The Medicated Child Essay

Words: 677
Pages: 3

The Medicated Child The documentary, The Medicated Child published by Frontline in 2008, examines the intense growth of children, as young as three years old, being diagnosed with ADHD and Bipolar Disorder and prescribed medications that are tentative and causes severe, long-term side effects such as psychosis, anxiety, depression, destructive behavior, social withdrawal and suicidal thoughts. The medications applied to those children lack supported data and mostly based on educated guesses; according to D. J’s psychiatrist Doctor Bacon, trying medications in these children is a gamble and to some extent an experiment because there is no way to know what will work. No doubt that there are plenty of people born with chemical imbalances in their brain that require medications; however, it is doubtful that there are many children being diagnosed as ADHD and Bipolar and given several drugs with serious side effects, which in some cases results in overdose and death. In the first place, teachers are pushing parents to psychiatrists when they are unable to control or teach a child is unacceptable and only benefits the teacher by having a calm, steady classroom with a group of sedated kids. Parents are over reacting to their children’s excessive energy and behavior and chose to sedate them, a quick fix, instead of using alternatives like keeping a daily diet and routine, exercise, communicate or attend …show more content…
Behavioral medications intended for children have to be tested and fully approved before prescribed, and parents should consider and try alternatives, before jumping into drugs, like healthy diet, exercise and therapy. Also consider the possibility that it is normal for a child to act out now and then, and that children are great at imitating words and