What Are We Doing to Our Children?

We have all probably noticed the growing epidemic of personality disorders. It seems as though we are all developing some issue that is causing us to be "un-normal." While I do agree that there are some disorders that do need to be "treated" there are many, that with counseling and education, the increasing number of "medicated" young adults can be avoided. These medications not only give people an excuse to not move forward and be active, viable, "normal," adults but it also affects the actual growth and systems within their bodies. With this "disorder epidemic" we are also creating a future of medication-related problems.

I watched as a child I knew was medicated for hyperactivity. A child that I knew had unusually long sleep patterns, was fed junk food on a continuous basis and was never let outside to play because his parents didn't spend the time to go outside and supervise. This child was locked in the house on a regular basis, sent to their room to watch TV or play and was handed fast food, or TV dinners every night. When this child reacted to that environment, became stir crazy, they were taken to a doctor and from there, the parents were handed medication to decrease his energy. There was nothing wrong with this child except they needed real food, fresh air, and activity. Instead, the medication was given, the child gained weight, became withdrawn even more and lost all interest in life. In high school, it got worse. Now a teenager, hormone levels were interrupted because of the medication, lack of vitamins caused his teenage frame to be weak, his brain functions were slow, so learning was difficult, serotonin, a normal sleep hormone that helps in body growth and function became an issue. He slept from when he got home from school until he went back again most days and when he didn't, he was in his room near the window, smoking cigarettes and pot. By the time he was senior he was skinny, short for his age, withdrawn, depressed, addicted to pot and looking for a better high. He didn't graduate because by the end of that senior year he was dead. He went to sleep one day and by the time he should've been awake, his heart just stopped. I know this is an extreme case but there is a point here.

All these children that are growing are being affected by not only the drugs that they are being offered on the streets but also by the ones that they are offered by medical professionals. We are overdiagnosing disorders and over medicating issues that could be resolved with diet and exercise. Instead of counseling these kids and getting the help that is actually needed, educating their parents, educating the child, we are feeding them addiction. We are handing them an excuse instead of getting them the right foods, the fresh air they need and the physical activity that would burn that energy level they are supposed to have. We are putting them to bed with the TV on, the lights on and they aren't getting the right sleep. Our bodies require a good diet to help the brain and body functions process the way they should. At least six hours of dark sleep to release those hormones that keep us "normal." We also require exercise to build those muscles and bones.

We are breeding a generation of people who will have no idea how to deal with life. We wonder why our teenagers and young adults don't know how to deal, this is why. We aren't teaching them anything. We are not giving them the tools to be adults. They see their parents working, coming home and sitting, quiet. Why would they ever want to grow up and be that? We aren't giving them any hope for the future. We aren't showing them that being an adult can be as fun as what being a kid is supposed to be. We are turning our backs on a whole generation and ignoring what we are building. If we don't wake up soon it will be too late. We may not be a "Prozac Nation" anymore but we are turning into a "Medicated Society."

If you are worried about your child, whether they are truly hyperactive or truly have an issue, the first thing you need to look at is their diet, then their amount of "kid" activity, outdoors or even indoor exercise. Next you want to look at their sleep patterns. Are they getting at least six hours of dark sleep? Is there anything that could be disrupting normal body functions and hormones? Talk to your doctor about what's really going on. Don't use the excuse that they are just too hyper, or tell them you work a lot, or tell them you’re just too tired, ask for help. There are other treatments, programs, diets, vitamins, supplements, to help with all of this. Listen to your children and what they are saying. Learn to communicate, interact and take your blinders off before one day we wake up and they're all gone.

If you would like more information, like to give some suggestions or just want to talk you can email me at [email protected] or find me on Twitter or Facebook.