More than 10% of kids use alternative treatments

A surprisingly large number of children — nearly 12% — are using herbal supplements and other complementary and alternative therapies. Kids are five times as likely to try unconventional therapies if their parents also use them, according to the survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and NIH, which included 23,393 adults and 9,417 children. About 38% of adults have used complementary and alternative medicine in the past year, the study shows.

Children used these therapies most often for back or neck pain, colds, anxiety or stress, other muscle and skeletal problems and attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder, the study shows. Kids are more likely to use complementary and alternative therapies if they see the doctor a lot and if they have ongoing medical problems, the report shows. Unconventional care is also more popular among teens, whites and those with private insurance and well-educated parents. Yet kids are also more likely to use complementary and alternative medicine when their family has to delay or forsake conventional medical care because of cost, the study shows.

The number of children using these therapies would also have been higher if researchers had included prayer, vitamins, minerals or home remedies, says Kemper, lead author of an article on kids and complementary medicine in the December Pediatrics.

Some pediatricians have concerns about kid using unconventional therapies. Alternative practitioners, such as those who prescribe herbs or practice massage, may not have experience with children. That's why it's critical for parents to tell pediatricians if their children are using non-standard treatments. Only one in three parents tell their children's doctors when they're using these therapies, according to the Pediatrics study.

Bonnie - this study is encouraging in the sense that parents are turning to safer alternatives for their children. I do agree that these remedies should be taken under the supervision of a licensed health professional with proper experience. Unfortunately, most doctors do not have the experience. The reason one in three parents fail to discuss these substances with their pediatricians is that they get no support or at times, lambasted for trying them.