Jung Young-joo Opens Up About Raising Son with ADHD: “I Even Used a German Shepherd Harness”

Actress Jung Young-joo has opened up about the emotional struggles of raising her son, who was diagnosed with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder).

In a recent video on the YouTube channel ‘Next Door Couple Seo Hyun-chul & Jung Jae-eun’ titled “(Warning: Shocking) Even the ‘Strong Sister’ Jung Young-joo gave up! Stories of her legendary troublemaker son,” she shared her story.

Jung Young-joo confessed, “I raised a son who was like a one-man army. He’s an adult now, but when he was young, there were situations where both he and others would get hurt. To manage that, I actually bought a harness.”

She explained, “Regular kids’ harnesses didn’t work. I felt so sorry, but I bought a dog harness. It’s the kind that stops them instantly when you press it. He would just dash forward if he saw something he liked at a crosswalk, so I needed something that could stop him immediately.”

When Seo Hyun-chul expressed surprise that she used a dog harness, Jung Young-joo revealed, “Kids’ harnesses are too soft and fluffy, so they slip off easily. But dog harnesses are different and secure. I bought one for a German Shepherd.” She added with a laugh, “At first, people would greet me and think I was just walking a dog, but they’d be shocked when they followed the leash and saw it was a person.”

Jung Young-joo calmly stated, “Given my personality, I didn’t have the luxury to be hurt or heartbroken. My priority was caring for my child and ensuring no safety accidents happened to others. I didn’t feel embarrassed and just told people, ‘He’s a human, not a dog.'”

She also shared, “We couldn’t go to kids’ cafes because he needed to be let loose, so we spent a lot of time in the fields and mountains. When we had to follow rules, he was so strong that I couldn’t just hold him by the scruff. It was a last resort, and I didn’t use it for long, but it was still heartbreaking.”

Jung Young-joo had previously shared her concerns about her son on various shows, stating that he was diagnosed with ADHD as a child, took medication for a long time, and struggles with emotional regulation.

Recalling a time when her son was labeled a “problem child,” she shared a heartbreaking story: “During a parent-teacher observation class in first grade, there was no seat for my son because he wouldn’t sit still and kept running through the hallways. Other parents suggested I transfer him, saying, ‘I heard your son isn’t normal’ and ‘Look for a school for children like that.’ I knelt and begged them, saying I couldn’t transfer him. Kneeling wasn’t the hard part.”