My wife wants to put my son on Ritalin!?!

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It may just be that your wife is overwhelmed with taking care of an energetic, healthy 8 year old. Kids can be exhausting to take care of, and they often seem to be inexhaustible in their energies and imaginations. It can be scary taking responsibility for such a bundle of energy. I don't know if you can assume more responsibility for his parenting or not, but it may help him. Ritalin will just slow him down and nip his creativity in the bud. Wait two years. If he seems miserable at school, isn't able to concentrate, and feels out of control, then I would consider Ritalin or a derivation of it. I have adult ADD and take dextroamphetamine, which lasts 6 hours and doesn't disturb my sleep. I have found that it is easy to get off of when necessary if I take my time. I was able to get through law school and practice with it.

Basically, let HIM tell you if or when it is time to try something. Kids are perceptive and generally know when something's not right. I would watch his diet, and just let him be a boy!

I know what you mean! They're kids for heaven's sake. Of course they're not going to pay attention if something doesn't interest them. Your son seems too young to be put on Ritalin. My friend told me that he was put on Ritalin and he was a complete zombie, like he would just stare at the wall and his mom took him off of it. That theory that you have about the chemicals in food ect. is exactly what my mom and her friends said. I think there's truth to it. Maybe you should limit the type of food he eats.

My daughter I believe has adhd but I refuse to put her on meds because its not life threatening to the point where she needs meds.I think that medicine changes kids but thats my personal comment.

Oh my stomach turned when I had seen this question. My son was diagnosed as ADHD. they put him on Ritalin and boy he had me crying on the phone to see him go on a real low. Eventually he was put on Concerta recommended by a Chemist friend of mine. Concerta proved a much more stable form of Ritalin. All because my son was behaving rather childish. The school suggested he has ADHD. He got extra help at school but for him to get the help they exaggerated his behaviour on the forms. I didn't like that one bit. On the final assessment they tried to have him tested for something else. The psychologist agreed with me my observations. She said my son was a highly Intelligent nine year old, she then did not agree that my son was ADHD. So he was not tested in a way that would have labeled him wrongly for the rest of his life. when I told the school my son had been discharged, his form teach said she didn't believe he was ADHD. but he still has extra help in school following him into secondary school. My son is doing so well and has proved his ability at school. He's just a show off. Has many friends. When he went to the Cubs with my son I witnessed his class mates and they were well out of order in their behaviour. You are so right in what you say and feel. I am glad you are holding back. ADHD is a popular diagnosis in America, so I had seen in a documentary on TV. It seemed although they prescribed behaviour drugs on a cosmetic basis.
My sister who's quite prominent in education told me that it really annoys her when teachers now think they can control the pupils in neat little boxes when she believes they are just bad teachers. Admittedly they can have a hard time, teaching the the numbers of children in the class room. Not the child's fault. Ritalin not a good idea. Concerta, more on that if you type it in the search engine for more information.It take a prescription from an assessing doctor.

Do hope this helps. :}

Personal.