by Sherri Benson

Created on: September 02, 2009

Why parents using their instincts is important to raising a child with ADD or ADHD. It is very simple, you are the parent and you know your child better than anyone else does. Yes, take them to the doctor for diagnosis and medications if necessary. Yes, take them for counseling to help them find new and better ways to cope with life's problems. But do realize that doctors are practicing medicine. They are not God, they do not know everything. In this medical world we live in you don't even get the same results with the same medicine, therefore it is very important for you to also use your instincts.

Ritalin is prescribed to many ADHD kids but not always with the same results. It may calm down some children, but others it may make more hyperactive. Adderol is know to work in many ADHD children, but I know one who it had so high that he wasn't even aware of major changes around him. The doctor kept prescribing this medication being completely unaware of what it was doing to the child. The mother kept obediently giving the child the medication because the doctor prescribed it and she blindly followed not paying any attention at all to the results. That child later got in trouble with the law due to the high he was getting. Once in custody and the medication stopped, the child now in trouble for something he didn't even remember.

As parents we can only dot he best we can. Children do not come with a set of instructions and every child is different. It is your duty as a parent to pay attention to what is going on with them and how well their medication are or are not working. You are given the gift of instincts for a reason. It is not a gift to be squandered. Talk with your child and find out how he or she feels when they take their medicine. Talk with them about ways to deal with stress. Help them to learn the way that works best for them. They are not a label. They are not a disease. They are children who have a burden to carry throughout their life and they need out help.

Back when I was in school they just called the kids dumb. Now they call them by their diagnosis. Either way, you take away from the fact that they have a problem that they did not cause and they need your help to fix it. Can they be cured? No, not at this time, but they can be helped. Many times you will find that simple things as exercise and taking whole food vitamins are helpful. Our bodies are designed to take care of themselves. We as humans do not fuel our bodies effectively to do this. We have a lot of pollutants in the air and in our foods that cause our bodies not to work right. Instead of ignoring this, we should see what we can do to help the situation. Nothing is hopeless and certainly not our children.

Learn more about this author, Sherri Benson.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.