Nurses for Human Rights

It has become apparent that the handling of kids who are unruly or annoying with drugs is the new standard in our society. Parents are reaching for the medicine cabinet and dosing little Annie with cough syrup, antihistamines, adult prescriptions, and street drugs to quell the menacing activity a 3 year old can imbue into the environment. This article from CNN highlights just how pervasive this concept has become. With the wholesale labeling of unruly behavior with bipolar disorder, depression, and ADHD the psychiatric industry has given permission to parents to seek drugs as an answer to unwanted behavior. Instead of learning HOW to handle your kids, it’s far easier to drug them to alter their behavior. In the old days, when I was young, discipline was stronger and we learned what behaviors were acceptable and which were not. I did not suffer from being whacked in the arse when I attempted to stick my finger into the light socket. I found the consequences of the abrupt spank more pro-survival than the 110 volt shock I was about to receive. When I could reason better, I figured out for myself why we don’t do such things with electricity.

Nurses who treat or counsel parents have a responsibility to enlighted them on better alternatives to help their children. It’s about their human rights not to be abused with chemicals that can alter their thinking and emotional reactions in life. Unfortunately, some children die from the drugs they are given. They don’t get the chance of living a full life. Ignorance and apathy take that away from them. What do you think?

This entry was posted on Saturday, July 31st, 2010 at 10:10 AM and is filed under Issues. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.