I think it’s ridiculous to make a blanket statement about how kids are raised in America vs France with zero evidence to back it up. There are plenty of strict parents in the US, and I’m sure there are plenty of lax parents in France. Plus, as the article states:

> The American psychiatrists believe that ADHD is a disorder based on biological issues.

So the way a kid is raised has nothing to do with whether or not they have ADHD.

According to the article, the real reason “Why French Kids Don’t Have ADHD” is because the doctors avoid that diagnosis:

> Basically the French community has decided to focus more on fixing the underlying causes of the problem behavior instead of giving it a wide range diagnosis.

Looking for underlying causes and fixing problem behavior sounds great, I just feel like the article is confuses having ADHD and being diagnosed with ADHD.

Despite my problems with the article, I actually do think that ADHD in children is over diagnosed in the US. And even if the disorder itself isn’t over diagnosed, I think ADHD medication are over prescribed to children. Those medications have can have negative side effects, like reducing appetite and therefore growth, but that’s not even my main problem with it. As other posters have described really well, ADHD medication can reduce creativity and problem solving skills. If a kid is medicated too young they might obey the rules a little too much and develop into a less creative, interesting, and dynamic person as a result.