Would I Prescribe Medication for My Own Child?
One of the most thoughtful questions parents ask me is, “If this were your child, would you prescribe medication?”
I appreciate the question because it isn’t really about medication. It’s about thought process. Parents aren’t asking whether a medication exists for a particular condition. They’re asking how I think about making one of the most important decisions they may ever face.
The answer begins with recognizing that medication is neither inherently good nor inherently bad. Like any medical treatment, it is simply a tool. Sometimes it is life-changing. Sometimes it is unnecessary. Occasionally it can even be harmful. The challenge is determining when the potential benefits outweigh the potential risks.
Every recommendation I make starts with a risk-benefit discussion. We do this throughout medicine. If someone has appendicitis, the benefits of surgery almost always outweigh the risks because failing to treat the condition can be life-threatening. At the other end of the spectrum, someone with a mild headache may reasonably decide not to take medication at all. Most medical decisions fall somewhere between those extremes. The question is never, “Is medication good?” The question is, “Compared with doing nothing, is this likely to improve this person’s life?”
Psychiatric medication is no different.
If a child’s anxiety prevents them from attending school, if depression makes it difficult to enjoy life, or if ADHD consistently interferes with learning and relationships despite appropriate supports, medication may offer benefits that outweigh its risks. On the other hand, if symptoms are mild, improving naturally, or responding well to therapy, parenting changes, better sleep, exercise, or other interventions, medication may not be necessary.
I strongly believe in those non-medication approaches. Good sleep, regular exercise, healthy relationships, effective parenting, and quality therapy improve far more than psychiatric symptoms. They improve physical health, emotional well-being, and resilience. Whenever those interventions are sufficient, I am delighted. If I could wave a magic wand and help every child without prescribing a single medication, I would gladly do so.
Sometimes, however, they simply are not enough.
Like every medication in medicine, psychiatric medications carry risks. Side effects exist, and those risks deserve careful discussion. Fortunately, the medications we commonly prescribe in children have been studied extensively, and serious adverse effects are relatively uncommon when they are prescribed thoughtfully and monitored appropriately. Every decision involves balancing those risks against the risks of leaving a condition untreated.
There is another risk that receives far less attention. Sometimes medication can become a distraction. Families begin to believe that every difficult emotion, poor decision, or disappointing day must mean the medication needs adjusting. In reality, children still need to face challenges, tolerate frustration, develop coping skills, and mature. Medication should support that work, not replace it.
It is also important not to lose sight of what psychiatric medications can accomplish when they are truly indicated. The results can be astonishing. I have watched medications help children with severe OCD leave their homes again after months of being trapped by rituals. I have seen depressed teenagers rediscover joy, reconnect with friends, and begin planning for the future. I have seen psychiatric medication literally transform lives. While medication is rarely the entire answer, it can sometimes remove barriers that have prevented children from benefiting from therapy, school, relationships, and life itself. Used thoughtfully, psychiatric medication can be not only helpful, but genuinely life-changing—and occasionally, life-saving.
One of the most important lessons medicine has taught me is humility. Early in my training, one of my professors reminded us that while science gives us remarkable tools, the human brain doesn’t always follow the textbooks. Medicine is as much art as it is science. Every child is different. Every family is different. Clinical judgment requires both scientific knowledge and the humility to recognize that there are rarely perfect answers.
That is why I return to the same question parents ask me.
Would I prescribe this medication for my own child?
If my best assessment is that the likely benefits outweigh the likely risks and that medication offers the best opportunity to help that child function better, then the answer is yes. If I would not recommend it for my own family, I should not recommend it for yours.
Medication is never the goal. The goal is helping children become healthy, capable, independent adults. Sometimes medication is an important part of that journey. Sometimes it isn’t. My responsibility is not to prescribe medication. It is to help families make thoughtful, informed decisions about whether medication is the right tool for their particular child at that particular time.
