Millions of children are taking powerful mind-altering drugs, often before they’re even old enough to attend school. The long-term effects of psychotropic drugs on children are largely unknown, while serious short-term side effects are unfortunately common, including seizures, suicidal ideation, violent behavior and more.
According to WebMD, nearly five million American children have been labeled with some type of serious mental disorder. In any given year, 20 percent of children will be diagnosed with a mental illness.
The most common diagnosis for kids age 3 to 17 is ADHD, followed by behavioral problems, anxiety and depression, and many of these children are being prescribed powerful and potentially dangerous psychiatric drugs.
The BBC documentary “America’s Medicated Kids” takes a look at several families with children on psychiatric medications. Journalist Louis Theroux gets a close look at some of these kids and their families by actually living with them for a time, hoping to understand what drives parents to put their kids on drugs.
Theroux identifies a fine line between ordinary bad behavior and pathology and poses the question of whether the latest drugs are taking the place of “good old-fashioned parenting.”