Please Don't Label My Child - A Review
By Laura M. Turner
We
love to label things. We also love to define ourselves and others in the realm of our
peers: She's an "A" student; he's a star athlete; she's a nerd; he's a troublemaker.
No where does this come into play more, than with our young people. As we grow older, we
understand that who we were in are youth was part of our growth. And as we age,
we understand that we transcend the
labels, although we never quite forget them.
Sadly, in this young
generation, labels are not limited to athletics and academics.
As the
increasing amount of children are being labeled "ADD" or "ADHD" and worse,
young people these days are forced to carry the burdens of what they perceive as
"inferior bodies" and "inferior minds," save the dangerous medications thrown
in after
the diagnosis. All this in hopes of making right the
perceived medical problem.
Author and
pediatric psychiatrist, Scott M. Shannon, M.D., has seen enough damaging "labeling," and
has
chosen to do something about it. He's written a book that shares his
ideas for creating childhood wellness, although they are not often shared by the popular "medical" view. In fact, he goes
out on a limb to note, in his experience, environment and nutrition are
often at root cause of a misbehaving child. In his book, he is
clearly passionate about doing more for our children from a natural
standpoint. Here's why:
1.) "From
1987 to 1996, the number of children who were prescribed psychiatric
medications in this country tripled."
2.) "The
use of psychotropic medications for teenagers increased 250 percent between
1994 and 2001."
3.) "In
2003, 65 percent of children and adolescents taking behavioral medicines
were also on antidepressants."
In his
book, Shannon also shares with readers many case studies that account for misdiagnosed
and overmedicated children. After reading, it was clear to me that
many of the problem children had more going on than "faulty wiring."
Shannon continues by outlining
his working ideas of the ways we can begin to take care of our young people
before they have begun life, all through proper care, proper supplementation and nutrition.
Once the
children are here, however, Shannon reminds us of our responsibility to the task of
teaching our youth stress management. Shannon gives us some
startling facts here as well. He shares that in some
cases, he's found children's behavior is in direct response to their
activities, those as simple as what they are watching on television.
The violent behaviors they view, for example, can and have created many
behavioral problems.
In other
cases, aggressive behaviors in the home are assumed by
children's minds. Too, the toxins that
they are exposed to each and every day in common household products and
their environment, could also be a factor. Moreover, I trust Shannon does not give us this
information in effort to create "fear." I as
he, believe we owe it
to our young people to exhaust every option to keep them safe, as well as to
strengthen the ways we approach our health and theirs in a natural harm-free
fashion.
In the
end, Shannon
gives us an action plan. He takes us through all the paces and offers
simple ways we can contribute to our children's well being. This is
not to say that he does not prescribe pharmaceuticals to children who
absolutely need them.
Yet, this is a last resort and only after exploring the full picture of the
youth in his or her environment.
Further, he
also makes every effort to use natural resources to correct issues that
manifest themselves and especially takes a look at the diet program.
In his experience this has many times remedied children's problems entirely.
In this
easy to understand manual of natural approaches to caring for our young
people, Shannon asks all to take an active approach in our children's
learning as well as their environment. He is quick to remind us that
television and electronic devices do not raise children and can in fact do
harm to them. It is the love of primary caregivers that the children respond
to and will ultimately contribute to their growth. The take home
message is: positive interaction,
as well as creating safe and positive pathways for children to grow and
approach their world, will give them a great start to one day offer their own unique contribution.
Be sure to read Scott M. Shannon, M.D.'s article:
Mental Health in Children:Nutrition as a Common Sense Alternative to Medications and Labels
to learn more.
****
About the Author
SCOTT M. SHANNON, MD, is a pediatric psychiatrist, board certified in
general psychiatry, child/adolescent psychiatry, and holistic medicine.
He currently serves as medical director for four residential treatment
centers for children and teens in northern Colorado
****
About Laura M. Turner:
Laura M. Turner, M.S., CHHP is the Sr.
Editor of The New Body News and Wellness
Letter, the online magazine healthy people
read! To subscribe for free and receive the
free report "Take Charge Of Your Health" as
well as a complimentary weight loss eBook,
visit
www.new-body-news.com . While you're
there be sure to check out Laura's latest
book
Spiritual Fitness
