Ritalin Bumper Sticker

 

I was driving with my mom to my little brother's basketball practice when I spotted this bumper sticker.  It reads: "So much easier than parenting: RITALIN."  The ad is targeted to parents with kids.  The bumper sticker assumes that the reader knows what Ritalin is used for.  The bumper sticker also assumes that the reader is sophisticated enough to pick up on the sarcasm of the message.The use of all capital letter for the word Ritalin really guides the reader 's eyes to Ritalin. 

The bumper sticker is not endorsing Ritalin as a parenting technique.  Through sarcasm, the bumper sticker is implying that giving Ritalin to a child is a cop out.  The message is step up and parent even if one's child is difficult; do not take the easy way out.  Ritalin is used to treat attention deficit disorder (ADD).  Some evidence suggests that Ritalin is over prescribed.  The proponents of the bumper sticker obviously think so.  Of course there are those who think Ritalin is an effective way to handle distracted children, particularly those who are not doing too well in school. 

I think that the bumper sticker is very effective.  The bumper sticker is not saying that using drugs is bad.  It is also not saying that ADD is fiction as some believe. Likewise, the bumper sticker is not exactly an attack on Ritalin either.  The bumper sticker is an attack rather on parents who may be abdicating their responsibilities as parents.  Certainly the bumper sticker is going to be offensive to parents who are providing their children with Ritalin.  Nevertheless, the bumper sticker is certainly going to make a parent think twice before giving Ritalin to his or her child.