy? Is he doing it on purpose? Is he choosing? A listener asked all three, and the answer isn’t the one the screen-time argument gives you. Taking the iPad away doesn’t fix it, and there’s a reason.

More on school and homework: the school collection

https://tr.ee/schoolcollection

Mentioned in this episode: Why You Snap at 4pm When You Were Fine at 9am

https://tr.ee/qa3RcmxWoq

The free Energy Accounting Guide I mention, for working out how much your child has left by homework time

https://adhdmums.com.au/product/adhd-mums-energy-accounting-guide/

If homework is one more thing the school hands you to sort out at the kitchen bench, When School Isn’t Working is the guide I wish I’d had: the scripts, the rights and the plans for when the system doesn’t fit your child. Doing this on your own and money’s tight? Email me at [email protected].

https://adhdmums.com.au/product/making-school-work-parent-guide/

References

Sonuga-Barke, E. J., Taylor, E., Sembi, S. & Smith, J. (1992). Hyperactivity and delay aversion I: The effect of delay on choice. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 33(2), 387–398.

Antrop, I. et al. (2006). ADHD and delay aversion: the influence of non-temporal stimulation on choice for delayed rewards. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 47(11), 1152–1158.

Lemiere, J. et al. (2012). Brain activation to cues predicting inescapable delay in adolescent ADHD: an fMRI pilot study. Brain Research, 1450, 57–66.

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