Annika Lau on ADHD son Baz: "I have to be 150 percent mother"

TVS News AI, editorially supervised, presents Annika Lau on ADHD son Baz: "I have to be 150 percent mother".

When the bus is cancelled, the entire day falls apart. What sounds like a minor inconvenience is described by host Annika Lau (47) as one of the many strains that shape life with a child with ADHD. In an interview with Bild, she has now spoken openly about the challenges of recent years – and about the feeling of not being enough as a mother.

The diagnosis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder is not uncommon in Germany: estimates suggest a significant proportion of all children are affected. What the condition actually means in everyday life is something many families remain silent about – Annika Lau is breaking that silence.

Her new book "Your Child Is Different" is published on October 7 and offers a 220-page insight into her family life in Berlin. At the center is her now ten-year-old son Baz, who was diagnosed with ADHD at the age of six.

Diagnosis at six – how everyday life with Baz can tip over

Baz was diagnosed at six; today he is ten. In between lie years during which Annika Lau repeatedly reached her limits, according to her own account. "This diagnosis demands everything from you!" she told Bild. Even a cancelled bus can unsettle Baz and ruin his day – a spontaneity that outsiders often cannot understand, the host said.

This diagnosis demands everything from you! I'm going to stick my neck out and say: I have to be at least 150 percent mother. Because everything represents a strain. A lack of understanding toward spontaneity. And that can already be a cancelled bus that unsettles Baz and ruins his day.

What Annika Lau describes is an everyday life marked by many small frictions – one that often remains invisible from the outside. This is precisely the gap she wants to fill with her book.

"Your Child Is Different" – 220 pages of family story from Berlin

The book "Your Child Is Different" is published on October 7 and, according to Promiflash, spans 220 pages. In it, Annika Lau reviews the past six years – from daycare through numerous doctor's appointments to school. Readers gain insight into the strains that family life in Berlin entailed, according to the description.

Clearly, the host is aiming for more than a personal account: speaking about the diagnosis rather than hiding it can strengthen other parents' resolve – that is precisely the impression the book conveys.

Family in Berlin – Frederick Lau's film shoots and the burden at home

The family includes, alongside Annika and Baz, husband Frederick Lau (37) and two other children aged twelve and six. Because Frederick is often away for weeks at a time for film shoots, responsibility for family life falls largely on the mother of three – an additional strain that runs through the interview.

That it was not only exhaustion but also guilt that played a role is made clear by the headline of the Promiflash report: according to it, Annika Lau felt during this phase that she had "failed." With her book, she now wants to put this experience in context – and show other families that they are not alone with such feelings.