In the United States, at least 9% of school-aged children have been diagnosed with ADHD, and are taking pharmaceutical medications. In France, the percentage of kids diagnosed and medicated for ADHD is less than .5%. How come the epidemic of ADHD—which has become firmly established in the United States—has almost completely passed over children in France?

Is ADHD a biological-neurological disorder? Surprisingly, the answer to this question depends on whether you live in France or in the United States. In the United States, child psychiatrists consider ADHD to be a biological disorder with biological causes. The preferred treatment is also biological–psycho stimulant medications such as Ritalin and Adderall.

French child psychiatrists, on the other hand, view ADHD as a medical condition that has psycho-social and situational causes. Instead of treating children’s focusing and behavioral problems withdrugs, French doctors prefer to look for the underlying issue that is causing the child distress—not in the child’s brain but in the child’s social context. They then choose to treat the underlying social context problem with psychotherapy or family counseling. This is a very different way of seeing things from the American tendency to attribute all symptoms to a biological dysfunction such as a chemical imbalance in the child’s brain.

French child psychiatrists don’t use the same system of classification ofchildhood emotional problems as American psychiatrists. They do not use the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders or DSM.According to Sociologist Manuel Vallee, the French Federation ofPsychiatry developed an alternative classification system as a resistance to the influence of the DSM-3. This alternative was the CFTMEA(Classification Française des Troubles Mentaux de L’Enfant et de L’Adolescent), first released in 1983, and updated in 1988 and 2000. The focus of CFTMEA is on identifying and addressing the underlying psychosocial causes of children’s symptoms, not on finding the best pharmacological bandaids with which to mask symptoms.

To the extent that French clinicians are successful at finding and repairing what has gone awry in the child’s social context, fewer children qualify for the ADHD diagnosis. Moreover, the definition of ADHD is not as broad as in the American system, which, in my view, tends to “pathologize” much of what is normal childhood behavior. The DSMspecifically does not consider underlying causes. It thus leads clinicians to give the ADHD diagnosis to a much larger number of symptomatic children, while also encouraging them to treat those children with pharmaceuticals.

The French holistic, psycho-social approach also allows for considering nutritional causes for ADHD-type symptoms—specifically the fact that the behavior of some children is worsened after eating foods with artificial colors, certain preservatives, and/or allergens. Clinicians who work with troubled children in this country—not to mention parents of many ADHD kids—are well aware that dietary interventions can sometimes help a child’s problem. In the United States, the strict focus on pharmaceutical treatment of ADHD, however, encourages clinicians to ignore the influence of dietary factors on children’s behavior.

And then, of course, there are the vastly different philosophies of child-rearing in the United States and France. These divergent philosophies could account for why French children are generally better-behaved than their American counterparts. Pamela Druckerman highlights the divergent parenting styles in her recent book, Bringing up Bébé. I believe her insights are relevant to a discussion of why French children are not diagnosed with ADHD in anything like the numbers we are seeing in the United States.

From the time their children are born, French parents provide them with a firm cadre—the word means “frame” or “structure.” Children are not allowed, for example, to snack whenever they want. Mealtimes are at four specific times of the day. French children learn to wait patiently for meals, rather than eating snack foods whenever they feel like it. French babies, too, are expected to conform to limits set by parents and not by their crying selves. French parents let their babies “cry it out” if they are not sleeping through the night at the age of four months.

French parents, Druckerman observes, love their children just as much as American parents. They give them piano lessons, take them to sportspractice, and encourage them to make the most of their talents. But French parents have a different philosophy of discipline. Consistently enforced limits, in the French view, make children feel safe and secure. Clear limits, they believe, actually make a child feel happier and safer—something that is congruent with my own experience as both a therapist and a parent. Finally, French parents believe that hearing the word “no” rescues children from the “tyranny of their own desires.” And spanking, when used judiciously, is not considered child abuse in France.

As a therapist who works with children, it makes perfect sense to me that French children don’t need medications to control their behavior because they learn self-control early in their lives. The children grow up in (click here)

Meditație:

Raising Children – Tuesday, May 21st 2013

“Now these were the sons of David who were born to him in Hebron: The firstborn was Amnon, by Ahinoam the Jezreelitess; the second, Daniel, by Abigail the Carmelitess;2 the third, Absalom the son of Maacah, the daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur; the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith;3 the fifth, Shephatiah, by Abital; the sixth, Ithream, by his wife Eglah.”
NKJV

David had eight wives, twenty-one children, ten concubines and their children. That is a lot of children with a lot of responsibility. Although David was an incredible military leader, he was not a very good leader with his children. There are several instances recorded in the Bible where David should have disciplined his children, but he did not. We see the fruit of his slack in discipline with his son, Absalom, who led a rebellion against David.

Friend, Christian families are under attack. Your home is a battleground for Satan. He does not bother with the crack houses or bars because there is no struggle there – he has won those fronts. He wants to infiltrate Christian homes and cause strife and division. He wants to subvert and destroy what God has ordained. This is why it is so important that we look to God for help in raising and disciplining our children. It is time for men to take a stand and be spiritual leaders in their homes. Satan likes nothing more than to find a Christian home with a weak spiritual leader. Father or Mother, that means that if you have slacked off in attending church or neglected your prayer and devotional time, you have placed your family in the line of fire. But wait, you may ask. If I do these things, does that mean that we are safe from attack? Absolutely not! It does mean, however, that you and your family’s foundation are strong for when the attack does come. Take a moment to pray. Are you being the strong spiritual leader in your children’s lives? Are you attentive to what they are doing and who they are friends with? Are you paying attention to what the Holy Spirit is telling you about your children? If you are not certain, you need to ask God to point out the areas where you are slack.

Life Lesson: We should ask for God’s help in raising and disciplining our children.

Dear Father,
Thank You for the salvation by Your Son Jesus. Lord, I give all praise and glory to You for my family. Bless my family. Help me to lead my family with a strong foundation and help me to lead my children to You. Lord, give me courage when situations within my family are difficult. Help us to be long-suffering and gentle toward one another and fill us with Your Spirit of peace and love. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Living to tell what He died to say,
Pastor David McGee