Placebos (sugar pills) for children?
May 28, 2008 by Marijke Durning, RN
Filed under Diseases & Conditions
Just in time for children and pain week at Help My Hurt, comes a news story in the New York Times about placebos for children. Is that ethical? Is it right? My opinion? NO and NO.
I’m not completely against placebos. I do believe that the human body has many ways in which it can help itself and that we are not able to tap into that ability a lot of the time. But something just doesn’t seem right about placebos for children.
In the article, Experts Question Placebo Pill for Children, we learn that a mother of three got this idea when she was minding her young niece, who she labeled a hypochondriac. Rather than trying to identify why her niece may be displaying hypochondriac behavior (I have a HUGE problem with a young child being given that label), she chose to treat her with a placebo.
Jennifer Buettner and her husband then began marketing placebos, which the article said was thought of as empowering “parents to do something tangible for minor ills and reduce the unnecessary use of antibiotics and other medicines.” Not only are they marketing placebo tablets, they plan on marketing a liquid too.
In my mind, this is what’s wrong with this picture:
- you’re teaching a child that you should try taking a pill for all ills
- if a child is imagining illnesses, perhaps there is more to it than just what a placebo can take care of
- what happens if it doesn’t work and then when you want to give the real medication, the child won’t take it?
What’s good with this picture?
- Nothing.
Image: iStock
~~~~~~
Kristina, over at Autism Vox, also wrote about this issue in her post A Pill for the Placebo Effect. It’s an interesting take on what she has tried over the years with her son.
~~~~~~~
Technorati Tags: pain blog,chronic pain blog,children and pain,giving children placebos,placebos for pain
I’m appalled at the very idea that parents would do this. I totally agree with you on this. Giving them placebos only teaches them that a pill will cure all, not to mention the fact that if something is really wrong with them, and you’re giving them placebos, you could potentially cause greater harm to your child. It’s wrong.
Not only will this teach kids that taking apill can “cure” something, it will teach them that (a) everything can/should be cured, (b) they should self-medicate vs. seeing a doctor (when necessary), and (c) may even set them up for serious longer-term repercussions like drug abuse. teaching kids that they can deal with things by taking a pill/liquid could encourage dug/alcohol (ab)use as a coping mechanism for things they aren’t sure how to process. (i.e., if I feel “weird” then I can drink this or take that pill and feel better.)
This is such a horrible idea. What kids really need is to learn communication and coping skills. And how to listen to and trust their own bodies.
On one hand, this is marketing genius… diabolical genius, to be sure, but genius. Why not just give your kid a Jelly Belly and pretend it’s a pill? Same effect, less pricey.
Personally, I don’t give my son anything unless he needs it… and then, only grudgingly. I know far too many parents who feel no qualms about using Benadryl for every minor ache… including their own headaches when the kids get too rambunctious!
I work in a chiropractic college and have lots of friends who are chiropractors. The idea of “take a pill” is abhorrent to them. I agree it’s bad to give children the expectation that taking pills is ok.