My rant for today: teens and school trip medicine policies

[Dmmetler]

I'm really glad I went to high school in the 1980's, when my carrying meds for migraines, allergies, etc was no big deal. (One of the meds I was prescribed at the time was merpergan fortis....so I was carrying and self-administering opiods). On band trips, I usually had a tackle box that contained my meds, various repair items...and my reed knives. 

 

FWIW, I kind of love how the rules change when an underage kid is in college vs in high school. One piece of paper for student health, and everything was cool-including carrying and self administering meds while overseas on Global studies. 

 

[Clemsondana]

I took medicine several 4 times a day for childhood epilepsy - I outgrew it and came off the medicine in college.  We weren't supposed to, but we packed a pill in my lunch every day from the time I was in middle school until I graduated.  I carried a few more in my purse in case I went home with somebody or got stuck in a snowstorm or some other calamity.  It wasn't a medicine that needed to be taken exactly on schedule to avoid an immediate problem, but it had a sedative effect, so if I took all of the pills at once I'd be out like a zombie.  I was discreet, and it was never a problem.  I doubt the teachers knew, but my friends did.  

My funny along these lines was that one day in co-op a kid said that they had a headache and a friend offered them Tylenol.  Another student, a recent homeschooler who had previously been at a public or private school, was dumbstruck as I didn't intervene.  I explained that the teens were friends who could share Tylenol outside of class (like at lunch) without anybody caring, and as high schoolers who drove they could actually just check out, saying that they felt bad, get in their cars, and go to a drugstore so it didn't make much practical sense for me to get involved.  

[Faith-manor]

11 minutes ago, Clemsondana said:

I took medicine several 4 times a day for childhood epilepsy - I outgrew it and came off the medicine in college.  We weren't supposed to, but we packed a pill in my lunch every day from the time I was in middle school until I graduated.  I carried a few more in my purse in case I went home with somebody or got stuck in a snowstorm or some other calamity.  It wasn't a medicine that needed to be taken exactly on schedule to avoid an immediate problem, but it had a sedative effect, so if I took all of the pills at once I'd be out like a zombie.  I was discreet, and it was never a problem.  I doubt the teachers knew, but my friends did.  

My funny along these lines was that one day in co-op a kid said that they had a headache and a friend offered them Tylenol.  Another student, a recent homeschooler who had previously been at a public or private school, was dumbstruck as I didn't intervene.  I explained that the teens were friends who could share Tylenol outside of class (like at lunch) without anybody caring, and as high schoolers who drove they could actually just check out, saying that they felt bad, get in their cars, and go to a drugstore so it didn't make much practical sense for me to get involved.  

Interesting point. We let kids get driver's licenses at 16 which is WAY more life threatening than letting them handle a couple of Tylenol capsules at school.

Our culture is so darn weird, and inconsistent. Then we wonder why teens are confused, and 18 year olds aren't ready to self regulate. 

[rebcoola]

I've been thinking about this it really is weird on some level.  My kids legally no longer have to have my permission to get BCP.  Like they can get it and the doctor is not allowed to tell me without their permission. If they went on a school trip.  They risk suspenion if they take it themselves and they can not just give it to the nurse.  The requirement is a parent has to fill out a form and give permission.  

[Murphy101]

17 hours ago, rebcoola said:

We did to but it was against the rules. A group of 6th graders all got suspended over tums.  Zero tolerance policy.

Again. That’s 6th grade. 11 year olds. 

High school. Teens.  People who can drive and get a job. Should not be the same as 6th grade.

[rebcoola]

My point was these policies are not new and generally district wide.  This case got publicity so I knew about  it from 35 years ago. Every person found with drugs which includes all medications not having gone through the proper channels is automatically suspended with a chance of expulsion. So flouting the rules can have serious consequences. 

[Murphy101]

2 minutes ago, rebcoola said:

My point was these policies are not new and generally district wide.  This case got publicity so I knew about  it from 35 years ago. Every person found with drugs which includes all medications not having gone through the proper channels is automatically suspended with a chance of expulsion. So flouting the rules can have serious consequences. 

But no one is arguing a point that these policies have zero use in other demographics.

Also. I’ve never understood how that even works. How serious can it be when by law all minors must be given access to a free public education.  Even 35 years ago suspension and expulsion wasn’t actually serious. It mean you went to a different building. Granted the building might have been full of other “bad” kids, but by law the school could not refuse to allow the kid to attend school at all.

And teens 15+ old it often meant that either flipped the school the bird and said they didn’t want to be there anyways and/or they dropped out or did a quick study GED program.  Which honestly might be better for more students than not. 

[teacherPD]

Imagine this scenario: You are charge of a group of your child's friends- a large group- who you don't really know and you also don't know their parents. You have kindly invited them to join you and you are planning to manage their meals, transportation, and generally make sure they are well on a 4 days trip to Disney. On day 3 of the trip, you have a kid that totally breaks down into a depressive episode- they are threatening to throw themselves out a window. As a result because you are managing all the kids you have to gather them all, none can go have fun that day, while you take the one kid to a hospital/mental health professional/etc. because you don't know how long it will take to make sure this kid is safe and you can't risk one of the other kids getting injured or something else while you are dealing with this one kid. Also, the rest of the kids are super worried and upset and traumatized.

Or, different scenario, on day 3 of this trip you have a kid who cannot get out of bed in the morning. When you ask more about it it turns out they have been taking massive amounts of OTC pain meds for an extreme pain in their abdominal area but rather than getting better it has been getting worse. They are a teen so didn't want to make a big deal about it. You now are stopping the trip for everyone because you are worried about an emergency situation with this kid and, again, you can't have some large portion of the group off with no one around. And again, all the kids are totally worried about their friend and wouldn't likely be able to go enjoy themselves anyway.

What if you knew that in scenario 1 the kid was bipolar and took meds. If you managed their meds not only would you know they took them (less likelihood of said episode) but you also would have asked more questions at the beginning so you could maybe know how better to support them or what to look out for. As the parent of that child you should not only be role modeling that good self-care and maturity with mental health looks like not having shame around the mental health concern but being forthright so you have a support system around you at all times.

In scenario 2 if you knew the kids was taking pain meds because they had to ask or tell you they were taking them you would know they had pain. Then you might have been asking if it was getting better and you would have known to seek better care sooner. As the parent of that kid I certainly hope you would have wanted them to be seen sooner rather than 'brave it' on their own.

If you don't take groups of kids who are not your own/your family to places where you are the sole or one of the sole care providers for their well being you should try to imagine what that looks like when done well. Now add that it is not a personal trip but a school trip where the adults in charge can and will be sued for anything that goes wrong. Please be responsible and mature people who can see beyond your own limited experience with your one child in question on your personal family trip. This is different.