The Medicated Child In the film “The Medicated Child”, the film shows children in society who are put on multiple medication due to their behaviors. Children from ages as young as three are put on medications by trained psychologists. The Film also gives an example of a psychologist who is experimenting with these drugs on young children. These were given to children who were having trouble at home and whose parents got too overwhelmed with their children. Majority of these children were diagnosed with ADHD, bipolar, and hyperactivity by their psychologists.
In the film, Jacob was introduced as a three year old boy who is diagnosed with ADHD. At the age of three, teachers started to inform Jacob’s parents that he was hyperactive and had no impulse control. At first the parents did not want to give the child meds, but after seeing a doctor they fell into the pressure and started giving Jacob medication. I believe that every single person in this incident is at fault. To begin with, the child is three, it is time for the child to learn about the world and find his personality.
Impulse behavior like this should be for forgiving by the school teacher and the parents because the child does not know better or should be taught to be relaxed. The school teacher I believe is at most fault because by assuming that the child is hyperactive because of what they see in their classroom is ridiculous. The school teacher should help teach the child, that what they are paid for. Secondly, the parents are at fault because they didn’t know how to react to their child with this problem. The parents should have used operant conditioning to teach their child when they are going too far.
By giving punishment when the child gets out of hand will teach them that certain behavior is not right. Finally, the doctor is at fault because the doctor gave the medication to Jacob without trying non-medication treatments first. For example, the doctor could have taught the parents how to deal with this situation to try to make it better, could have gone through therapy and finally if nothing else worked then give the child medication. DJ in the film was another young child who was diagnosed and given a multiple medications by a psychiatrist.
It got so bad that DJ was taking up to 5-8 medications on a daily basis. The thing that got me really aggravated was when the psychiatrist was interviewed and asked about his treatment plans, and he said that it was a gamble on what he was doing. He was using these children as an experiment to see if medication can cure the child. This is completely and utterly wrong, and I believe that this psychiatrist should be sued or lose the ability to prescribe medication. Using these human beings as an experiment and knowing that the outcome is questionable is wrong.
It’s wrong because the psychiatrist is using the easy way out for the parents and ruining the child’s natural way to grow. I know for a fact that if it was his own child, he would deny all these medications immediately. He would want to find the absolute correct way to cure his child and not an experiment. The thing that bothers me is the fact that people go to him for advice, support and help. People believe that the psychiatrist is trying everything to cure their child that is the reason why they go to them. By unknowingly giving these medications should be a crime.
The definition of discipline is, “methods of molding children’s character and of teaching them to exercise self-control and engage in acceptable behavior,” (pg. g-2 Papalia). In the film the term discipline was not mentioned because I believe that the parents did not discipline their children correctly. What I was seeing was that children were not punished for their behavior, they were not spanked, and it looked like children did not know that their behavior was not inappropriate. The parenting type that I believe the parents use with their children is permissive.
The children were too independent and did not receive any punishment for their actions. Which lead them to continue with their behaviors and not know the acceptable behaviors in certain places. I believe any child can have behaviors like this; it is on the parents to discipline their children and teach them what is right and wrong. ADHD in middle childhood has rapidly been growing throughout society today. Children are being diagnosed to have ADHD so often that it is now starting to be called the most common disorder in childhood.
The book states, “a chronic condition usually marked by persistent inattention, distractibility, impulsivity, low tolerance for frustration, and a great deal of activity at the wrong time and in the wrong place,” (pg. 359 Papalia). ADHD is being diagnosed today if children are having trouble in school concentrating, having trouble staying still in class and finally the inability gets frustrated or aggravated easily. This film was very disturbing to me in multiple ways. I found it very disturbing because I believe that many parents today do not know how to properly discipline their children.
I believe that parents try to avoid both punishment and physical punishment and allow their children to do as they please. By allowing your children to do this, they will not understand that some behavior is proper and continue to do so. Also, by having a punishment in their lives allows them to understand how to act and have acceptable behavior in society. If not, children can start to be diagnosed with a disorder that they do not have. It all starts with the parents and how they are raising their children.ф
