My Life as a Mom

Feel free to contact me: shirleykeeldar@poetic.com

With 6 happy kids, life can be really fun around here! This blog is dedicated to the joys and sometimes chaos of having a large family. Okay, so it's always chaos around here, but fortunately, it's almost always fun, too!

Saturday, March 24, 2007

Rebecca Riley

If you have heard the tragic story of Rebecca Riley, you may be as frightened as I am about the direction our society is heading.

Rebecca, just four years old, was diagnosed as bipolar, and was given psychiatric drugs designed for adults.

Her parents administered the drugs liberally - giving her extra doses so she would sleep.

School personnel and family friends were concerned, as the child was zombie-like on the drugs.

She died December 13th, the result of an overdose. Her organs shut down, a slow, painful process.

Her story is really terrible. Her parents were surely abusive. Her doctor must have been crazy herself to drug this little child in this way, rather than prescribe some sort of parenting classes for her parents!!

But this is a larger story, unfortunately.

Four million children in the US are prescribed anti-psychotic medication and drugs for "hyperactivity" like Ritalin, every year.

FOUR MILLION.

Could anyone really believe that 4 million children are MENTALLY ILL???

I am simply dismayed.