my 6 yr old likes taking pills?!

[nodbates]

So there has been a sort of huge battle in the family over the decision of my stepdaughter being put on adhd meds by her mother. She is only 6 years old. She makes As in school, but admittedly she is definitely adhd just like both her parents. She would get in trouble at school a bit for her hyperactivity, and her mom could not handle her. She decided to have her diagnosed and put on meds. My mother in law is livid about the situation. She believes her mothers just wants to drug her up so.she's easier to handle. The whole situation I have mostly stood out of. She is not my child and therefore have no input on the decision. however, I have first hand seen her having insane mood swings and crying fits and then being almost catatonic. And she has always been a smart little girl that I could easily reason with if she was being whiney about something. Now its almost like she has totally lost control of herself and when she has mood swings there's no stopping it. My AH has talked to her teacher, who does not think it's a good thing. He talked to his babymama and they agreed they needed to try something new. He also requested to go to the next doctor visit. She hesitantly agreed. AH was talking to his daughter and told her he'd be going to her next doctor appointment to discuss if she needs the medicine. She said, "I don't want to stop my medicine." He said they may just try something new then asked why she didn't want to stop. She said "because I like taking pills." GASP! AH said it broke his heart to hear that. He talked with her about how if your sick and the medicine helps taking pills can be a good thing. But if you just take them because you like to it can be bad. And then he told her that he used to take pills because he liked it and it did very bad things to him. He did bad things and made very bad choices. I know it broke his heart to have that talk with her at such a young age. I heard it in his voice. I hope her mom is really thinking about this decision.

[mom2seven]

This is such a complicated and difficult issue. There are so many angles to approach this from, and you can never be quite certain of the outcome. For my kids, I have avoided medication. They have a father that has substance problems, and considering that medicine is basically what my AH is currently using, it seems wrong for me to give my kids meds. My doctor once said it differently though, he said they are less likely to self medicate on the streets later on if they have the meds that are of controlled dosage and safe. So, however this issue is considered, it is tough to never have doubts. My friend medicated her boys, and SHE is much more sane as a result.

For me, I am afraid of the outcome with meds, but lately my 5 year old has driven me so crazy that I can see myself changing my mind. Who ever really knows though......

[Cheryl]

Dear Dori,

It is a very difficult for any parent to make when it comes to putting their children on medication. Working in public education, I see some kids who respond favorably and others for whom it has little impact. In my opinion only, I believe that the decision should be made AFTER gathering diagnostic information from a variety of sources to include formal assessment, parent and teacher rating scales, observations in settings when demands are placed on control of attention and behavior, etc. This my 2 cents as I believe that any medication for any reason should be prescribed with caution! Also, too, AD/HD can mimic other disorders, such as anxiety (as was the case with my son).

Cheryl