What is the article about?

This paper investigates how mothers of boys with ADHD navigate the social expectations of their parenting role in a culture where mother-blame is deeply entrenched. Children’s behaviour (the “good” and the “bad”) is usually attributed to how they are being parented, rather than biological or social factors.

Main argument

Pathologizing boys for their deviant behaviour paves the way for mother-blame to flourish and does not contribute to dismantling Good Mothering As Singh (2004) states, the “medicalization of boys’ problem behavior supports and reconstitutes the potential for mother-blame and does little to pierce oppressive cultural mothering ideals.”

What are the major takeaways?

1. Diagnosis doesn’t remove mother-blame

 

Before the boys were diagnosed with ADHD, the mothers blamed their own parenting skills for their sons’ deviant behaviour. Once the children were formally assessed, diagnosed and treated with Ritalin, the blame shifted to their son’s brains (which the mother’s own body created) (Singh, 2004). Using the nurture vs nature framework to explain and allocate blame for the symptoms of ADHD does not absolve mothers of blame.

2. Judgement primarily comes from other moms

 

“Mothers often commented to me that the judgment or criticism they encountered in public venues emanated from other women and mothers” (Singh, 2004). This reinforces that motherhood is a competitive and surveilled role where mothers are socially punished for producing mad children.

3. Medication can be an act of maternal self-preservation

 

I can personally attest to this from my own lived, mothering experience. Stimulant medications are a low-effort, high-impact tool that supports a mad child’s ability to conform. This helps already overburdened Good Mothers with limited time and resources to support their child. Children who are conforming reduce our emotional labour, logistical chaos and social scrutiny. This is not about “fixing” the child, it is about maternal survival in a complex system that oppresses, devalues, takes advantage of and blames mothers, instead of providing them with adequate support.

4. Maternal madness is reduced when the child is made mad

 

After their sons were diagnosed with ADHD, mothers from this study described:

• • Feeling happier
  • Feeling less guilt
  • Feeling less anxiety
  • Improved relationships with their sons
  • Improved relationships with their partners
  • More freedom to participate in community life

5. The “success” of ADHD treatment can be measured through a lens that considers how well the treatment restores a mother’s ability to perform her Good Mothering role.

 

Limitations:

1. Homogeneous participants

 

• The study participants were white, heterosexual, lower-middle, and middle-class families which leaves out the lived experiences of racialized, 2SLGBTQIA+, and poor families.

2. Narrow focus on Mothers and Sons

 

• This study leaves out the experiences of mothers who have daughters that are diagnosed with ADHD, reinforcing historical research shortcomings about ADHD, which is centered around boys. While focusing solely on mothers (while serving my purpose, for this website) the experiences of fathers were overlooked. In this study, girls and fathers are basically made irrelevant.

3. Research Power Imbalances

 

• The author acknowledges the limitation of their qualitative research as they explain that “the authority of the researcher is itself an important factor in how participants respond, and researchers will ultimately edit and interpret interviews in accordance with a research agenda”

Why does this matters for mad mothering?

 

This paper focuses on the mother-blame vs brain-blame dichotomy, but fails to consider that perhaps, neither nurture nor nature are responsible for the deviance associated with ADHD. This author’s main argument is that pathologizing boy’s behaviour does not dismantle Good Mothering ideology but does not go on to explore what the mother’s narratives tell us about how to disrupt “oppressive cultural mothering ideals.” This study does not consider how institutions such as schools, workplaces and the medical system:

• Define what counts as “problem behaviour”
• Design systems that work in the best interest of “normal” children
• Enforce and reward conformity
• Punish and exclude non-normative bodies and minds
• Place the responsibility of creating conforming children onto mothers

 Conformity and compliance create “Good Citizens” who are efficient, productive workers that pay their taxes and are less likely to challenge authority or disrupt patriarchal social norms and institutions that ultimately sustain and benefit the rich and powerful.