# Are today's parents looking for easy solutions **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 18, 2001, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-todays-parents-looking-for-easy-solutions/72901 "2001-07-18T07:35:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![vorfod](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a87d85/32.png) [@vorfod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vorfod)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2001, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-todays-parents-looking-for-easy-solutions/72901/21 "2001-07-19T04:12:45Z")
> [@](#): > > It’s been proven that the best cure for ADD is exercise. And it just seems like these days every parent thinks his kid has a disorder cuz they act like a kid, and they need all these drugs to cure it. **ssj\_man2k** , I’m going to have to add a request for a cite. I’ve coached a rugby team for 10 year olds for the last 6 years - I know which ones have been diagnosed with ADD/ADHD, and I can tell you that exercise is not the issue. These kids make border collies look lazy (and if you’ve never owned a border collie, they run and run and run and run and… I think you get the picture!). They’re simply not the type of children who sloth in front of the TV/computer all day - they plain can’t sit still that long. I’m not assuming you’re wrong - it’s just my experiences lead me to the opposite viewpoint, so I would like to see evidence that exercise would make any significant inroads into treating the symptoms. ---
**Author:** ![Nuri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/41988e/32.png) [@Nuri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nuri)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2001, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-todays-parents-looking-for-easy-solutions/72901/22 "2001-07-19T17:22:27Z")
I’d have to half agree…medicine works for some, and sometimes it doesn’t. It used to work for me, and then it didn’t. Exercise did work for me. I was a cross country runner for a few years, as well as dance classes. The running helped a lot more than the medicine did I believe. Sure, I was depressed as hell, but I was more focused. ---
**Author:** ![ssj\_man2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ssj\_man2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ssj_man2k)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2001, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-todays-parents-looking-for-easy-solutions/72901/23 "2001-07-20T06:42:51Z")
OK, someone is confusing me about ADD. maybe im thinking about another disorder, but i was always told that exercise was the best treatment for ADD. Maybe it’s just that kids who don’t exercise enough seem to have ADD, but they don’t, and they just need exercise. I don’t really care anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Primaflora](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/898d66/32.png) [@Primaflora](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Primaflora)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2001, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-todays-parents-looking-for-easy-solutions/72901/24 "2001-07-20T08:56:35Z")
Well perhaps next time you feel the urge to share with us what other peple may or may not have shared with you could you do a tad of research first ssj\_man2k? You would be well advised to take on board the concept that anecdotes don’t cut it in GD. I’m not aware of any syndromes like ADHD or ASD where exercise is recommended as a treatment or cure. ---
**Author:** ![SkeptiJess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@SkeptiJess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkeptiJess)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2001, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-todays-parents-looking-for-easy-solutions/72901/25 "2001-07-20T12:27:00Z")
Obviously, **ssj\_man2k** , there is a large difference between announcing that something is “proven” and “thinking” that something is so. In fact, it would appear that even what you “think” about this matter is wrong. A coach-potato type kid who lounges around watching TV looks _nothing_ like a kid with ADHD. ADHD kids tend to be dynamos rather than otherwise. Sorry that you “don’t care anymore,” but those of us who love someone with this syndrome _do_ care and don’t appreciate your high-handed and ill-informed opinions standing in for facts. ---
**Author:** ![Necros](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/necros/32/11086_2.png) [@Necros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Necros)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2001, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-todays-parents-looking-for-easy-solutions/72901/26 "2001-07-20T17:33:34Z")
Geez, don’t all gang up on **ssj\_man2k**. His only crime seems to be that he’s lazy. It’s not that he’s wrong. I’m not saying it’s proven, but a Google search turned up this: [http://www.adhd.com/treat/exercise.htm](http://www.adhd.com/treat/exercise.htm) in addition to a lot of other artciles on the same subject. I understand people should provide cites, but being rude is not an appropriate response to someone who doesn’t. Y’all probably own him an apology. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Ace\_of\_Swords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@The\_Ace\_of\_Swords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Ace_of_Swords)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2001, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-todays-parents-looking-for-easy-solutions/72901/27 "2001-07-20T18:42:26Z")
I’ll back **Necros** on this one. Was **ssj\_man2k** ’s error in argument or in the hyperbolic presentation? Exercise is indeed one of many stimulants that can be helpful for ADD cases; FYI, so are sex, cocaine, and high-risk activities. You can understand why parents prefer Ritalin or Methylphenidate! While the blanket statement of which treatment is ‘best’ is wrong for exercise, it would be wrong for any of these since the spectrum of ADD demands a spectrum of appropriate responses. For some people, several cups of coffee each day is ‘best’. Which leads us to the over-prescription. If some kids would be fine with exercise, why the hell are they on controlled substances? Seems America has a pill for assuage everything, even the frustrations of parenting. If you want more info on this thread hijack, I recommend your local ADD support group, or ‘Driven to Distraction’ which you can find on Amazon. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2001, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-todays-parents-looking-for-easy-solutions/72901/28 "2001-07-20T21:00:33Z")
It depends on what you mean by exercise. Often, people with ADHD, like myself, are good at “hyper-focus”, in that we tend to over absorb ourselves into one thing or another. Does that make sense? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-todays-parents-looking-for-easy-solutions/72901.md?page=1)