French Kids Have Less ADHD than Americans

[lissiehoya]

m.psychologytoday.com/blog/suffer-the-children/201203/why-french-kids-dont-have-adhd

So this article references Bringing Up Bébé, which I swore was going to be my parenting philosophy and yet I'm already failing that in so many ways.

Thoughts on the article? Or things you expected you'd do but now aren't?

[SpinsOffResonance]

Haven't read the article yet. But having grown up right next to France I can tell you I had never heard of adhd until I moved to the US when I was 18yo. It's not a thing there. Yes a few kids with severe issues get diagnosed with hyperactivity disorder but that is by far the minority. Not like in the US where it seems every single child gets slapped with a diagnosis.

[letal316]

It is interesting to read different parenting philosophies. I agree with how the French approach diagnosing children, I am not pro-pills for everything. I think it's important to educate ourselves on different ideas and then ultimately making choices that make sense for your family regardless of societal pressure.

[athn64]

The US is Dx happy with this somewhat. Yes there are children that need it, and I'm not taking away from their needs, but it seems to me that if a child has any issues sitting still or focusing, they are pushed into a diagnosis. I had issues in school, but that was because I was bored because I was above the level they were teaching my classmates. On the otherhand, my brother actually is ADHD.

But today, we probably both would have been diagnosed.

[lissiehoya]

Jan 17, 2015 10:03:21 GMT -5 athn64 said:

The US is Dx happy with this somewhat. Yes there are children that need it, and I'm not taking away from their needs, but it seems to me that if a child has any issues sitting still or focusing, they are pushed into a diagnosis. I had issues in school, but that was because I was bored because I was above the level they were teaching my classmates. On the otherhand, my brother actually is ADHD.

But today, we probably both would have been diagnosed.

That is exactly what I'm worried about with DS. I'm afraid of being pushed by teachers and doctors to medicate for what once may have been thought of as normal childhood actions etc.

ETA: Am I the only one who worries about this?

[birdhut]

I had parents asking me all the time if their child was ADHD in kindergarten. Yes there were a few that really did need some help but most it was very hard for me to know at that age. All kids have trouble sitting still and almost all my boys had a really hard time at that age. I always said you know I think it might be an age thing and we could discuss more at the end of the year unless of course you could clearly tell something was going on within a couple minutes of being around the child. I just hate that there are so many being diagnosed if they're really just acting their age.

Edit- no you're not the only one totally agree!

Oh also a lot of times I found it was more a choice to not want to do an assignment then them not being able to pay attention.

Edit again to say I also was not allowed to diagnosis and would tell parents this but I was allowed to say what I was noticing in the classroom which is when I might say we could see how things were at the end of the year if they were still worried maybe it's an age thing but that i wasn't able to diagnose that. - saw another teacher posted that and wanted to be sure I added as well because that is true teachers can get in big trouble for saying I think your child has...

[Deleted]

I really think it has to do with having no recess and no gym class in many schools now. ALL children need some time to get their energy out. You're crazy if you think a kid can sit still all day. I read an article about a therapist going to middle school and doing what the kids had to do (sit all day) and the therapist couldn't do it. I hate that every kid gets slapped with the label. Some truly are ADHD, but not as many as people think. And yes, I will fight tooth and nail before I get my DS diagnosed.

[britab]

Jan 17, 2015 10:09:41 GMT -5 lissiehoya said:

Jan 17, 2015 10:03:21 GMT -5 athn64 said:

The US is Dx happy with this somewhat. Yes there are children that need it, and I'm not taking away from their needs, but it seems to me that if a child has any issues sitting still or focusing, they are pushed into a diagnosis. I had issues in school, but that was because I was bored because I was above the level they were teaching my classmates. On the otherhand, my brother actually is ADHD.

But today, we probably both would have been diagnosed.

That is exactly what I'm worried about with DS. I'm afraid of being pushed by teachers and doctors to medicate for what once may have been thought of as normal childhood actions etc.

ETA: Am I the only one who worries about this?



I'm a teacher and no one I know of ever pushes medicating children. We are not doctors, so I would never suggest that or try to diagnose a child. We try to find solutions to issues that we can use in the classroom. It's sad 5 year olds have to be in school all day but I think that's to make up for those that come from bad home situations. Kids do need to play more and our obsession with testing it taking that away!

This article doesn't surprise me at all. Many children in America spend 4 hours plus a day on electronics and do not sleep enough. There are many kids with no/very loose boundaries. The French know kids need firm appropriate boundaries.

Sadly, I think this is part of our "quick fix" culture. Rather than the hard work, we want a pill. I do know there are some that really benefit from medication but I do think there are kids that do not learn how to control their behavior because they are completely dependent on meds.

[mamarazziof3]

I totally agree with the idea of the boundaries and limits (I read the book awhile back and liked a lot of the ideas in it) and I am not surprised by the findings at all as far as French children vs. Americans with ADHD. Like britab said, I think that here a lot of the problem is too much screen time/electronics and not enough sleep, along with little boundaries or delayed gratification.

[ho11yday]

Jan 17, 2015 10:09:41 GMT -5 lissiehoya said:

Jan 17, 2015 10:03:21 GMT -5 athn64 said:

The US is Dx happy with this somewhat. Yes there are children that need it, and I'm not taking away from their needs, but it seems to me that if a child has any issues sitting still or focusing, they are pushed into a diagnosis. I had issues in school, but that was because I was bored because I was above the level they were teaching my classmates. On the otherhand, my brother actually is ADHD.

But today, we probably both would have been diagnosed.

That is exactly what I'm worried about with DS. I'm afraid of being pushed by teachers and doctors to medicate for what once may have been thought of as normal childhood actions etc.

ETA: Am I the only one who worries about this?

Not the only one who worries about it, especially since boys are diagnosed more than girls. However, I like the doctor that I see as he's not likely to push medication and I can shop for a doctor who prescribes less frequently if they insist on seeing a psych/behavioral health doctor (kind of what I did with my ob/midwives and cesareans).

[ho11yday]

Oh, obviously anecdotal, but like birdhut iterated, it's about not doing an assignment. I remember one person 9 years ago who said at the beginning of the year they would help their son do his homework, pack his backpack, etc. But once she stopped, he couldn't do his homework, pack his back pack etc. So she wanted him on something. So they gave this boy 54 mg of Concerta (highest dose without doubling up on pills). WTF

[SpinsOffResonance]

Thanks for sharing lissiehoya, very interesting article. To me makes sense to treat it as an environmental and behavioral issue first before resorting to drugs. It seems a lot of parents expect their kids to behave and do their work without them having to do any parenting. And when that doesn't work they go straight to drugs. Sad thing.

[Deleted]

Thank you for sharing this article!
I have believed this for a long time, that in the US we over-diagnose ADD and ADHD more often then not.
A US study came out a few years back stating that several "ADD" children were actually just intellectually ahead of their grade and therefore got bored very easily.
A more recent one I saw on the news said that 80% of the ADHD diagnoses were mis-diagnosed by family doctors - this was coming from child psychologists.

We fully plan to find and work on underlying issues prior to using any medications for anything.  Medications are a quick fix, but in the long run don't do the child much good if the underlying issue is still there.

[ho11yday]

A lot of the kids I see with a diagnosis had problems with sleep (IE not getting enough sleep) before their diagnosis.

[becole]

Sleep and diet.