Remember when children were sent to reform school after someone decided they were "a problem?" Or, how about the kid who never spoke, took daily abuse from bullies, but somehow managed to graduate and become successful?

When I was growing up, I went to a private Catholic school. Kids who got out of line were frequently sent to the parish priest or the head nun for discipline. If the child kept causing problems, he or she was given in-school counseling. The last resort was to expel them to a reform school, now known as a juvenile detention center.

Nowadays, parents and teachers watch a kid's behavior carefully. By the time a child reaches second grade or sooner, there is a portfolio on behavior patterns, intelligence and academic guesses on what the child will become.

Armed with knowledge that a child's personality is nearly fully formed by age 5, parents look for ways to alter any behavior that isn't working within the family or school environment. Once a child starts rebelling, the first plan of action is to take him or her to the doctor to see if there is a behavioral disorder.

In the past 10 years, the treatment of childhood and adolescent behavior disorders have risen dramatically. Many more children and teens are being prescribed antidepressant and psychotropic drugs to address "bad" behavior patterns. Many of these drugs used have insufficient data to prove they are safe. Children are being used as guinea pigs for long-term effects.

In a study done from 2000 to 2002, 90 percent of the children who were sent to psychiatrists and prescribed antidepressants were white males under the age of 21. Given the small amount of research done on antipsychotic drugs, it is not clear that the most commonly prescribed are safe for use in children.

Children and families had to suffer terrible tragedies before the effects of antipsychotic drug use were known. Recent reports have suggested stimulant drugs like Ritalin may exacerbate underlying heart problems. Antidepressants may increase suicidal thinking or behavior in some children, especially teens, with risks of rapid weight gain and rising blood sugar levels that can lead to diabetes.

Kids today are raised very differently than they were 30 years ago. Play dates and scheduled activities are enforced. Any antisocial behavior is put under the microscope. Adults directly control children's free time. Just letting a child or teen go through a "phase" is considered bad parenting.

I realize there are many more dangers to children today: child predators on the Internet, gangs that injure or kill other children and drugs that are much more available to minors. Parents have become virtual prison guards, hoping they are protecting their child correctly.

But studies need to be done before a child is placed on antipsychotic drugs. Parents need to allow childhood. Otherwise, we risk raising generations of pill poppers.

McKee, a wheelchair user, is a freelance writer and producer. You can e-mail her at chairgrrl@chairgrrl.com.