Drugging Our Kids

There are some frightening facts and statistics surfacing these days with regard to violence among school children and the use of drugs, not illicit drugs as one might imagine but prescription drugs, especially the drug Ritalin. In 1996, ten percent to twelve percent of school boys were taking this addictive drug. Boys seem to have a greater tendency toward what the psychiatric field calls ADHD (Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder). While drugs and the treatment of medical or psychiatric conditions are not related to chiropractic, there are a few issues that relate to the chiropractic philosophy.

First, the medical and psychiatric professions seem to be making a disease out of every action or physical function that does not fit their preconceived idea of “normal.” Many of these children may be just naturally rambunctious. The fact that boys, who tend to be naturally more active, have a greater incidence of ADHD would bear this out. Part of the problem also has to be the inability or a lack of desire on the part of the schools to handle active children. Our modern life with its fast-paced video games, television and music has conditioned children to be stimulated and entertained every waking moment. The “three R’s” just do not do it anymore. So give them a drug like Ritalin and that will solve the problem. And people wonder why we have a drug problem in this country. The “drug free” schools promote it!

A second issue to deal with is the side-effect factor. All drugs have side-effects. Almost without exception, the kids responsible for the violence in schools are children who were on prescription drugs or who had only recently stopped taking them.
A third issue to be considered is the misconception that a problem, in this case hyperactive behavior, has a single cause like an imbalance in chemistry. There are other factors, some mentioned above like television, video and music and our youth’s preoccupation with violence, horror, sex, the lack of respect for life and many other factors. None of these by themselves cause a problem but together they create some pretty strong influences upon our children.

One final thought on this subject. If there is a chemical imbalance related to the cause of ADHD, then we need to normalize body chemistry. That cannot be done by adding other chemicals like Ritalin to the body. The human body is not a test tube. It is a living, dynamic organism and every child’s body and body chemistry is a little different. That is why some children do well in school and some do not, why some children handle the stresses of life and others go out and kill their classmates. If we are ever going to resolve the chemical imbalance, part of the problem we must look toward normalizing the child’s chemistry rather than making them a chemistry experiment.

There are basically two things that determine body chemistry. What you put into the body and how well the body is working. There is no doubt that the diet of our youth could be greatly improved. That is something each individual family needs to address. The other factor is how well the body is working. Some of these children may have a genetic problem that causes the body chemistry to be imbalanced. If that is the case then perhaps there is nothing that can be done except to experiment with psychotropic drugs like Ritalin and hope that you come up with the right combination. However, if the chemical problem is caused by the body not working properly due to an interference in the nerve system, the system that causes the production of the body’s chemicals, then that needs to be addressed. In any case, children should have their spine’s checked regularly by a chiropractor. If they have a genetic problem make sure they have a good nerve supply so the body can compensate for that problem as much as possible. If the body is not working properly due to nerve interference, then adjustments are the only thing that can correct the problem. Lastly, for the child who seems to be doing fine in school, let’s keep his or her nerve system working at maximum so they can reach their full potential in school and in life.