ADD/ADHD

My cutie a long time ago!

I sit here today really frustrated.  My son was/has been diagnosed with ADHD.  I have fought it for years believing that kids under the age of 12 are meant to have energy a lot of energy.  Plus, I was very active as a kid just like him.  However when I was a kid there wasn't fast food on every corner, school lunch was real food, we were told to stay outside and play until we were hungry, we had home cooked meals, less chemicals in our food, less "fake" process foods and longer recess at school.  Even though I have made sure that at least 85% to 100% of our food is organic and our home does not use chemicals it does not mean the environment today didn't have something to do with my son having ADD/ADHD.  I feel like I let my son down some how.  That I didn't protect his little body enough now he is stuck with a life of medications, nasty ones at that!

I realized talking to teachers at my son's school just how many children have ADD/ADHD, next to obesity it is an epidemic.  It is sad to think how many kids have to take medication just to focus on their work.  I am sad to think of what these little bodies are going through.  So why the increase in ADD/ADHD?  Is it purely genetic or environmental or both?

As a mother I say both.  I know my son is predisposed to being hyper because his parents were hyper so any outside influence would cause a reaction or bring on ADHD.  However I can speak for myself I did not have the focus issues that he has or the impulsiveness he has in class.  I was able to come to class and control my body long enough to pay attention.  But then I think also, my class was smaller and we moved our bodies more.

All of this brings me back as to why I am such an advocate for organic food, organic healthy whole foods in school, against pesticides and genetically modified foods.  Even when we as parents do our best in our home with our kids they still have to leave our home every day and are exposed to what everyone else is not doing to protect our eco-systems, our air, our environment.

Being organic isn't just a fad, isn't some do-gooder notion, hippie tree hugging to bring down the "man".  It is about taking care of our planet because the choices we make with food and chemicals affects all of us not just our self.  We all must share the same air, the same land and the same water so what we release into the air, dump in the land and trickle off into the water affects us all.  I agree it is easier and more convenient to use chemicals in your home to rid of pests and chemicals in your yard to kill weeds and pests.  I also agree some of the food in our grocery store is cheaper and easier to buy than organic.  It is the very chemical makeup of those items that is killing our environment, causing cancers to rise uncontrollably and our kids to have untold behavioral issues.  Think before you buy, think before you use.

Whenever I make a choice I try to remember something a science teacher told me long long ago. I try to explain this to my every chance I get. Think of your decision your choice as a rock or pebble.  Take that pebble and toss in a puddle, pond or lake and watch the ripples move outward from that pebble dropping in the water.  Every ripple is reaction to your decision.  You think the decision or choice you make is your own but it is a cause that effects everyone.  Those ripples although some may go far and some may stay close to you but they have an effect all those they touch, not always positive.

~ Deanne

Thanks, just had to vent the frustration I feel as I try to help my son navigate through life.