ADHD Medication:
What Every Parent Needs to Know
Why understanding matters more than opinions — and what this series will give you
This is the video I wish I could show every parent who sits across from me in my consulting room. Before we talk about what medication does, before we discuss side effects or dosing or timing, we need to talk about something more fundamental: how to make this decision well.
Because the biggest barrier isn’t the medication. It’s the fear. And fear comes from not knowing.
Video 1: ADHD Medication — What Every Parent Needs to Know
The Moment This Series Was Built For
You know this feeling. Every parent I work with describes it.
It’s 11pm. You’re lying in bed, phone in hand, reading one person say medication saved their family and the next say it ruined their child. One forum post sounds reassuring. The next terrifies you. You close the phone, stare at the ceiling, and the question is still there, circling.
The internet doesn’t know your child. It can’t tell you whether medication is right for your specific family, your specific circumstances, your specific child. What it does exceptionally well is amplify fear.
I’ve sat with thousands of parents in exactly that position. The late-night scrolling. The conflicting advice. The well-meaning relatives who’ve never read a single study on the topic but have very strong opinions.
And over twenty-five years, I’ve learned something that changes everything: caring parents who understand make better decisions than caring parents who guess. Not perfect decisions — nobody makes those. Better ones. And better decisions, made from understanding rather than panic, genuinely change your child’s trajectory.
That’s why this series exists. Not to tell you what to do. To give you the understanding to decide for yourself.
What This Introduction Covers
This first video lays the foundation for everything that follows.
Why midnight Google searches make the decision harder, not easier — and what actually helps parents move from confusion to clarity.
The single most powerful thing you can do for your child — understanding. Not a treatment. Not a technique. Understanding itself is the intervention.
What this series will cover over the next six weeks — a clear roadmap from “what does medication actually do?” through to “why medication alone is never enough.”
How to approach the medication decision from knowledge, not fear — the framework that separates informed decisions from emotional reactions.
The questions you should actually be asking — and why the right questions matter more than finding the right answers online.
“I just don’t know enough to decide.”
A mother said this to me after three months of agonising — three months of her child struggling at school, losing friends, coming home defeated every afternoon. If information is the barrier, then information is the solution.
— Dr John Flett
What’s Coming in This Series
Six more videos after this one. Each tackles a question I hear every week in my consulting room — in plain English, without jargon, and without judgment.
Brain Glasses: What Medication Actually Does
The analogy that changes how families think about medication. How it helps your child’s brain use the intelligence it’s always had — without changing who they are.
What Medication Doesn’t Do
Why 80% of children with ADHD have at least one additional condition, why medication can’t treat what it wasn’t designed to treat, and the “zombie myth” addressed honestly.
What Teachers See Change — and What Doesn’t Change Yet
Real clinical data on the gap between improved behaviour and stubborn grades. Why written work is the hidden bottleneck, and the specific questions to ask your child’s teacher.
The 4pm Mystery: Why Evenings Fall Apart
The coverage gap nobody warned you about. What rebound looks like, why a great school day dissolves into chaos by teatime, and what to do about it tonight.
Does Every Child With ADHD Need Medication?
The honest answer is no. The framework for knowing when struggling becomes suffering, and what the research shows about both paths.
The Whole Picture: Why Medication Alone Is Never Enough
Medication gives your child brakes. It doesn’t teach them to drive. The five pillars that make medication work at its best.
After Watching This Video, You’ll Have
A Clear Starting Point
Instead of drowning in conflicting opinions, you’ll understand why most of what you’ve read online hasn’t helped — and what kind of information actually does. You’ll have a framework for approaching the medication decision that puts understanding ahead of fear.
A Roadmap for the Series
You’ll know exactly what’s coming over the next six weeks. Each video builds on the last, taking you from “what does medication actually do inside my child’s brain?” through to “how do I build a complete support plan?” No surprises. No overwhelm. One topic at a time.
Your First Quick Win
Before the next video arrives, you’ll have a practical step you can take tonight: writing down your three biggest questions about medication — not from the internet, from your own experience of your own child. Five minutes. One piece of paper. Clarity you didn’t have this morning.
This Video Is For You If…
Wherever you are in the medication journey, this introduction meets you there.
You’ve had the diagnosis and a doctor has mentioned medication, but you’re not ready to decide — and the internet is making it worse, not better.
Your child is already on medication but you’ve never fully understood what it does, what it doesn’t do, or whether it’s working the way it should.
You’re a teacher or family member who wants to understand what ADHD medication actually involves — so you can support rather than judge.
You’re tired of conflicting advice from forums, relatives, and half-remembered articles, and you want straight answers from someone who’s done this for twenty-five years.
Your Guide
I’m Dr John Flett, a neurodevelopmental paediatrician based in Kloof, Durban. I’ve spent twenty-five years working with families navigating ADHD — sitting with thousands of parents making the exact decision you’re facing right now.
I built this series because I kept hearing the same sentence in my consulting room: “I just don’t know enough to decide.” Parents who are thoughtful, caring, and doing their best — stuck because the information available is either too clinical to understand or too emotional to trust.
My philosophy is straightforward. When parents understand, they make better decisions. This series gives you what I give families in my practice: honest, evidence-based guidance in plain English you can process at 10pm after an exhausting day. No jargon. No judgement. No pressure in either direction.
Short videos. Plain English. Twenty-five years of clinical experience — not Google opinions.
Dr John Flett MBChB, FCPaed (SA) MRCP(UK)(London), BSc(Hons) • Specialist Paediatrician — Focus: ADHD, Behaviour and Schooling Problems • The Assessment Centre, 8 Village Road, Kloof, Durban • 031 1000 474
When Parents Understand,
They Make Better Decisions.
You don’t need to be a doctor. You don’t need to read the research papers. You need to be informed. That’s exactly what this series is for.
Progress, not perfection. Always.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this course is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. All content is for general information purposes only and does not replace a consultation with your own doctor or health professional. Information about mental health topics and treatments can change rapidly and we cannot guarantee the content’s currentness. For the most up-to-date information, please consult your doctor or qualified healthcare professional.
© Dr John Flett MBChB, FCPaed (SA) MRCP(UK)(London), BSc(Hons) • Specialist Paediatrician — Focus: ADHD, Behaviour and Schooling Problems • The Assessment Centre, 8 Village Road, Kloof, Durban • 031 1000 474 • Zoom consultations available for schools and educators.