Smile! For Our Children’s Sake
Every day, doctors and psychiatrists dole out behavior-modifying medicines to our children for a variety of psychiatric disorders. Based on research performed by the Commission on Human Rights (CCHR), there are currently over 8,389,034 children ages 0 -17 being prescribed psychiatric drugs in the United States.
Breakdown of Usage:
Children on ADHD Drugs:
4,404,360
Children on Antidepressants:
2,165,279
Children on Antipsychotics:
830,836
Children on Anti-Anxiety Drugs:
2,132,625
Unfortunately these numbers continue to grow worldwide. The organization Fight for Kids, (also affiliated with the CCHR) paints an even more disturbing picture, reporting that more than 17 million children globally have been prescribed psychiatric drugs. Of these, more than 10 million reside in the United States. Between 1995 and 1999, antidepressant use increased 580% in children ages 6 and under, and 151% among children ages 7–12. Physicians believe that children are being prescribed these drugs due to suffering in educational and behavioral areas. Other reasons provided were:
- The children were never taught to read.
- The children may be suffering from allergies, lead poisoning, or other environmental toxins.
It is true that prescription medications can be helpful for some patients, however it should also be noted that they can potentially do more harm than good.
Information one should know upon taking psychiatric medications:
- It was reported in 2004 that the FDA ordered that a “black box” label be placed on antidepressant containers warning the user that this medicine can cause suicide in children and adolescents.
- The stimulants being prescribed are classified as “schedule 2” drugs, meaning they have the same potential for abuse as morphine, opium, and cocaine.
- These drugs may cause psychotic behavior, heart attack, stroke, sudden death, suicidal thoughts, and violent behavior.
- Psychiatric drugs cause massive changes in the way the brain functions.
- These types of drugs increase risks of long-term psychological, physical, social, and economic harm.
More profoundly, the Dr. Edward group states that medically, there is no physical test that can prove the existence of a “mental disorder”. Neither is there a blood, urine, chemical imbalance exam, X-ray, or brain scan that can show the presence of a mental disorder. So why are there so many children being prescribed prescription drugs today? Put in the simplest terms, they’re unhappy. These children are unhappy with someone or something; unhappy about a particular event or circumstance, and this unhappiness manifests itself through misbehavior .
There are other more effective ways of coping with educational and behavioral concerns with our children than medication. Here’s a list of steps for raising happy kids without having to resort to prescriptions:
Step 1: Get Happy Yourself! Extensive research has established a substantial link between mothers who feel depressed and negative outcomes in their children, such as acting out and other behavior problems. Parental depression also makes parenting less effective.
Step 2: Teach your children how to build relationships. This can start with encouraging a kid to perform small acts of kindness to build empathy.
Step 3: Expect effort, Not perfection! It has been proven that relentlessly banging the achievement drum affects a child consciously and subconsciously. Parents who overemphasize achievement are more likely to have kids with high levels of depression, anxiety, and substance abuse compared to other kids.
Step 4: Teach Optimism! Teach your child how to look on the bright side of things. Author, Christine Carter, simply puts it. “Optimism is so closely related to happiness that the two can practically be equated. She also did a comparison of optimists to pessimists and found that optimists:
- Are more successful at school, work, athletics.
- Are healthier and live longer.
- End up more satisfied with their marriages.
- Are less likely to deal with depression and anxiety.
Step 5: Teach Emotional Intelligence. Emotional intelligence is a skill, not an inborn trait. A simple step here is to empathize, label, and validate when your child is struggling with anger or frustration.
Step 6: Form Happiness Habits! How? Christine Carter shares some powerful methods backed by research:
- Stimulus removal: Get distractions out of the way!
- Make it public: Establish goals to increase social support and social pressure.
- Set one goal at a time. Too many goals overwhelms willpower, especially for kids. Solidify one habit before adding another.
- Keep at it. It takes time, there will be relapses, that is normal, keep reinforcing!
Step 7: Teach self-discipline. Self discipline in kids is more predictive of future success than intelligence. A good way to start is to help a child learn how to distract themselves from temptation.
Step 8: More Playtime! Playtime isn’t just for goofing off. It’s essential to helping a child grow and learn.
Step 9: Rig their environment for Happiness. For starters, Less TV. Research demonstrates a strong link between happiness and not watching television. Sociologists show that happier people tend to watch considerably less television than unhappy people.
Step 10: Eat Dinner Together! This simple tradition helps mold better kids and makes them happier too. Studies show that kids who eat dinner with their families on a regular basis are more emotionally stable and less likely to abuse drugs and alcohol. They got better grades. They have fewer depressive symptoms, and are less likely to become obese or have an eating disorder. Family dinners trump reading to your kids in terms of preparing them for school.
As Americans, we’re often open to new methods when it comes to work and careers, why not be when it comes to family? Let’s decrease the number of children on psychiatric drugs today, and increase the number of happier children abroad, for focusing on the science of it all is equally as important even if the prescription for joy will never be as easy as taking a pill. Live Happy, Look Happy: Smile! For our children’s sake.