posted on Aug, 31 2007 @ 10:27 AM
When I read yesterday that tag was being banned I just had to roll my eyes and shake my head. The amount of things that are being banned combined
with the removal of some playground equipment because someone may get hurt, is sad. IMHO it is coddling our children rather than allowing our
children to learn how to handle situations. It's sad when adults feel that it is better to eliminate something than to give the children the
opportunity to learn common sense or talk with children and teach them valuable, life long coping skills.
I disagree 100% with the OP who mentioned ADHD drugs as a partial cause for this type of ban. A child with severe ADHD who is NOT medicated would
likely be the aggressive chaser that may be too rough with the chased child due to the lack of impulse control that is part of ADHD. A child with
severe ADHD who is on the right medication would be able to participate in such games like any other 'normal' child.
While I strongly believe that ADHD is diagnosed far too often and even when correctly diagnosed, medication is not always the best solution, when
severe ADHD is treated with the right medication it makes all the difference in the world and can literally be a life saver. I have ADHD that was
diagnosed but not treated by medication until I was an adult. Had I been medicated at a much younger age I would not have had many of the struggles
and frustrations that cost me valuable time and my parents hundreds of thousands of dollars. It wouldn't have taken me 7 years and 12 schools to
complete my BS and then another 4 years to get my Masters in Psych, that's for sure!!!
I have 4 daughters, 9, 7, 6, and 6. The older two both have been diagnosed with ADHD. While my 7 year olds ADHD responds well to simple behavior
modification plans, my 9 year old has a clear need for medication. Though everyone in her life can see how well she responds to medication, it was
not until a few weeks ago that she was tested to see exactly HOW well the medication benefited her. She was given a very boring computer
game/project without medication, took her medication and returned 2 hours later to do the same thing. The results were stunning with my daughter
performing 90% better WITH medication. 90%!!!!
A child with severe ADHD who NEEDS medication but is not on it is far more likely to be problematic in class, the playground and any other situation
they are in. Their self esteem is low and they have problems interacting with others. While I agree that many children are unneccesarily medicated
for ADHD, the children that are correctly diagnosed and medicated are not the ones that should be blamed for idiotic decisions like tag being banned.
Jemison