Herbal suppliments for ADD or hyper children?

Question

My daughter has become too much to handle. she is 5 yo. I was ADD, and still am and I believe she is too. She doesn't listen to anything we say, and she cant sit still. No punishments work with her, you can punish her for something and 5 minutes later she is doing it again. She starts kindergarten in the fall and I fear she will be in constant trouble as I was. I dont want to put her on meds, is there something herbal I can give her for concentration and to slow her down a bit?

Answer 1

ok so I have an answer but a statement too.  Boy you opened a can of worms, lol!  

This question caught my eye because my brother is a pshycologist that works with the school district to help test for ADD and ADHD among other things.  I have heard of this theory that the 2nd answer posted.  If researched it really does make sense.  They are linking the deprivation of omega 3's to the reduction of that sheath. They theorize that that may be why Asian countries to name one dont have the high rate that Americans do of ADD.  They have a high consumption of fish which is omega 3 fatty acids.  Anyway I could go on and on I hear about it all the time.  Anyway something that the phyc major "Laila L." said didnt sound right so I looked her other questions up.  

To Laila L.: It struck me odd that being a psyc major this is the only question that you answer about mental health.  I am pregnant and so a lot of my answers are in the parenting and pregnancy area.  So anyway as I went through your questions it seems that you are whatever profession you need to be to look smart answering the question.  I didn't even make it through all your answers and I noted 4 different professions.  

1.pshyc major as with this question.

2.dentists assistant for a bunch of dental questions

3.worked at salon for a bunch of cosmetic questions

4. biochemist

Wow.  Jack of all trades. Plus the fact that as an older adult, I noticed that most of your questions were in the cosmetic area which suggests a younger age, far too young to have all these careers under your belt and enough to suggest that the truthful career is a cosmotologist.

edit:  oh and the cat did it rebuttled your first post and then you edited yours to include that now you are a nanny of two ADHD kids!!  Amazing.  Convenient.

Anyway sorry for the little rant, but I cant stand when someone gives good info and are just trying to help someone else and another comes along claiming to be all knowing with a fake title and lies and gives wrong info.  You said many things that are so untrue in your answer.  I began to point them out but changed my mind so that if you use these fibs in the future others will be able to peg you as not knowing as much as well.

Look, I have two with ADHD and this isnt childs play.  My kids wear me out and even having a brother who knew what was going on early on and ignoring him.  we went to a lot of docs first too.  And we tried the no sugar no red dyes thing too and it helped a little with one of our kids. The omega 3 pills are too big for our little guy to take but our big guy takes them and we were able to bring down his doseage of medication he was on.  Although he complains of burping up a fish taste after he takes it.

To the person who asked the question: No matter what these people tell you on here, including me.  You will have to do for your child as you see fit.  For us it was to finally medicate.  Not drug but medicate.  

But for the psyc major I am sorry to call you out, but these are real issues and for you to toy with people claiming to be someone you clearly are not is absurd.  This isnt a game of whose right and who gets the best answer at the end.  This is a real little girl you are messing with and that is sad.  Go back to the makeup area and answer questions and leave the little children to those that have them.

Good Luck to you, person who asked the question (lol, it doesnt say who you are onthe screen)

I know that it is hard and you dont want to medicate.  Exhaust all your other resources but dont rule out what could really help your little girl.  Who knows maybe she will never need to be medicated but if nothing else works dont close the door on that option.

Take a deep breath and know that the light at the end of this tunnel is NOT a train, lol.  It will get better!

Answer 2

I hear fish oil is very affective used in the correct dosage for concentration and hyper kids.  Have you been to a specialist and had your daughter diagnosed yet?  If not you should. That dosn't mean they will put her on meds.  As she is at the beginning of her schooling life it would be a good idea to get to the bottom of her behaviour instead of guessing.  My friends little boy fell behind at school because he's slightly deaf and it has only been addressed now, he is in Grade 5.  Best of luck.

Answer 3

It is kind of a misconception that Adhd or Add is a cause for behavioural issues.  Those are only symptoms.  The problem is the ability to focus... to reason and understand cause and effect.  If you can get your kid to focus... then they will understand better and therefore when you say - if you do this then you will be punished... they will have a much greater chance of understanding it.

The best non-perscription drug that I could suggest is Omega three's.  We have butter that has it added as well as some of our other foods and we also give our son the omega 3 pills.  It helps with brain function.  Which is the problem.

My hubby answered a similar question one time and worded it wonderfully.  I have copied his answer below in hopes that it will help you out.

"Our son has ADHD. You can keep your child away from red dyes that are found in red meats. You can take all sugar possible out of his diet. There are a lot of things you can do, but honestly... been there done all that. Alternative fixes are only to stop the triggers of ADHD, they help calm some of the symptoms down, but they don't cure it... your child still wont be able to focus, and that is your goal. Your child is really going to need medication to make it in school. Not so the teachers have it easy, but because your child needs to focus. There is an explaination for ADHD. When you are an infant there is a sheath called mylan that grows over your 'message sending' conductors in the brain. ADHD kids and the like have areas where the mylan is not there. This sheath helps keep the messages going where they are supposed to go. If you don't have this sheath you cant focus and the thought process necessary to understand cause and effect is out the door. This is why your daughter repeats bad behaviour right after you punish her.

   Usually, thankfully, during puberty the body releases a hormone that increases the production of mylan, which is why a lot of kids symptoms either disipate or go away all together. The only thing that you can really do until then is to give your child the opportunity to control and focus.

Unfortunatley, that means medication. As your child grows you will need to adjust meds, but once you get the hang of it, it isn't really that bad. Our son is 10 now and is a straight A student in an advanced curriculem private school.

Firstly, you need to view this not as a burden, but as a blessing. Yes, it is very difficult, but these kids have a heightened intelligence because their brains create new paths to try to help cope and focus. If you can help your child focus, they will show great intelligence. Our son doesn't know that he has ADHD, he just knows he takes a pill in the morning so he can focus at school. These drugs are non addictive - to an ADHD child - and so you can stop them on the weekends if you want or over the summer. We did this to give him a break and the only summer we did that our son complained of his "head moving too fast". He would get frustrated because he couldn't play with his Star Wars guys like he was used to because he couldn't hold a thought long enough to truely play. We put him right back on his meds and he was much happier. We do not medicate for behaviour, we medicate so he can focus. The behaviour will follow. There is a difference. You just have to get over feeling guilty for medicating your child. If your child had a heart condition or a breathing condition.. you wouldn't be looking for alternatives, you would medicate him. This is the same thing. I have seen kids whose parents refuse to medicate and to watch these kids is heartbreaking. They have problems socially, academically, emotionally. It is horrible.

We have lived in three states and the drs in each state have said the same exact thing. If your child does NOT have ADHD meds will not work, they will only make it worse. If they respond well at all, even with a small dose, then they have ADHD. And as they get older, they will need those meds. I couldn't imagine forcing my kid to go through even the 4th grade without the ability to focus. How mean.

Think about it. You may be doing your child a disservice if you don't give them the opportunity to focus.

Good Luck. I hope the best for you and your child"

:)  I hope this helped you some!!!

Edit:

I love how people who don't have kids with these issues think they know it all.  I have lived in several states and am here to tell you that with each new place I took advantage of having my son retested... I have been to pediatricians, psycotheripists, pschycologists, neurologists all over this country and have been told by several the mylan theory.  There is no diffinitive with Add or Adhd.. they are ALL theories.  If you do your research you will see how plausible this one is.

As for the drug thing... no... Adhd drugs will NOT help a kid focus if they don't have Add or Adhd... almost every drug for these are amphetimines... speed.  The reason teens abuse these drugs are because it gives them the ability to stay up and not feel tired... so they can study longer.

So lets see... your telling me that you can take speed and it will help you focus???  Oh dear God, tell me that is not how you are getting through school.  If you had one of these kids or had treated one... you would see how off base your answer is.

Answer 4

micheal savage has a great book about this