Can We As A Society PLEASE???

Question

Can we please quit blaming our childrens behaviour issues on ADD/ADHD? I KNOW there are children who do have mental issues and it's very hard for them. But everytime a child talks back or gets up and makes a bit of noise we say "Oh, it's ADD" NO it is NOT it's children being children.

Why is it so hard to understand that children are loud and sometimes get out of control for no reason other than they are child. For God's sake we are trying to raise a nation of adults when they are only five or six!!

Has no body tried discpline? Or is that just too hard.

Now, I realize there are kids with real problems and I'm not addressing them. I am talking about the 10,000 posts I see each day here that say "Does my kid have ADD? They don't listen!"

Come on! Be responible for your children.

Answer 1

We actually addressed this in a Problems in Society class I was taking recently. Teachers have become our newest diagnostic tools, and although I plan on becoming a teacher, I really don't feel that this is right. If a child is acting up in class the appropriate action is a parent-teacher meeting to figure out how to properly motivate the child to participate in class not suggest medication immediately. Another thing that frequently happens is once a teacher suggests ADD/ADHD the parents only remember times when children didn't listen or sit still. They tend to forget the times when their child sat for 3 hours straight playing a video game. A true child with ADD/ADHD wouldn't be able to do that. There are also studies that have shown once the suggestion is planted the chances of not being diagnosed ADD/ADHD is slim to none, and the chances of getting a second opinion that doesn't agree with the first is almost zero. Our entire culture is based on quick fixes and magic pills but mental health and behavioral issues don't conform to either of those things. Another thing that speaks for how over-diagnosed ADD/ADHD is in the US is the fact the we lead the rest of the world in diagnoses by a large gap. In England no one jumps to the conclusion that behavior issues are add/adhd and when they really do have a case of it they try to manage it first with behavioral therapies and then secondly with medication. We're an unfortunate nation of pill poppers.

Answer 2

You are so very right! There are too many parents out there that are not doing a good job at raising their children. I am not one to judge others parenting ways, but when my daughter has to go to school with children who curse, hit, bully, and abuse other children, that is when I feel the need to say something. It is not only true, but a SHAME what you have written in your question.There are unfortunately parents out there who try and use a medical issue as a form of reasoning for their children's misbehavior. No not all children who don't listen have ADD or ADHD. Kids are kids, they will test you. It is a parents job to put them in check! All we, as parents can do is be the best parents that we can be. We can only raise our own children and hope they do not get influenced by those kind of kids!

Answer 3

I agree!!!! I was reading an article the other day on the misdiagnosis of ADD. Its not hard to get your kid diagnosed anymore.

If they seem to be acting up to much, its automatically ADD.

10 years ago, it took a long process to diagnose a child with ADD. The child had to be evaluated, one of which (i think) was with a psychiatrist. Now it only takes 5-10 minutes in the doctors office. The drugs used are also not good for children later on.

Nobody seems to be able to discipline these days!

Answer 4

I agree with you people fall back on medical problems when there child doesnt want to listen or behave sooner or later the entire world will be filled with kids that are on medicines they don't need because there parents think they have add/adhd and there are enough places where you can find symptoms that are completely unrelated and turn them into your child having som sort of behavioral problem

Answer 5

I could not agree more!! For hundreds of years we as humans have not had "behavior enhancing" drugs. And we have made it just fine. So why now in the last 20 years are children diagnosed with a disorder?

I was loud, didn't listen, did stupid crap, and I was just being a kid and I got my butt tore up with a belt for acting really bad.

I also look at the rise in school violence. School violence got out of hand shortly after the bleeding hearts started the whole "no whooping, send them to time out" thing.

Answer 6

How right you are it seems to me while some cases might be the real thing it is blamed for every single problem, hey maybe your kid is just a brat people! I think ADD/ADHD was a condition that suddenly got popular when drug companies developed Ritalin and needed a market.

Answer 7

AMEN!!! A good old fashioned "spank" on the bum NEVER killed me...and it won't hurt them as much as it will hurt my hand!! Kids are kids and they get loud...I'm actually about to loose it with my two cause all they've been doing is fighting since the 5 yr old got home from school~! BUT I know that they are just kids and kids tend to get loud and sometimes out of hand...and I allow that as long as it doesn't bother anyone else...(sleeping family members!) I'll be the first to also admit that my kids...are NOT perfect...NOR am I but I'll take full blame and not pass the buck to ADD/ADHD~ my kids are just loud...HEY THEY GET THAT FROM ME!!! LOL

Answer 8

I agree with your post. I think it is a parents responsibility to take a child in for comprehensive diagonistic tests before medication is given. Many medications can cause future psychological side effects, and parents should take care when listening to teacher's recommendations. Medicating a child should not be an option just to make life easier.

Answer 9

I agree 100%
It's like everybody makes excuses for their kids. "Oh, I think
he/she as ADD " Bull....Plus I have friends with little kids in
school. If teachers tell you your kid needs to be on medicine
you HAVE to take them to dr and get on meds, or they can
call social services. Alot of teachers just don't want to deal
with all the kids. Mostly because they can't punish them by
a good spanking. Years ago if you heard of a kid with ADD it
was rare. Now 20 kids in a class, 19 are on meds. Lazy
parents more like it...parents are so busy working, doing their
things, that kids get shoved to the side and don't know anything
about being polite, manners, caring.

Answer 10

Nobody seems to want to discipline their kids these days. They think "Oh just take away a toy" when they know their kid is going to go over and find a different one to play with. They sit them on the "naughty step" for 3 minutes and call it a punishment. Basically: Your child does NOT have add, it's that your child does NOT have any discipline.