Medication Guilt

Many parents who start their children on medication for ADHD feel guilty.  For one thing, having your child take medication means that there is a diagnosis requiring treatment.  This is a painful realization for many people.  But medicating itself can induce guilty feelings.   While medication guilt is a common feeling, it is often not logically justified.

Does medicating ADHD mean you are a lazy parent?  Well, unfortunately, many people who are not parents of a child with ADHD would have you think so.   A parent can teach their child, be patient and do things for their child, but only to a point.  There comes a time when every caregiver, no matter how loving, runs out of energy, emotional strength, and time, no matter how perfect their coping strategies are.  This is especially true if there is more than one child in the home, or if the parent is single.

Also, even the best medication does not replace good parenting.  On the contrary, many children will spend their school day medicated and then return home as the medication is wearing off.

Does medicating ADHD mean you are just sedating your child into submission?  Possibly, but probably not.  Only you can weigh your motivations.  Two points are worthy of consideration: 1)  ADHD medication does not have to sedate to be effective.   If the medication is dosed properly, it should not change your child's personality, just help them put the brakes on a little more effectively.
2)  Just because your child is medicated does not mean they will be more submissive.  Medication allows a child to stop and think, but it does not make their choices for them.  The parent still has to help guide the child in the decision making process.  Distinguishing right and wrong, coming up with different courses of action, weighing consequences--medication cannot teach these things.

Does medicating your child mean that you are subjecting them to all sorts of horrible side effects?  Well, possibly yes, but not intentionally.  No parent puts their child on medication with the expectation that things will be worse for the child, nor keeps them on a medication with terrible side effects unless there is something good coming from the medication.  If you decide on medication, hopefully you've weighed the pros and cons and decided that the risk of side effects is worth the potential benefits of medication.

Medication guilt is a sign that you care about your child and interestingly, is probably a sign that you don't need to feel guilty about medicating.  Parenting your child, investigating your options, and weighing the pros and cons are all important ways that you can demonstrate to yourself that you have made the best decision that you can.

Everything ADHD Medical Disclaimer
Everything ADHD Privacy Policy