Dam Parenting

Your child has a cough for three weeks already. You're in the Netherlands. The Dutch huisarts has told you this is completely normal and will last six to eight weeks. You've been to the Etos and Kruidvat and you have no idea what to buy. You've stood in front of a wall of bottles with names you don't recognise, from brands you've never heard of, for types of cough that — according to a Dutch ENT doctor — aren't really different types of cough at all.
In this episode of DAM Parenting's translating Dutch consumer investigations for our international parents — Eva breaks down what Keuringsdienst van Waarde found when they put cough syrup in a lab. The answer will surprise you. And save you money.
This episode covers: what cough syrup is actually made of, the expat experience of navigating an unfamiliar pharmacy, what the RIVM says to expect this autumn/winter, how often kids actually get sick (the numbers are genuinely wild), the science of why parental presence and rest matter more than any syrup, and what old wives' remedies are backed by evidence.
Plus: how to survive the six-to-eight-week cough as a parent without losing your mind — and why going to bed at 8pm is actually a completely reasonable strategy.
Sources: Keuringsdienst van Waarde Season 26 (Jan 2026), KNO-arts Emilie Dronkers, KNMP, RIVM 2026 respiratory season data.
Find the full archive at damparenting.nl

Does ADHD make learning two languages harder? And should you drop your home language if your child has ADHD?
Multilingualism specialist Mimi Potvin closes ADHD Awareness Month with what the research actually says, and why ADHD, a language delay and simply being new to Dutch can look the same from the outside.
We also get into the school advice to “speak more Dutch at home”, whether Dutch screen time helps, and what happens to your family language plan when it’s the parent who has ADHD.
For parents raising bilingual and multilingual children in the Netherlands.
Mimi Potvin, multilingualism specialist, Growing Up Multilingual
Instagram @growing_up_multilingual
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ADHD parenting hacks: what actually works when you're already overwhelmed?
If you have ADHD and you're raising kids, you probably don't need another person telling you to wake up at 5 a.m., buy a planner or just be more disciplined.
You need things that actually work for your brain.
In this ADHD Awareness Month episode of DAM Parenting, Eva sits down with Liam from Dads do Art, for an honest, funny and very real conversation about parenting with ADHD. Between them, they've tried the planners, timers, routines and productivity tricks. Some help. Others end up in the ADHD hack graveyard.
So they're putting the popular ADHD hacks to the test, giving them honest scores out of ten and talking about what it's really like to use them while raising young children.
In this episode, we talk about:
Why planners, time blocking and endless phone reminders don't always work.

Preparing for the school morning

Habit stacking and making boring tasks a little easier to start.

Visual timers

Dopamine snacks

Body doubling:

Sensory kit

Sleep, emotional regulation, ADHD paralysis and the pressure to be a more disciplined parent.

But this conversation is about more than lunchboxes, forgotten appointments and getting everyone out of the door.
It's also about the shame that comes with feeling as though you should be able to do things that seem easy for everyone else. It's about understanding your own brain, finding the support that works for you, and learning that being kinder to yourself is not the same as giving up.
Because ADHD is not one-size-fits-all. A hack that transforms one person's morning might become another person's abandoned purchase. The goal isn't to become a perfectly organised parent. It's to build the support and systems that make your own life a little easier.
Parenting with ADHD in the Netherlands?
Whether you're raising children in Amsterdam, Utrecht, Rotterdam, Haarlem or elsewhere in the Netherlands, doing family life far from your original support network can make the hard days feel even harder. You deserve practical support and a community where you don't have to pretend you've got it all together.
This episode is for parents with diagnosed or suspected ADHD, and for partners who want to understand what life can look like alongside it.
🎧 Listen, find the hacks that work for you, and leave the rest in the graveyard.
DAM Parenting: You are seen. You are not alone.
Find more about DAM Parenting and listen on your preferred platform at https://damparenting.nl/listen

You finally got the ADHD diagnosis. So why do you feel wrecked?
DAM Trauma, episode 4, for ADHD Awareness Month. Trauma therapist Adina Petre, who was diagnosed late herself, on the grief nobody warns you about: rereading old school reports, the anger at the people who missed it, the shame that decades of being called lazy leaves behind, and finding out about yourself because your child was assessed first. Plus the first thing she works on when a newly diagnosed client walks in.
Guest: Adina Petre, trauma therapist based in Amsterdam working with international clients.
This episode is not a diagnosis or medical advice. If it brings up more than a podcast can hold, talk to your huisarts or a therapist.

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late ADHD diagnosis · adult ADHD diagnosis · ADHD grief · diagnosed with ADHD as an adult · ADHD in women · ADHD shame · ADHD and trauma · parent with ADHD · child diagnosed first · neurodivergent parent · ADHD in the Netherlands · parenting in the Netherlands
#ADHD #LateDiagnosis #DAMTrauma

Cancer Support in the Netherlands: Help in English
Where can you find English-speaking cancer support in the Netherlands? A cancer diagnosis is difficult anywhere — but navigating treatment, family life and an unfamiliar healthcare system far from home can make it even harder.
In this conversation, Katherine, founder of Cancer Support Netherlands, shares her experience as a two-time breast cancer survivor, a mother of two and an international resident who turned her own need for support into a community.
We talk about receiving a cancer diagnosis abroad, trusting your instincts when something doesn’t feel right, explaining cancer to your children, supporting a partner through illness, and finding people who understand what you’re going through. What began with a Facebook post asking for a cup of tea grew into English-language peer support for people affected by cancer.
Cancer Support Netherlands is a Dutch nonprofit offering English-language peer support to people living with cancer, survivors, partners, family members and carers.
Find support: https://cancersupportnetherlands.nl
Instagram: @cancer_netherlands
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🌍 Explore more resources for international families in the Netherlands: https://damparenting.nl
You are seen. You are not alone.