2 movies everyone should see right away!

[DukeBoxer]

I just watched 2 movies that I thought would be good if everyone saw at some point, the first, called 'The Drugging of Our Children' is about kids and prescription medications, Ritalin and Paxil for the most part. If anyone has a young child and has heard from a teacher or some other parent that their child seems like he/she has ADD than you NEED to watch this movie.

The other one is called 'WalMart: The High Cost of Low Prices' Lets just say that if you shop there now, this might change your mind. It's all about how they put small businesses under and poorly treat their workers. Here are the links to watch them...

The Drugging of Our Children - http://tv-links.co.uk/listings/9/5611

WalMart - http://tv-links.co.uk/listings/9/1296

If anything, PLEASE watch the first one if you have young children

-Josh

 

[Marco]

Regarding the second clip, there's this fantastic book by Charles Fishman called "The Wal-mart Effect". It goes into detail about their strategies, how it's pulled off and their effects.

 

[TheLorax]

Excellent video.

The staff at school where one of our kids attended determined he needed Ritalin. Interesting that they met to discuss our son without our knowledge and/or consent then came to us with their findings. Regardless, the answer was no. This did not please them. We did not believe our child's lack of participation in a classroom setting in favor of day dreaming and drawing constituted an inability to stick to task in need of a drug to help him "attend". Please know that in the US your child's pediatricians will generally trump all members of an IEP. I'm not saying there aren't some children who derive substantial benefits from Ritalin but it's not a cure all for all behavioral issues (or lack of behavioral issues).

 

[DukeBoxer]

Isn't it amazing how the Teachers think that they can all of a sudden diagnose children, even though they have no medical background what so ever. I am a strong opponent of Ritalin, having been made to take it when I was in 7th grade because the teachers and my mother thought I should have higher grades. I saw no change at all and refused taking it with little pressure from my mother after seeing the same grades in my classes. She also put my brother on Adderall and he stopped taking it after a while because of no improvement.

 

[TheLorax]

It wasn't just the teachers. I entered that room and even the school nurse and the Principal were present to discuss these horribly disruptive daydreaming and doodling issues with me. They had prefilled documents for me requesting to be able to communicate with our pediatricians as well as to authorize a myriad of tests. Not much I could do other than to thank them for sharing their concerns with me and tell them I would take the forms home to review with my husband. I was blindsighted and had gone in without my husband. Walked right out the door and drove straight to the pediatrician's office to discuss if there could possibly be any validity to their claims as well as to ask for any additional testing he deemed necessary. Pediatrician stated we had nothing to be concerned about. Get this, our kid was getting A's in everything other than PE, art, and music. We're talking about a kid who wasn't athletic. He also wasn't artistic and can't carry a tune to save his life. He's simply not extroverted and he never will be. There's additional funding available to schools for every child who is identified as needing an IEP here. It's now many years later and he is pulling great grades in everything but PE and art. Music is generally up in the B range these days because of music theory tests and such.

I don't believe the actual educators are at the root of the issues. I believe the 504 is. I've always respected and trusted all of the teachers and classroom aids the kids have had. Not a bad egg in the lot. I like all the administration and clerical staff at the school well enough. It's the school nurse and that childless staff psychologist I don't respect or trust farther than I can throw. Just remember, MD is probably going to trump them and don't be afraid to innocently ask anyone claiming to have your child's best interests at heart, "Excuse me, have I missed the acronym MD after your name?" That shuts them down instantaneously in this state.

 

[Heather]

I'll try to get to the walmart one this afternoon....they're just long, but worthwhile! I rarely shop there, unless I need something that is really much much less there. Last time I was there, I got meds I had paid $40 for at CVS for $17.99.

But, I know they are an evil business and that I really shouldn't shop there, but money is really tight! It's a choice I guess. At any rate, I want to watch the film this weekend, Thanks Josh.

 

[DukeBoxer]

well I can't lie, I shop there too, but after seeing that movie it makes me stop and think each time I need to buy something. No one can beat the prices, thats what keeps them going. I buy 2 sticks of deodorant there for the price of one at the supermarket or drugstore.

 

[TheLorax]

Thank you for the link to that WalMart video.

I had no idea. The lack of security in their parking lots struck a chord because I recall the response I received from the local WalMart when requesting a copy of their tapes from a specific date for the sole purpose of being able to get the license plate of a vehicle that had struck a parked car. Their store manager claimed their cameras weren't working that day. Never occurred to me to ask if their cameras were even functional let alone whether they had ever had tapes running. The other chord struck would be the bags of chemicals in their make shift garden centers in the middle of their parking lots- appears to be common practice. I've seen the broken bags that are simply left in place spilling the contents for the rain waters to carry off. I talked with my husband a little bit and he shared more information with me. What he shared with me was disturbing to say the least particularly after having watched that video in its entirety and after having traveled throughout Asia and seen with my own eyes the conditions in which many factory workers live. We have some WalMart stock. It has performed well but it will be sold. I will never shop there again. I can get prescriptions by mail for the same price... I'll simply have to be more diligent about making sure refills are ordered in a timely fashion but in a pinch there are always other discount pharmacies around. The paper products, cleaning supplies, and other odds and ends I purchased for my family can be purchased elsewhere. I'm not a big e-mail person however there are 10 people I will forward that link to who will take the time to watch all of it. It is lengthy but watching it was well worth the hour and a half. I am only one person. The loss of my business won't exactly have an impact upon them but I don't believe I could ever shop there again in good conscience.