Did any of you catch this article where it talked about how the AAP advisory board was urging the FDA to address the growing side effects of anti-psychotic drugs on children?
The new generation of antipsychotic medications has raised a wave of concerns as they are increasingly being prescribed for a host of uses and for younger and younger patients, with little conclusive research addressing their impact on children and sometimes with little evidence they work.
It’s insane! While I understand that children need medicine sometimes, I also know a few other things. For starters, homeopathy, a virtually continuously overlooked healing modality has many options available to address mental illness safely and effectively. For now, you’d have to find a homeopath in your area to work with you, but I don’t see why more doctors aren’t trained in it. When speaking with several allopathic practitioners over the years including physicians assistants, nurses, and doctors, I came to understand that most of them have a brief section where they learn about alternative medicines, but to date, not a single one has been able to differentiate between homeopathy and herbal medicine. That of course leads me to believe that little to no training in the field of homeopathy is required. That needs to changed. That’s a problem. Homeopathy offers safe, genuine self-healing at a fraction of the cost.
We can’t be having close to a million of our children walking around on dangerous brain altering, metabolism altering prescription drugs.
I have to ask, are there really that many kids that have psychological issues in America today? I mean maybe there are. If it’s true and prescriptions are not being handed out to children irresponsibly, then we have a mental health crisis on our hands. How are that many children being diagnoses with mental illness? What are we doing wrong as a culture?
I mean, our government agencies tell us over and over that the chemicals in our foods are fine. We hear that food coloring & behavioral accusations are being over rated. We are told genetically modified food is exactly the same as non-GMO food. We are told that vaccines are very safe and have very minimal side effects. We are told that there’s nothing wrong with bleach and fluoride being in our drinking water. We are told that there’s very little concern over aspartame and splenda and other artificial sweeteners. Children are still being given amalgam fillings on a regular basis. On and on and on… And then we’re told that everything’s fine.
Really?!
The fact that in a year and a half, 1.9 MILLION prescriptions were written FOR CHILDREN for anti-psychotic drugs is fine?
It’s not fine.
This should be what’s on the front cover of our newspapers. I should not have to set up special google search terms to stumble upon this information. This is a really big deal.
American mothers…. look at what is happening. I implore you. Stop and look at what is happening to our children. Something is not right.
It’s not right because we aren’t informed of other choices and lifestyles. We’re told that our American lifestyles and diets are fine, but the abundance of prescription anti-psychotic drugs being issued for children is astounding. It’s like a fire alarm going off during a movie and everyone is staying in their seats because the manager said everything’s fine. We can SEE the fire, but since the manager says it’s fine… we just stay in our seats?
It should be a red flag to all of us.
Kudos to the AAP for urging the FDA to be more careful with our children. Maybe the FDA and drug companies will listen.
In the meantime, we have to readdress some things.
The foods we put into our children’s bodies is one of the largest factors in their physical and mental health. We all know that children need love and attention. More and more women are learning about the importance of baby wearing and breastfeeding for psychological development. For the rest of America, there are bigger emotional factors to address, but for this community, I want to address some additional factors because I know how important gentle loving child rearing is to you. The big factor that continuously gets left out of the picture is our children’s diets and activity level.
As your children grow up, should you come to this cross roads, before filling that prescription for a potentially dangerous medication consider these options first:
- Eliminate all artificial coloring from your child’s diet for two weeks.
- Switch to organic foods for two weeks.
- Introduce a mutivitamin with probiotics that is made from whole foods, not chemicals.
- Have them take extra B and D vitamins to boot.
- Get them outside, let them get a little sun on their shoulders, it will drink up the vitamin D from its best source!
- Buy them a gym membership.
- See a homeopathic doctor if nutritional changes don’t help.
Of course, maybe by that time, the AAP will have put the FDA and pharmaceutical companies in their place and this discussion will be meaningless.
What do you feel about this? Do you have any other ideas on how to keep our children mentally well besides medications?
I applaud you for writing this! The only thing I could add is to be weary of the brand of vitamins you take. Also adding Omegas has helped many parents and their children as well. Brain food. But dont waste your money on fake ones like you said. Go for a company that owns their own organic farms like Nutrilite. http://Www.amway.com/thegoods is a link if any one needs a link to one.
Unfortunately, I have to say that what I see working in a public school is that, yes, waaaaaaaaay too many children in the country have psychological problems that need to be addressed. However, I don’t think that nutrition and homeopathy are the answer for the majority of these children, nor should prescription anti-psychotics be the first choice in treatment.
Children are abused and neglected every day in every community. Children are subjected to adult stresses such as domestic violence, divorce, unemployment/financial issues, deployments to war, loved ones with cancer, etc…. and most of the time their parents don’t recognize or address the fact that these are very difficult situations for anyone to handle, especially children. These kids need love, consistency, and counseling/therapy that they aren’t getting. That’s where we need to start.
I agree, for most children. Though I don’t think that that would be the case in most of the children of the readers of THIS blog, since this community is so heavily geared towards loving parenting. Also, I have suffered from some pretty serious hormonal mood swings and depression and homeopathy is HIGHLY underrated and underused for the ability it has to change lives safely.
Having recently married into a farming family and community from “The City,” the one thing marked difference between city kids and farm kids is their sense of purpose.
Farm kids are up early, working alongside the family to maintain the farm, the family way of life. They have important tasks to fulfill, animals that depend on their care and are expected to do their share of the work. They have a tangible purpose in life.
City kids have… well, there’s school. Some homework and then how many hours a day in front of the tv and video game system? How many hours outside with their friends looking for something to do? They “might” have to unload the dishwasher or clean their room.
I know I feel better emotionally and physically when I have a purpose, when I’ve accomplished something with some lasting meaning. When I’m responsible for the well-being of another, be it pet, livestock or human. Why shouldn’t children be the same?
That’s true, but you also pinpointed another chemical issue… OUTSIDE. Vitamin D!