As often as drugs are administered to infants and young children, it’s easy to forget that 75 percent of all prescription drugs do NOT have labeling instructions for children, leaving their use in children up to your doctor’s discretion. 

The Dangerous Play of Pediatric Drugs 

Since so little information is available on the pediatric use of drugs, physicians frequently prescribe drugs for off-label uses in children, which can lead to disasters of the worst kind. In hospital settings, almost 80 percent of children get drugs that are NOT approved for pediatric use.

A 2005 British study found that when a "suitable alternative" did not exist, doctors used unlicensed or "off label" medicine in:

• 90 percent of babies in neonatal intensive care units
• 70 percent of children in pediatric intensive care units 
• Two-thirds of children on general medical and surgical pediatric wards in the UK

The rampant use of drugs, both for children and adults, is a very serious one. And, although this study focuses solely on non-lethal injuries to children, medications clearly claim the lives of thousands of children each year. In-hospital medical errors alone account for about 4,500 pediatric deaths every year in America. 

Another study, published in 2002, found that medications given to children and mothers during pregnancy, labor or while breast-feeding, played a role in 769 deaths and close to 6,000 side effects in children under 2 years of age between 1997 and 2000 in the U.S. 

73 Percent of Off-Label Drug Uses Lack Evidence of Effectiveness 

That’s right. 73 percent of off-label drug uses in children lack evidence of clinical effectiveness. It’s like throwing darts in the dark. It’s pure guesswork.  

Perhaps even worse, the greatest disparity between supported and unsupported off-label uses is found among prescriptions for psychiatric uses, where only 4 percent of drugs have strong support, versus 96 percent having very limited or no support whatsoever from medical studies! Considering the fact that the use of psychiatric drugs in children as young as two has skyrocketed in the past decade, it’s nothing short of an uncontrolled mass-experiment. 

Since information on how to prescribe medications to children is so scarce, doctors often rely on the flawed assumption that children are simply smaller versions of adults.

In reality, however, drugs act much differently in children. Among the limited number of drugs that have been tested for pediatric safety and effectiveness, it has been found that:

• One-fifth of drugs that work in adults are ineffective in children
• One-fifth of the drugs were being prescribed at the wrong dosage
• One-third of the drugs caused unexpected side effects, some of which were potentially fatal

Another alarming factor discovered is that children process drugs more quickly than adults do, and because children are still developing, drugs could stunt physical growth or impair emotional and cognitive development.

A classic example of the dangers surrounding medications for kids was highlighted recently concerning children’s over-the-counter cold medicines. These drugs were over prescribed to well-intentioned parents looking to soothe their children, despite the fact that there was very little evidence that they worked. In fact, there was growing evidence that many of these drugs were fraught with side effects.

How Many Drugs Are Your Kids Taking?

The sad reality is that kids in the United States are being vastly overmedicated, both with drugs meant for pediatric use, and those that have yet to be tested. According to the Journal of Pediatrics study above, 56 percent of children and adolescents younger than 18 take at least one medication each week! 19 percent take at least one prescription drug. 

Also consider these sobering facts:

• Kids may be prescribed addictive protein-pump inhibitors (PPIs) for heartburn. This is simply inexcusable. There is virtually never a medical justification to use these dangerous and untested for safety drugs in children. Avoid them at all costs.

• Another ridiculous and absolutely unnecessary use of drugs is the American Heart Association's recommendation for statin cholesterol-lowering drugs for kids.

• More than three-quarters of surveyed U.S. pediatricians have recommended over-the-counter sleep aids to children, and more than 50 percent have prescribed a sleep aid.

• Some 1.6 million children and teens take at least two psychiatric drugs, and close to 20 percent of them are under age 10.

• Two out of three babies receive antibiotics by their first birthday.

Are All Natural Remedies Safe For Kids? 

Please realize that nearly all of the problems for which kids are given drugs can be resolved using natural methods. However, do not substitute with dietary supplements and herbal formulas willy-nilly. Just because something is natural does not automatically render it 100 percent safe… 

Vitamins, minerals, herbals and other complementary supplements are also listed in the study above – even though they are still far safer than drugs.  

For the sake of comparison, here’s a condensed version of their listing of drugs implicated in adverse events in children treated in 63 U.S. emergency departments, from 2004 to 2005: 

The top four non-lethal adverse reactions were: 

1. Unintentional overdoses
2. Allergic reactions
3. Adverse effects
4. Vaccine reactions 

How to Prime Your Child for a Lifetime of Optimal Health

It’s quite common for parents – especially first-time parents -- to rush their children to a doctor for every minor ailment. It’s important to remember that in the first year or two of life, your child's immune system is still being formed, and their experiences during this time can often predict whether or not they will have life-long health problems.

Scientific studies continually support the wisdom of limiting exposures to "foreign" substances for children, including synthetic chemicals -- which includes drugs.

Along with immune system development, your child's nervous system continues to develop well into their seventh year of life. With the recent epidemic increase in the rates of autism, attention deficit, and hyperactivity disorders, it would seem prudent to nurture and protect your child’s health in every way possible.

It’s also important to remember that your child’s immune system is most influenced by diet, not by drugs or supplements.

Here are some common sense strategies that will help prime your child for a lifetime of optimal health:

• Breast feeding – Feeding your child breast milk and avoiding baby formulas (especially soy formulas, which can be deadly) is perhaps one of the best things you can do to nurture your child’s inherent immune system, setting the stage for optimal health.
  

• Reconsider vaccinations – Please, before you go along with the standard protocol, do your homework on childhood vaccinations, and opt out of any vaccination where the risks are greater than the potential benefit. Definitely do not give your child a yearly flu shot, as now recommended.
  

• Treat fevers the right way -- A fever is actually a good thing. High fevers are especially good as they are far better than any immunization at building an authentic, life-long immune response. When you suppress these fevers with Tylenol or another medication, you can cause far more harm than good. (I advise avoiding most all of the anti-fever medications unless your child is absolutely miserable or the fever is over 104 degrees F.) A tepid bath can be a soothing and effective alternative.
  

• Avoid antibiotics – Many common infections -- such as ear infections, colds and flus -- for example, are still treated with antibiotics even though we now know antibiotics CANNOT treat those kinds of infections! This kind of antibiotic abuse will only be a detriment to your child’s health in the long run.
  

• Proper diet – So many people, including health professionals, do not pay enough attention to diet. I recommend determining your child’s nutritional type from an early age to avoid many common ailments and chronic diseases later on.
  
  My book Generation XL also specifically addresses issues related to creating optimal childhood health.
  
  Additionally, common behavioral problems can also be treated entirely without drugs. Kids with ADHD, for instance, often improve greatly by taking these simple steps:
  

  • Eliminate grains and sugars from their diet

  • Replace soft drinks, fruit juices and pasteurized milk with pure water

  • Increase their omega-3 fats by giving them krill oil

I would strongly encourage you to do the research before giving your child any medication, and only do so if there is truly no other option (you may need to seek out the opinion of a doctor who is knowledgeable about natural medicine).

If you are still skeptical about the toxic effects drugs have on kids, I urge you to invest some time to watch The Drugging of Our Children, a documentary by Gary Null. It is a powerful testimony to the urgent need for change.