Using drugs to treat the very young...

Using drugs to treat the very young mind

Is it that parents (and teachers) have no patience to let kids be kids (“Psychiatry and Preschoolers,” June 30)?

They want docile, manageable kids so that they continue to pursue their own endeavors with as few ripples as possible.

Alternatively, parents think they are being good parents when they drag their kids from activity to activity, exhausting their children mentally and physically.

It’s the parents -- not the kids. Oh, but the parents are already on Prozac.

Stephany Yablow

North Hollywood

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Quackery afoot!

Psychiatrists can’t tell what’s wrong with little Johnny for one good reason: They don’t know. I don’t think “further research is needed.”

I think psychiatrists who prescribe powerful mind-changing chemicals to children should have their heads -- and their motives -- examined.

Dave Silberstein

Altadena

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Thank you for pointing out that many doctors are casually prescribing lethal drugs to children.

Your article shows that in some cases doctors will prescribe drugs even when they have no idea whether or not it will kill the child. As a parent, I appreciate the warning.

Albert Shroyer

Pleasant Hill