Parenthood - and paranoia !

It is suggested that children who throw tantrums, become reclusive or unusually shy may be showing the early signs of mental disorders.  There are calls for all small children to be screened because early intervention can prevent these mental conditions developing into forms of psychosis in later life.

There is also every chance that this suggestion may spawn a new wave of medical hysteria.  It is almost a certainty that some talented doctor will write a book detailing his or her opinion on the matter - and because of the nature of what will be described as " a new disease " such a book will be widely reviewed, with the writer regarded as a guru on that subject.   In the past, a lot of such " guru's " have been discredited - long after they have done damage !

Parents have a built-in reflex that causes them to be protective where their children are concerned.   The slightest sign of an abnormality will see them rushing to a doctor and this new suggestion will have all those normal childhood vagaries branded as instant mental disorders.   Once such a suggestion has been planted in parent's minds the deductive power of thinking will run riot.

Such a new area of opportunity will not be lost on the drug companies.   Expect a new class of drugs to quickly emerge, offering remedies.  Perhaps a drug that relaxes the mind will help reduce shyness.   Does your child need stimulants to suppress anger - and prevent tantrums ?    It will be easy for the marketing people to devise scenarios that sound reasonable, but make no hard and fast promises.   Clever advertising campaigns can make parents feel neglectful if they are not offering their children every opportunity to grow into mentally well adults.

Unfortunately, peer pressure can quickly take hold and create a mental attitude where something that has no logical foundation can be totally believed.   This is evidenced by the fact that a wide section of parents now reject all forms of immunisation because of a rumour that doing so can cause autism - and every time there is a need for a new mobile phone tower parents mass in the streets in protest, despite eminent scientists conclusively proving that they cause no harm to nearby residents children.

In the Millennium of evolution there have always been shy children - and few parents will claim that their offspring never threw a tantrum when they were denied something that they wanted.  Unfortunately, a small segment of the adult population suffers various mental disorders and if these can be identified and treated at an early age that would be a step forward.

What would be a great step backward would be to create a mental problem that doesn't exist - and then generate a medical and drug fraternity to try and solve it.

Medical paranoia is the price we pay in the " information age " !