Dosing Kids with Drugs to Shut Them Up is Child Abuse, Study Says

it's only child abuse when the parents do it :/

what about nurses giving there patients benadryl before a blood transfusion? my daughter needs blood transfusions every 3weeks and they will give it to her b4 they start it to me they told me it was for in cause she has any reactions to the blood? so now i am confused why this is called abuse when parents are giving there child it every damm day for no reason n to keep them calm in shit thats abuse straight on abuse i will never give my child med for no reason unless she needs it for treatments etc. (has sickle cell & animic)

any ways never give ur child cough meds. they dont work! ur just making them addicted to it any when my daughter has a cough n 7days later dosent go away well its not working follow the lables n the back of the bottles stupid people. comon sence

Too true! I guess I either need permission or a degree to drug my kids. If I took my four year old in to be diagnosed for ADD I'm sure they would confirm it. I say he's a four year old boy and he'll grow out of it. It is human to have emotions. There are up and downs, but since it has become a multi-billion industry, there are more and more diseases popping up all the time, and they're trying to diagnose all ages, get everyone buying. Usually once you start a medication,you can't just quit, plus the side effects means more meds to control that. Most people are a customer for life, so starting with kids is becoming a popular marketing scheme. Wise up people and live healthier, learn about the functions of the body and how to treat yourself. Go get help if you're really in need, though, don't die for no reason.

Child abuse is child abuse regardless of who abuses the child.

Dear Lindsey, I shuddered when I read your comment... you remember this? Have you ever disussed it with your brother? Does he remember this as well?
I guess the thorniest question is: have you discussed this with your mother?
How is your relationship with her today?? Does your dad know about any of this?

I am so very sorry, I truly am. I was raised in a home where spankings were to be expected if we got out of line. It colored my behavior into my teen years and beyond (of course). When faced with any decision: my first thought was always: what would my mom think or do if she found out??? I was never beaten nor anything dramatic. I was smacked on my butt, sometimes so hard I couldn't sit w/out it hurting. Once or twice I was smacked in the face: and I think that is truly humiliating and I do not condone doing that. If a parent loses it and does smack in the face, it DOES CHANGE their relationship with their child, it truly does.

When I received a spanking from my mom on the butt -> done with her hand, never any objects like belts or wooden spoons, like a lot of the people I know from childhood...) and then I was sent to my room, I was angry (in the way a kid usually feels) but I knew I did something wrong and that I deserved the spanking and the time in my room.

I am the mother of four children. My husband and I have been together since high school (though we didn't mary and have kids until we finished college and a good portion of graduate school. We married when he was 25, and I, 24. We had our first child 4 years later (I was too busy with hospital residency duties, etc. prior to this.)
Why I even bring my own life experience into this discussion is because I wish to say that Parenting is truly the toughest job in the world, bar none!
Parenting is far more difficult than all the years of schooling and training that both my husband and I journeyed through! (And I state this, even in the face of both of us having jumped though all the hoops involved in obtaining dual graduate degrees.) ALL OF THAT was a calkwalk compared to parenting.
So how do you try to make it work in today's society where moms and dads are marshmallows and even spanking a child on their bottom is frowned upon? (I truly think that is were some of this 'drugging' of kids is coming in...parents feel intense pressure: they feel pressure from society not to hit, yet they are not armed with the skills they need; indeed, none of us are.) Not to sound trite, but: kids don't come with an instruction manual.
I wish I had a nice pat answer: all I can say is LOVE THEM. It isn't the answer to all problems, but even a snotty teen has a hard time, acting as such to a parent who has consistently shown them unconditional love. Therein lies my approach, I love them and when they are driving me crazy, I sit them down and tell them: eye tro eye, listen, I am getting a headache, you are going to tone it down or everyone is going to their rooms. (that means they sit on their beds: they are not to do anything, but that...they know this) I have also tried to establish daily consistent routines: they have cubbies where their things go when they arrive home, and yes I feel like a tape recorder...I have to repeat over and over: put your sneakers in the cubbie... put your lunchbag on the counter. My husband frequently forgets to follow these routines and at times I want to cry...but you know what? IT'S LIFE, AND IT AIN'T EASY but we must model for our kids the behavior we want them to follow. They learn only by modeling the behavior they observe... one caveat, they also observe their friends and others in the outside world from as young as when you first may need to send them to daycare. Sigh.... just count to ten and take a short break when they are all driving you nuts...but above all be consistent and love them, do not allow them to disrespect you or each other.

That's right! And Madyjules, every family's different. I'm thankful for my parents physically punishing me when I was younger. If anything it STRENGTHENED my relationship with them and I wouldn't be the hardworking disciplined person I am today because of it. I might not have liked it back then, but I respect them a lot for it now. So many kids even when I was younger were getting "talked" to. I'm sorry that does absolutely squat if the kid is REALLY bad. But yes, Lindseys comment was A LITTLE out of line there.

I have four children and for flights, my two younger ones ears couldn't handle the pressure also. In the past I have given Benadryl to helped them through the seven hour flights. I don't feel that I abused them, I didn't give more then the recommended dosage and they weren't crying or fussing.

I would call you an idiot, but that wouldn't be nice. There are eardrops to help with the pressure. If they are an infant, a pacifier will help. Older kids, a stick of gum. Or.....Hey, try staying at home with your kids. In these times do you really think you need to be flying all over the place. Ears would be the last of my concern in this day and age. How bout' a million other diseases' not to mention safety issues. Geez! Can anyone be a parent anymore or are all kids labeled with 3 letter conditions that require medication? Can someone tell me why 40 yrs ago kids didn't have ADD, and all the other things that compute to "I can't handle my kids?"

You, Mrs. Tara, are the idiot.

How dare you criticize someone doing something solely for the well-being of their child. Pacifiers, gum, etc don't always work. Ear popping isn't the issue, ear drum PAIN from the pressure is the issue. There's a HUGE difference. If you haven't experienced it, you have no idea how painful it can actually be. Some form of antihistamine made to prevent swelling, flare, and pain is perfectly fine to give a child on flight. Like the author of the original comment stated, sometimes you don't know if the child's in pain because he/she cannot speak. Even doctors recommend an antihistamine before flight to children, just in case.

And stay at home? Are you serious? I feel sorry for your inexperienced, and uncultured children. Who's to say the author is flying to Brazil? How do you know she doesn't have family on the east coast when she lives on the west coast? Quit making accusations without knowing, in full, all the facts that are associated with the comment. Flying around the world is a great cultural and learning experience for children of any age. Not every place is bustling with disease, very few regions have airborn and bug transmitted disease, and most of those places are spots where parents wouldn't think of bringing their children. And safety? Flight is the safest form of travel. People get injured more by WALKING then they do flying. Go educate yourself before you start throwing opinions around as fact.

As for ADD, even though it has been over-diagnosed in many cases, there are true cases where the medicine is needed in order for the child or adult to function properly. In case you didn't know, modern medicine evolves with the times. New diseases and disorders 'pop-up' because they've been DISCOVERED. When autopsies were done in the dark ages, the examiners that found black hearts would automatically declare the person as being poisoned or harmed by witchcraft. Now we know it's cancer or heart disease. Again, educate yourself before you start throwing opinions around as fact.

Good for you. I think the ADD diagnosis is overused as an excuse to dope rambunctious normal kids so that the schools and parents don't have to deal with a real kid. I'd venture that 90% of the kids being medicated for behavior control are nothing but normal acting kids.
I went to school before the doping of kids to control them was in fashion. I can only think of a couple of kids during my school days and my few years as a teacher that may have actually been ADHD, but I didn't consider them completely out of control. The other little hell-raisers changed their behavior quickly when sent to the principal to be spanked or their parents were notified who promptly spanked them and assured the teacher their little darlings would be behaving. This was before the government began interferring with the schools and parents rights to discipline children. Common sense disciple is not abuse and it does have immediate results.
One of my sons was a bit hyper, but I never drugged him and he is a normal, highly successful adult with a family of his own. His 1st grade son is just like him and he is not being drugged as there is no reason to.
I learned my youngest son was using Ritalin when he was in high school. He was perfectly normal, but a friend of his who was diagnosed as ADHD was prescribed Ritalin and didn't like the zombie effect so was giving it away to his normal friends. Of course, it had the opposite effect on them. I put a quick end to that but didn't blame his friend for not wanting to take it. I'd spent plenty of time around the boy when he wasn't taking his pills and never had a problem with how he acted. To me, he was a regular kid who I would not have drugged had he been mine.
It's amazing the abundance of kids (usually boys) nowadays who are being diagnosed with behavior disorders and being drugged. Back in my school days, I guess they just weren't enlightened enough to dope kids into behaving instead of dealing with a real child.