Like many parents, I have occasionally wished my kids came with an “off” button. After a long day listening to them squabble and whine, I’ve occasionally thought to myself, “If only there was some magical drug I could give them that would make them mellow out.”

We all have those moments when we’re pushed to the edge. But, I wouldn’t actually consider drugging my kids to make them calm down. According to a new report, some parents do just that.

The research, published in the Journal of Pediatrics, found an average 160 annual cases in which pharmaceutical drugs were maliciously used on children — and that’s not including the countless cases that weren’t reported or the ones that weren’t necessarily “malicious,” just injudicious.

“We believe the malicious use of pharmaceuticals may be an under-recognized form and/or component of child maltreatment,” wrote the study’s author, Dr. Shan Yin of the University of Colorado and the Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Center at Denver Health.

By analyzing data from the National Poison Data System, Yin found 1,439 cases of “malicious” drug and alcoholoc poisoning of kids under 7.  Out of those cases, 172 children were seriously injured and 18 died. And those are only the cases that got reported.

The most common medications given to children (without doctor’s orders) are analgesics, stimulants/street drugs, sedatives, hypnotics, anti-psychotics and cough or cold medications. There are even instances of parents giving their young kids alcohol.

Included in the fatalities was a 4-month-old girl who died in 2003 when a babysitter gave her a full bottle of decongestant, and a 5-year-old girl who died in 2006 after her mother dosed her with antidepressants and muscle relaxants.

Why would parents give young children antidepressants, stimulants and antipsychotics without a prescription? In some cases, they may be overwhelmed and looking for some “me time.” For generations, parents swore by whiskey to treat teething or finicky babies.

In more malicious cases, parents slip their kids drugs for entertainment (!) or as punishment.

Earlier this year, a Massachusetts mother was sentenced to life in prison after she was found guilty in the death of her 4-year-old daughter, whos died from a lethal amount of a hypertension drug used to sedate children with ADHD. Her husband, who was tried separately, was convicted of first-degree murder for giving the daughter the medication or ordering his wife to do so.

In a 2005 case, a Montana day care owner was convicted of killing a 1-year-old after giving the child a fatal dose of cough medicine.

These are extreme cases where the law gets involved. But in ”everyday circumstances, the ethical boundaries are hazy,” according to CNN. Where do you cross the line from trying to help a child to abusing a child?

Jill Smokler, who blogs at Scary Mommy, says that she and her friends talk about using Benadryl as a way to have “me time.”

“It’s a selfish act doing that,” admits Smokler (who is a Facebook friend of mine). “Sometimes you just need it. It’s better than screaming at a kid when all your buttons are being pushed. You need a break; it’s a survival mechanism.”

Smokler doesn’t advocate medicating kids to get them to behave, but she recognizes the reality that sometimes desperate parents take desperate measures. Of course, there’s a big difference between giving your child Benadryl before a flight and giving them a whole bottle of cough syrup to get them to sleep. But I fear it’s a slippery slope.

Yin hopes that his study makes parents realize that using drugs to calm children is dangerous business.

“For parents, there’s a spectrum. I personally know friends who have given children Benadryl on a plane,” Yin told MSNBC. “But any time you give a child a non-prescribed medication, you run the risk of harming the child.”

What do you think? Would you medicate your kids to give yourself a break?

photo: flickr/LisaCChamberlain

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