Children and Ritalin
To quote Dr. Joseph Mecola from his web site:
"Prescriptions for Ritalin are up 600 percent this decade. If the current rate of increase continues, some 8 million American schoolchildren will be on the drug next year. The United States uses five times more Ritalin than the rest of the world COMBINED."
It almost seems like a race against time. The major contestants in this race:
1) The psychiatric profession and the pharmaceutical companies intent on producing "customers" for life andDid you know that Ritalin and cocaine share virtually the same properties? Did you know the list of DOCUMENTED side effects for this drug include aggression, hallucinations and suicidal thoughts?2) You, me, other parents, educators and the general public who are finding out every day about the dangers of drugging our country's children.
There are so many other factors involved with the child who gets quickly shunted over to the psychiatric/pharmaceutic solution. What about his diet? Is he getting adequate nutrition? Lack of certain nutrients cause symptoms identical to those a misguided psychiatrist will quickly label as "ADD" or "ADHD."
Does the child have allergies? These also can produce oddly similar symptoms.
Oh, did I mention nutritional deficiencies and allergies are treatable? With a bit of care and common sense these can be rectified in your child. And guess what? You DIDN'T HAVE TO DRUG THE CHILD.
Here's a chilling fact: Some schools get kickbacks for labeling children. A financial incentive for labeling children who could then end up on drugs. I understand that schools have financial pressures, but this is NOT one of the ways to relieve that pressure.
So if you are being pressured to put your child on Ritalin or other psychiatric drugs, do your child the biggest service you could possibly do and get informed first. Don't push a cocaine-like stimulant into your child's brain because someone believes it will help.
Here are a couple of sites to find out more:
Does Psychiatry Produce a Cure? / How Scientific is the Psychiatric Evaluation?
