Posted on 11/08/2006 3:17:44 AM PST by Mrs Ivan
A girl of four is being treated for stress and depression after she was refused a place at her local school.
Mollie Murphy became so distraught at being separated from her best friends that she had to see a doctor.
Last night, the youngster's mother spoke of her shock after the GP said he would consider a course of anti-depressants and counselling if Mollie's condition does not improve.
"When he said she had stress and depression at first I thought he must be joking," said 26-year-old hairdresser Victoria Anderson.
"I thought, how can a little girl suffer from that? It's an adult's problem and Mollie's only four. But he told me it does happen."
Although the number of children suffering from depression remains relatively low, experts claim the rate has dramatically increased in recent years.
According to research by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, as many as 40,000 children and adolescents were prescribed anti-depressants in 2003.
Miss Anderson said her daughter started experiencing problems in September.
Due to a lack of places available at East Herrington Primary, in Sunderland, she was forced to travel to nearby Farringdon school.
Since then she has suffered from bouts of vomiting. She also regularly wets the bed and refuses to go to school at the start of each day.
"She had been with all her friends for a year at nursery and wanted to stay with them," said Miss Anderson.
"She screams and cries when I drop her off and is very quiet in class and clings to the teacher. She began to get really, really unhappy - to the point where she would make herself physically sick.
"I was so worried I took her straight to the doctor who made his diagnosis."
Despite a letter from GP Kevin Weaver recommending Mollie be reunited with her friends, local education officials refuse to change their mind. Dr Weaver, 49, defended his decision to consider prescribing anti-depressants to Mollie.
The GP, who has been practising for 24 years, said: "It would be highly unusual, I agree, but not unheard of.
"We try a variety of psychological therapies first but won't rule out anti-depressants even in a child of four years old.
"We get these types of cases every once and a while.
"It's quite different to depression in adults in so far as with children it manifests itself in physical symptoms like bed wetting or headaches whereas with adults it is more of a psychological illness."
Miss Anderson, who has two other children - Nell, two and seven-month-old Will - said she and partner David Murphy were now considering removing Mollie from the school to wait for next year's intake.
Sunderland City Council said it would not reconsider its decision but Mollie's family could take their case to the Local Government Ombudsman.
Last night, the Association for Family Therapy said it had 'serious concerns' about a four-year-old being prescribed antidepressants.
Chairman Barbara Warner said: "Research clearly tells us that supporting the family as a whole and helping the child can be far more effective and doesn't have the dangers of sideeffects or the child being seen as the focus of a problem."
No wonder Britain is falling.
It is not, and it never will.
Over my dead body would I dope up my child for that.
she doesn't need anti-depressants, she needs a mother to be a parent
Doogle
Oh, for heaven's sake! It sounds like the little girl is too young for school. My 2-year-old wets the bed, too - we should get him antidepressants?
How about that! A four-year-old Republican!
'No wonder Britain is falling.'
10 million prescriptions for prozac, paxil, zoloft, wellbutrin and celexra to under 18's in the US in 2003.
http://www.antidepressantsandchildsuicide.com/
Physician, heal thyself. . . .
I would even venture to say based on the information in the article that this is not clinical depression at all. (The only kind you should be give antidepressants for) This is an emotional upset that was triggered by an event. The child was taken from a known and comfortable environment and placed in one that is unfamiliar where she feels that she has no allies. Her reaction is pretty natural for a sensitive child.
The mother would be far better off if she invited some of the children in her daughters current class over so she could get to know them on her territory. A couple of weeks of this and the little girl would not feel as alone as she does now.
Drugging her will not change the reality of the situation.
It's tough when you lose your first election.
Unbelievable. If a 4 year old os wetting the bed with anxiety about going to school, you would think Mom would get the message she's not ready, instead of giving her meds.
That seems like a no-brainer to me. Why even consult a doctor.
Isn't she a bit young to be following the election?
Oh joy, something new to diagnose and medicate children for. More control to the schools and health care industry.
Four-year-olds tend to make new friends easily.
If after three months this kid is still vomiting, wetting the bed, screaming and crying and refusing every day to go to school, MY first thought wouldn't be that something is wrong with her, but that something terrible is happening to her at this school. She doesn't sound sad, she sounds scared to death.
Off-topic, but-- "partner"? Doesn't anyone get married anymore?
It's also just normal. The kid's not ready for school and some dimbulb parent has been brainwashed into believing that she should be going at that age.
*IF* I had to make a diagnosis, it wouldn't be depression but anxiety attack or fear. Perhaps these brilliant folks need to look into what's going on when they're not around. The girl may have a legitimate reason to be afraid, like she's being abused.
Come on now, anyone living in Sunderland needs anti-depressants..
..and a smog mask
There are disappointments in life. That is what is wrong with this world, everyone thinks that they're suppossed to live a life free from pain and disappointment.
Later pingout.
This is getting to be a problem in the US. Drug'em up, even toddlers. I guess stuffing them in front the TV all day isn't working.
If kids are given drugs to deal with life's little challenges, they will never, ever learn how to deal with them. They will become drug addicts of one kind or another. Kids who've been drugged with Ritalin when young are much more likely to become addicted to street drugs.
Street drugs and legal mind altering drugs are not that much different, just the legal drugs have a patina of "medicine" and the dosages are more carefully calibrated.
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