Your Child and Medications

I think sometimes we ask our children to suffer needlessly.  It's important to conquer issues like coughs, colds or viruses and get them under control as quickly as possible.  You don't want those problems to escalate into more serious issues.  I would never advise going against a doctor's advice to use medication to take care of a medical problem and yet.....I do think we need to be good mommy detectives when deciding to administer medicine to children. 

Being a mommy detective in this area means that you try to think outside the box.  Do what many physicians are trained - NOT - to do.  They are trained to look through a microscope and comment on things they have seen.  While studies do "track" individuals to see how medications react over the long term, you need to understand that it's a law of averages at that point.  Basically they interview everyone that's taken the medicine and ask them about their life.  They ask for medical histories and if the individual feels like there have been any problems.  At that point they combine the information (the points they feel are important) with other patients in the study to see if there are any similarities.  From this they decide if there is a long term risk for the patient.

This leaves a lot of speculation and the potential for hidden information to be lost.  That's why a drug can be labeled safe and then years later is determined to be a problem.  That's also why allergies are so hard to detect.  I have an entire page of listed allergies to medications.  A dedicated doctor finally solved my puzzle and decided that I probably wasn't allergic to the actual medication but rather to the binder that held it all together. 

It's important to look at our bodies the way God does.  He placed within us all that we need to survive.  Because we don't like the environment or because the environment has become hazardous to this body - we have invented ways to survive longer.  That's great and I believe God looks at our inventions with a smile.  However, sometimes as flawed humans we can create something that solves one problem and creates ten others.  As parents we have to be our child's protector and determine if one solution can trigger others. 

So...what's a mother to do?  Look at the present effects of the drug.  Ask what portion of your child's body will be affected by the drug.  Determine if it's possible to handle the problem naturally without drug intervention.

For example, I advise mothers of hyper active children to try to avoid mood or nervous system altering drugs if at all possible.  It's a fact that most children with hyperactive tendencies need a plan rather than drugs.  It will require more work from Mom and Dad who may already feel overwhelmed - but in the long run it will prevent a lot of problems. 

Why do I think that?  A definition of the drug quotes, "Ritalin works by changing the amounts of certain natural substances in the brain."  You child grows and changes more during the first 10 years of his life than he ever will.  That includes his brain.  Why would you want to mess with the "natural substances" in the brain at a time when he is developing his cognitive, social, spiritual and intellectual tendencies?  Be careful that you don't allow the urgins of a sympathetic doctor to cloud the need to protect your child. 

As I watch the news I often wonder why certain people act the way they do.  When individuals have trouble processing compassion or understanding how to properly analyze facts or can't understand social interactions - I wonder if their problems with processing information goes back to medications they took as a child.  When I see teens addicted to alcohol or young adults who are hooked on drugs, I wonder if they were given drugs as a child.  I've counseled with several parents who upon a physicians advice gave their pre-schooler prozac and other drugs for anxiety and bad dreams.  Those children are now adults and they deal with all kinds of mental disorders. Is it related?  I can't say for sure.  But, again, I think it's safer to give the growing period an uninterrupted chance to develop properly.  

It is possible to handle most any childhood mental issue with counseling and a plan.

Before giving your child a medication that may change the way he thinks or the way his nervous system works, ask if there is a way to handle the problem without medication.  Think outside the box.  Work within your child's world.  See the problem through his eyes.  And if you still can't come up with a plan....contact me.  There are ways to make sure your child's growth isn't interrupted by drugs.

Seeking His Wisdom,

Debbie