I am a mother of two who recently became aware of the screening of three-year-olds for mental disorders – as part of the Healthy Kids Check
What I read is that, using the behaviour of a three-year-old, future mental illness can be predicted and prevented. I thought, that sounds interesting, so I looked into it further to see what sort of symptoms where being looked for, and what medical tests would be done.
The symptoms listed are as follows: aggressive behaviour, impulsive behaviour, fears, shyness, wanting to sleep with the light on, doesn’t want to sleep in own bed etc. The list goes on. There are no medical tests done…..
I don’t know about you – but the above all seem like normal three-year-old behaviours. Mine had certainly been known to have tantrums, spit the dummy, fight with each other, be afraid of the dark etc, and I know I did those things as a child – does this make me mentally ill also? So I decided to do some research on how they will treat our children – if identified as mentally ill.
What I discovered is – they will be prescribe medication. POWERFUL, ADDICTIVE MEDICATION, WITH MANY KNOWN SIDE EFFECTS.
My only purpose for writing this is to get parents to ask their doctor questions, if the check results in medication. The main questions I would ask are:
What causes this mental illness in my child?
What chemical is out of balance when you say: chemical imbalance of the brain ?
How many forms of medication are there to treat my child?
Without actual medical tests, how can you determine which chemical is unbalanced in my child and therefore correctly prescribe the medication which will fix that imbalance?
What side affects do these medications have (long-term and short-term)?
Ask for the medical research and findings, the clinical trials and their outcomes. Look the prescribed drug up on the internet and get as much information on it as possible. Find case studies to see the long- and short-term effects on individuals – there is a lot of information out there.
There seem to be more and more stories in the media about these medications being highly addictive, damaging and causing violent side affects in their takers. As parents, we need to know – Are these drugs actually safe for our babies?
Have a look at some alternative treatments for the underlying problems you face with your kids. You may be surprised at the behavioural changes produced by dietary changes, limiting video games, and getting your kids to play outside / in the yard – as we did when we were kids.
Thank you for your time. I hope you will question these things as I have, because what you will find will shock you.
Greta Gilroy
Gympie
