I spoke to a reporter from CNN on Wednesday for a story about medicating children with non-prescription medication.
Had I ever done it, she asked?
Yes, I replied. One time, under the recommendation of my doctor, I gave my 18 month old daughter Benadryl on a 2 hour flight to help her cope. The plan backfired. She was wired, the flight was a disaster and that was the end of that. Since then, I have never given my children medication as a way to benefit me. Lesson learned.
Do you know people who do, she asked?
Yes, I said. It’s a totally selfish act, but who am I to judge? I’m hardly a perfect parent.
Under what circumstances do you think it is acceptable?
I suppose it’s better than screaming at or beating a kid when all your buttons are being pushed. An airplane ride with three out of control toddlers? Yeah, that might be a good reason. A survival mechanism, I said.
And that was the end of that.
To clear things up: Obviously, drugging your child is not a good idea. Big fat fucking duh. Neither is beating them or losing it on an airplane full of 200 people.
It’s been so enlightening to read about all of the parents out there who never make a less than perfect decision. The posts dedicated to bashing me have been especially fun to read. And, the comments on the article? Woot! Good times.
For all of you perfect parents making perfect decisions in your perfect lives, this isn’t the place for you. Why don’t you look up some of the feminist/breastfeeding blogs? Those folks always seem to have the right answers.
And, don’t let the door hit you on the way out.
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People are so judgey! How annoying.
Between this and bloggy bootcamp the one lesson I have learned is be careful what you say to reporters. You never know what kind of spin they can take with your words.
We both know we are good parents. Honestly the people who think they are perfect really aren’t and have their own demons they need to face.
I guess you’ve made it “big” in blogging but I bet this isn’t the first controversy you’ve had to deal with ;-)
Michelle recently posted..Summer Road Trip – Part 1 Colonial Williamsburg
No matter how hard I try… I just don’t shit rainbows. I guess that’s why I have a disclaimer on my faith-based blog… to warn others of my snark and sarcasm… because face it… I am far from perfect.
And I am so glad (and utterly jealous) of your exposure (good and bad, he he).
You effortlessly spill love for your children on this blog… without the rose colored glasses… and that’s why I come back.
I’m going to bed now…. home from a night shift… and will enjoy my ambien :) Benadryl is for babies.
Taking Heart recently posted..I Know This Much
I so wish I could be HALF as perfect as the commenters (read: robots or assholes, whichever fits your mood) on CNN’s website. Alas, I will never achieve such a level of perfection in my life, parenting or otherwise… I am, what I like to call, HUMAN.
Lauren recently posted..Im baaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!!!
A little benadryl never hurt anyone. My pediatrician also told me to give my triplets a little prior to a cross country flight. Worked like a charm and I had a plane full of happy people!
People should mind their own fricking business and deal with their own issues instead of getting all into everyone else’s. Our shit all stinks, no matter how much you might think it doesn’t….no one has parented your kids except you, and no one has parented mine except me. You, and your blog, are awesome.
Jenn of the Roof recently posted..Who ARE you
Ok.
I am simultaneously pissed and excited.
Pissed because the level of context checked at the door in this article is criminal. And, the comments from the knuckle draggers are insulting and disgusting.
But, I am also excited. Excited because LOOK.
All these people. Some new readers, some old. They get you. They may have come here to lay into you, but they read you and they get you.
And now? They love you.
Just like me.
Brittany recently posted..Project Mom Project me
Perfect people are SO boring. And perfection doesn’t exist so they’re just peddling a crock of shit anyways. What I appreciate – and I’m obviously not alone – are the stories from the parenting trenches. The tales of war from stalwart soldiering moms (and dads). Which is why I come to visit you, Jill. So don’t you dare get ‘perfect’ on me!
Hey Jill. I think you’re awesome. Screw everyone else b/c my opinion is the only one that counts anyway. My toddler has managed to get her own feces into her mouth on at least three seperate occasions and she’s still standing. Benadryl is the least of my concerns. :p Stay strong. Ignore the haters.
Yay for Jeff!
This is what parenthood is? I’m never having sex again- this all sounds like a disaster. The whole damn thing.
Don’t let those idiots get you down. You are an amazing person and a GREAT Mom! I am beyond proud of you and all that you do!
I’m guessing the doctor forgot to tell you that Benadryl sometimes has the opposite affect on kids and makes them hyper? You poor thing.
And I haven’t met a perfect parent yet. Those that think they are perfect? They are screwing up their kids, don’t you worry. Their kids are going to grow up clingy and neurotic. My kids have grown up eating dirt, wearing no pants, and a healthy dose of TV and some junk food thrown in. And you know what? They are well adjusted, happy and healthy kids.
B recently posted..Best of the week
Holy cheese and rice. Giving a kid benedryl for a plane trip is nothing like drugging them to nap and go to bed daily with it. Screw them.
Jayme recently posted..Photography Fail -
Just read the CNN article.
I need to stop reading the comments section. Makes me sad to see so many self righteous bitches out there.
Also, I have given my kid Benadryl when he is having trouble with his molars coming in. And guess what? He sleeps and is not in pain, instead of up all night screaming. Such abuse.
You rock.
Allison Zapata recently posted..Me and Mine has moved to a new address! Won’t you please come with There will be food and drinks Okay- not really- but it will still be lots of fun!
My doctor has never told me to give my kids Benedryl to make them sleep…I’ve only heard of people in daycares doing that…and then it backfires and the kid dies (seriously…this happened like 3 times in 3 months in my hometown).
My doctor HAS recommended baby tylenol/motrin etc for after shots, or when there is a temp, but no other symptoms. Although…when it comes to fevers, I tend to let them go for a bit…I just watch it & if starts creeping up too quickly, I start giving the fever reducers nearer to bedtime, since my kids’ temps tend to jump at night anyway.
Then there is a time or two when my kids are awfully cranky and complain about everything, and it makes me wonder if they have a headache or something. I do a half-dose of kiddy tylenol…If they seem to improve, I finish the dose.
I have only given benedryl when it seems like my child is actually having an allergy problem. I don’t like them for off-label use.
Maegan recently posted..A Day to Remember
…Oh, and in regard to the article…I do think it’s not a good idea to give your kids a drug (OTC or otherwise) to get them to take a nap or calm down. Unless that is the specific PURPOSE of the drug. Benedryl is for allergies. Not restlessness.
Like I mentioned before…there was a rash of deaths in my hometown a few years ago. And then lo & behold…infant medicines of all kind are suddenly “bad” for babies. Yeah…when you dose kids who aren’t sick/or are using too much to make them sleep…It IS bad for babies! I guess to call it abuse, I’d have to see the specific circumstances. …To make my kid sleep on a plane…I’d say that’s borderline, but clearly SM learned from that situation, and her toddler was unharmed afterwards. Now, if her child had actually had a dangerous reaction (become unconscious or something) I’d feel like an abuse charge would be appropriate. I think of it like alcohol. No one really NEEDS it…It’s fun to drink…but there is certainly a “line” for abuse. And everyone’s line is going to be drawn differently.
I had to have a non-family babysitter ONCE when my oldest was little…I hid all the OTC meds at my mom’s house.
Maegan recently posted..A Day to Remember
Wow. Hiding all of the OTC medicines from the “non family sitter”? So if your child had a high fever and started seizing because the sitter couldnt find the advil, now THATS FREAKIN ABUSE! You dont belong on this blog site. Go to the perfect-parent blog site and say hi to all the jackholes there for me.
Like I said (twice, actually) there was a rash of deaths in my hometown when my child was an infant that upset & worried me. All the instances were when a care provider overdosed a child with cough /cold medicine. My mother’s house was 5 houses away. If my baby got a fever (which a sitter might not even noticed right away), and called me…then I would have sent my mother over to handle it anyway. My mother couldn’t watch my child that night b/c of a social gathering she was having at her home…but certainly wouldn’t hesitate to go help my feverish child.
And you seem pretty jackhole yourself there. So..HI.
I’m also glad to see that you’re so very unjudgemental about where *I* belong. Nice. :)
Maegan recently posted..A Day to Remember
I am SO beyond a jackhole. I am a downright bitchy cunt. ☺ I guess that I was doing exactly what I swear that I never do (judge) to you. You also have every right to parent your kids in your own way. I apologize. I am glad you responded though cause it lead me to your blog page and I just read the one A Walk Through The Darkenss of Chronic Pain and Depression and it made me feel a little better. I always think that I am all alone in my depression and pain and sadness that I struggle daily with and the poems made me feel nice. Thanks! ☺
I’m glad that blog helped. :)
Maegan recently posted..A Day to Remember
Wow, they really twisted your words. Don’t listen to what those judgement commenters are writing about you, you know the real story behind what you did.
Sara @ Tedious Life recently posted..All fun and games until a kid poops in the pool
As usual people go overboard, conveniently forgetting the part where it says “on my doctor’s recommendation”. Sure we all joke about wishing we could drug our kids to get a break but how many of us really do it? Like you said, let’s not be the first to judge.
We’ve all been pushed to the breaking point at some time or other with our kids. How many of those with colicky, non stop crying babies and desperately sleep deprived come close to shaking their child? Few would admit it but I bet the number is high. If your doctor said give the baby a teensy bit of benadryl so you could restore your sanity and be a better parent, wouldn’t you want to jump at the opportunity.
Makes me wonder if the author of that article has children.
zeemaid recently posted..Still feeling resentful
I have had a Mommy crush on your blog for ages now, but this, this was the final straw, I am now ENTIRELY in love :) Thanks for being proud to be imperfect, it gives all of us ashamed and harried mothers who kick their own asses for “Not being June Cleaver” something to aspire to
I am not going to deny the fact that I have medicated my children in the past to benefit me (and them as well). Sometimes it is just necessary and until you are in such a situation with children of your own, you can’t judge me.
blackhuff recently posted..Family reading your blog
To start with if you are passing judgment on anyone first look in a mirror. People in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones. As for the medicating children, a little benadryl never hurt anyone could someone please go with me to my nephews grave and then tell me that. He isn’t here because his mother heard that a little benadryl never hurt anyone. Well it hurt him and lots of other children too. I don’t blame anyone that wants to medicate their child that is their choice. the only thing I am saying is don’t go around tell people that nothing can go wrong with doing this because it can, and when it does go wrong 9 chance out of 10 it is an innocent child that gets hurt. My nephew was 11 months old and there isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t wish he was here and that will never happen because of a little benadryl so please just stop. It does hurt and when it does it hurts more then the child that may or may not have lost his life because of it.
As for the whole breastfeeding drama, I breastfed my sons until they were a year old and my daughter until she was a month old because I wasn’t producing enough milk. My daughter isn’t any smart then my sons nor are my sons any smarter then my daughter. It is a preference and nothing more.
Oh, I so wish I had found this site sooner. I once was also advised by a doctor to give Benedryl to my now teenager when she was about five or six, because the medicine she was taking kept her from going to sleep at a decent hour. Like you, I discovered that sometimes Benedryl has the opposite effect – and we were up until five in the morning 0-0 Lesson learned :)
You are awesome, which is why I love your blog! You tell it as you see it w/o the fluff!
I have been told to give my kid Benedryl before flying too and after reading this, I’m glad I didn’t. Trust me, the last thing I need is a wired toddler to push my buttons. Hell, I think I’ll take the Benedryl and have a few cocktails then I can cope! :)
Jessica recently posted..Fitting Room Mirrors
In my special needs world, there are lots of kids medicated for various reasons. Anxiety, extreme behaviors like self-injurious, OCD etc. I won’t judge parents for that. I can’t because their kid, their choices. Also, that is different from OTC meds. Our son is very, very active but we are choosing the bio-medical (diet and natural supplements) route with him. Benadryl would also wire him and I would kick myself in the ass if I tried it.
Kerry recently posted..They Will Be Back
WORD………..I just stumbled upon this website as I was trying to figure out if I could drug my kids before I fly, oddly enough. Just wanted to tell you that I couldn’t have said it better myself :)
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