Tuesday, June 26, 2018

Why Are So Many Kids On Medication? (The Collapse of Parenting: Chapter 3)

I have been engrossed in this book every moment I have, but haven't had a chance to sit down and share some of the highlights. Here are some of the main points he makes in Chapter 3, entitled "Why Are So Many Kids On Medication". Moreso than the previous chapters, here the statistics and comments made are based on the USA compared to other nations, however, as a Canadian I still found it very useful even if we statistically rank better than our neighbours to the south.
 
  • I cannot restate the number of alarming statistics he provides in this chapter!
The root of the Problem
  • Not all bad behaviour needs medication.
  • Respect, courtesy, and manners are not longer taught in Kindergarten. This along with the previously discussed "culture of disrespect" means the responsibility of teaching these is (more than ever before) on the shoulders of parents!
Cultural Shift between 1994 and 2003
  • Between these years there was a forty fold increase in childhood bipolar  diagnosis.
    • Doctors who "discovered"  childhood "rapid cycling bipolar" were paid $4million by the drug companies that produced its medication.
  • ADHD, Aspergers, Bipolar all being used for bad behaviour because parents want a quick fix that avoids putting in the work required to change the child's behaviour by asserting authority. This is not the case in Europe -- UK, Germany, Spain.
    • My own thought is that this may also have to do with the growing number of families where both parents are working and are too busy/exhausted/guilty to do this.
  • Sleep deprivation mimics ADHD almost perfectly!!
    • "One of the basic duties of a parent is to ensure that a child gets a good night's sleep..." (Sax 57). The need to assert authority in this regard is most necessary now because of wifi devices that never existed before.
  • Dramatic increase in ADHD is because of "the medicalization of misbehaviour" (Sax 61). Instead of correcting kids' bad behaviour parents are more likely to medicate the child with the hope of fixing behaviour.
    • "We parents in the United States are not doing our job of enculturation, as I explained in Chapter 1. Neither we the parents, nor the schools, nor the TV shows, nor the Internet are adequately teaching Fulghum's Rules, such as "Play fair./ Don't hit people./ Put things back where you found them." As a result: kids born in the United States are now many times more likely to be diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder, and to be treated with powerful medications, compared to kids living elsewhere" (Sax 61-62).
  • At age 20, medications go up and academic achievement goes down.
The Problem
  • Instead of removing cell phones and laptops from bedrooms to allow for adequate sleep, parents look to brain based explanations that require medications. Why? Because it shifts the burden of responsibility from parents/child to the doctor!
  • It is frightening that medications are being used to modify behaviours!!
    • Long term use leads to being disengaged and less motivated to achieve in the real world, obesity, diabetes...
The Solution
"When the teacher and parents exercise their authority, most students will develop better habits and show greater self-control, because the teacher and parents require it, because they expect it, and because the student really cares what they think" (Sax 68).
What to Do

  1. Command. Don't Ask.
    • ? mark undermines your authority!
    • Sometimes with teens you can offer an explanation -- but it isn't to convince or negotiate.
  2. Eat Dinner with Your Kids.
    • No cell phones, no TV.
    • Each dinner counts! Statistically proven! So don't let anything trump dinner together:
      • Mistaken North American belief in importance of extra-curricular over family time. Family should be a higher priority!
    • Decreases internalizing problems like being sad, anxious, lonely.
    • Decreases externalizing problems like fighting, skipping, stealing.
    • Decreases obesity in the future.
    • Increases likelihood of helping others and being satisfied with life.
Upshot
  •  Instead of investing the time to correct bad behaviour we are shifting the burden of responsibility to medications that seriously mess up the future of the child in every way (academically, psychologically, emotionally, physically and spiritually)!
  • Family time trumps everything, especially peer-time!

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