Pharmaceutical Parenting

I was site hoping, when I landed on this blog and read: better living through chemistry.
The story of that kid was tragic, yet so painfully true. I know lots of kids ended up literally being drugged by doctors.
I don’t know what 'normal' is this day. Prozac, Paxil, Ritalin, all are easy to get. Kids who have lots energy is now known as hyperactive and got Ritalin. Feeling a wee bit shy? Paxil is your answer. Down? Prozac is your rescue. University students use Ritalin instead of coffee to stay up. Some kids use paxil to feel better, whatever that is. Sadly you can find such practices not only in the US, but also in Indonesia! I know kids back home who (used to) take Ritalin in the morning, Prozac in the evening like some kind of miracle pills. And we are afraid they grow up and do drugs! Gee...

Don’t get me wrong, sometimes you NEED to take those pills. It really can help some people. But I think doctors tend to prescribe them way too easily. After one consultation session of 20-30 minutes, they give you something. My god, it's a child we are talking about. At least do anything you can before labeling & prescribing some powerful drug for them. And parents, they act as the child's proxy consent giver, it's their job to protect their kid. Get to know your kids, don't get panic just because others said this and that about your kids, search around & get inform (on pro and contra), ask questions, and, for the love of god, use your instinct! Don’t let your kids get parented by pharmaceutical.