...mental illness? I have noticed that many parents are turning to doctors the first time their child acts an any way but cooperative. When did it become acceptable to put your child on drugs for being a kid. There are so many made up illnesses these days that it makes me sick to my stomach. People should try parenting their children before resorting to medication. I understand that there are some legitimate illnesses out there that need attention but for every child that is diagnosed correctly, I would be willing to bet that there are 100 that are diagnosed incorrectly. Take clinical depression for example, most of the time isn't this just another fancy word for being sad? Sadness is a normal emotion that often does not require medication. What about ADHD? Who ever heard of a child with a short attention span. From my experience, most children have a short attention span. I'm sorry but I refuse to take my children to some quack who will most likely try hard to diagnose them with something to keep the money flowing into their pockets. Are people really this nieve? I know parenting is difficult at times but medication is not always the answer, sometimes a child just needs parenting.
I just wanted to add another detail. I was also diagnosed with clinical depression when I was a teenager. My mom decided that because I was misbehaving, I needed to see a shrink. I told the shrink that I was not clinically depressed, I was just having a rough time due to complications at school and issues with my father. Part of it was probably due to hormonal changes during puberty. Things can get crazy with hormones. All I needed was someone to talk to at that time (my parents preferably) but instead they decided to needlessly medicate me and force me to have weekly visits with this quack. From this experience I definitely justify what I say. I would never force my children into this situation needlessly. Clinical depression is such a wide illness that most of the time anyone can be diagnosed with it! Sometimes people are just sad. It is an emotion that God gave to all.
However I do agree that if parenting doesn't work then some other measures may need to be taken. I just don't think medication should be a first resort. It should be a last resort and only when the childs livelyhood depends on it. We should teach our children to overcome obstacles, not cover them up.
I just wanted to add another detail. I was also diagnosed with clinical depression when I was a teenager. My mom decided that because I was misbehaving, I needed to see a shrink. I told the shrink that I was not clinically depressed, I was just having a rough time due to complications at school and issues with my father. Part of it was probably due to hormonal changes during puberty. Things can get crazy with hormones. All I needed was someone to talk to at that time (my parents preferably) but instead they decided to needlessly medicate me and force me to have weekly visits with this quack. From this experience I definitely justify what I say. I would never force my children into this situation needlessly. Clinical depression is such a wide illness that most of the time anyone can be diagnosed with it! Sometimes people are just sad. It is an emotion that God gave to all.
However I do agree that if parenting doesn't work then some other measures may need to be taken. I just don't think medication should be a first resort. It should be a last resort and only when the childs livelyhood depends on it. We should teach our children to overcome obstacles, not cover them up.