Methylphenidate is typically the first-line ADHD treatment for young children due to better tolerability than amphetamine, despite amphetamine potentially offering more symptom relief.

“when I first meet a young child I generally start with methylphenidate and that's what most clinicians do with little kids and the reason for that is that the meta analyses show that kids tolerate methylphenidate a tiny bit better than amphetamine um although amphetamine is a little bit more bang for your buck when you're treating the symptoms”