Blog http://www.gfpdrugfree.org/blog Greenville Family Partnership blog en-us Thu, 09 Sep 2010 12:08:07 -0400 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss BlueInk CMS Drugging Kids for Parents’ Relief?! http://www.gfpdrugfree.org/blog/2010/7/29/drugging_kids_for_parents_relief In a recent article, parents discussed drugging their children for parents’ relief. The article discussed whether this was abusive to our children. I was shocked by the comments made by a mother who claimed it was “better than being pushed to the edge, spanking, slamming doors, or loosing it.”  What she was referring to as “better” was giving children prescription or over-the-counter medication to calm them down when they are too much to handle.  Later in the article, the same mother says she has discussed the topic with friends and it can be seen as getting some “me time” with specific examples of reading a book or having a quiet dinner. "Sometimes you just need it. It's better than screaming at a kid when all your buttons are being pushed. You need a break; it's a survival mechanism."

We are becoming too dependent on pills or substances to solve our problems as adults and I worry even more about the messages we send to our children.  Especially in this most impressionable time of their lives, a time when they should be developing skills of self-discipline and healthy coping mechanisms to life’s stresses, this should not be the answer.  Recent brain research has given us more insight into the development of the brain.  There are many crucial stages of brain development throughout childhood that may be affected by the introduction of chemical substances, possibly influencing the propensity toward addiction later in life.

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