It's a shame you are so ignorant on the subject. I'm sorry, but you are dead wrong.
Some children may, in fact, need the medications. Others who are medicated probably do not, and their parents may be responsible for "bad" parenting.
When my son was young, we briefly considered the possibility of his hyper-activity needs. We spoke to the (private)school principal, who discouraged use of Ritalin for him, stating he's just being a boy. Now he's a college senior and doing well.
There are many anecdotal examples of the problems of children "needing" ritalin. IMO, neither extreme is correct. Based on my experience, I do believe the drugs have been overprescribed, however.
"It's a shame you are so ignorant on the subject. I'm sorry, but you are dead wrong."
I don't have a child with ADD, but right now we are trying to figure out what is wrong with my 5 yr. old now.
So far the testing is pointing to a "central processing disorder."
We haven't had to deal with the issue of meds as apparantly this problem can be addressed with therapy.
He is one of 7 children...all of whom have been "parented" the same way - and yet is VERY different from his siblings.
Those who want to chalk many of these problems solely to "bad parenting" have definitely NOT walked in these parents' shoes.