N.J Nanny Admits Drugging Toddlers So They'd Sleep

[White Rain]

:furious: Another slap on the wrist!

HACKENSACK, N.J. — A nanny in Westfield says she drugged two toddlers.
Jennifer Wolff pleaded guilty to third-degree child endangerment Wednesday and faces up to 180 days in jail under a deal with prosecutors. The 24-year-old had faced up to 10 years in prison under the original charges.
Wolff told the court she was tired and worried that she might not be able to handle the 3- and 1-year-old boys.
Wolff said she spiked their juice with an anti-allergy sedative.
Prosecutors said the children's mother because suspicious when she tasted the juice and one of her son's referred to his "medicine bottle."
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,333450,00.html

[Mygirlsadie]

Ughh.. you know thank God that nothing bad happened like one of the kids being allergic or something. My kids school isn't even allowed to give my older kids a tylenol without calling me first. Too bad this babysitter didn't slap the child, she would of only got suspended for one day like the preschool teacher! :furious:

[Amraann]

Ughh.. you know thank God that nothing bad happened like one of the kids being allergic or something. My kids school isn't even allowed to give my older kids a tylenol without calling me first. Too bad this babysitter didn't slap the child, she would of only got suspended for one day like the preschool teacher! :furious:

OH Lol mygirlsadie you silly thing only teachers get that free pass!!

[Mygirlsadie]

Oh! My bad!! :crazy:



OH Lol mygirlsadie you silly thing only teachers get that free pass!!

[White Rain]

Ughh.. you know thank God that nothing bad happened like one of the kids being allergic or something. My kids school isn't even allowed to give my older kids a tylenol without calling me first. Too bad this babysitter didn't slap the child, she would of only got suspended for one day like the preschool teacher! :furious:

Not to mention they could have been EASILY overdosed.

[NewMommy09]

Not to mention they could have been EASILY overdosed.

Especially since nowdays, they are saying that cold meds are not even safe for toddlers.
http://www.babycenter.com/204_cold-meds-unsafe-for-kids-under-2-fda-warns_5227175.bc

[NewMom2003]

This infuriates me. :furious:

If she can't handle a 3 and 1 year old, then why in the he!! is she a "nanny"? :furious:

[Amraann]

This infuriates me. :furious:

If she can't handle a 3 and 1 year old, then why in the he!! is she a "nanny"? :furious:

Clearly because she could drug them and sit on her a$$ all day and get paid for doing nothing!!!

[NewMom2003]

Clearly because she could drug them and sit on her a$$ all day and get paid for doing nothing!!!

I wonder what kind of a background check the parents did on this "nanny"? I'm not saying it's the parent's fault at all, but people should really check out those that are caregivers to their children very carefully and thoroughly.

[Amraann]

I wonder what kind of a background check the parents did on this "nanny"? I'm not saying it's the parent's fault at all, but people should really check out those that are caregivers to their children very carefully and thoroughly.

I totally agree but my guess is nothing criminal came up if they did.

[KarlK]

I wonder what kind of a background check the parents did on this "nanny"? I'm not saying it's the parent's fault at all, but people should really check out those that are caregivers to their children very carefully and thoroughly.

Well, possession of Dramamine and/or Benadryl is not yet a criminal offense so I doubt it would have come up in a background check. While I do not condone giving medicines to toddlers without a physician's or a pharmacist's advice it's not like she gave them illegal drugs or strong sedatives, I don't think she meant any harm and, fortunately, no harm was done.

The use of mild or even not-so-mild drugs to make children sleep or keep overexcited ones from going berserk used to be a very common practice until about the middle of the 20th century, both my grandmothers gave dimenhydrinate (the active ingredient in Dramamine) to their children when they couldn't sleep or were too excited for their own safety, like most mothers did in the 1930's and 1940's, in fact a dimenhydrinate based medicine formulated for this specific purpose was sold in most stores but people preferred Dramamine because it was the same thing, cheaper and available everywhere.

When I was a little kid in the 1960's we were often given Jack N Jill brand cough syrup (a variant of Buckley's that didn't taste like tadpoles which I suspect the original contains since it tasted so godawful) when we were excited at bedtime, that's actually what pediatricians told parents to use. Back then this syrup contained diphenhydramine, a stronger congener of dimenhydrinate. Calmed us down in real short order with no sequels or untoward effects of what they give kids today (Ritalin) which is chemically closely related to methamphetamine. Why this drug was ever approved for children is beyond me.

Prior to 1903 rowdy children were simply given laudanum (opium tincture) which I have no doubt must have been quite effective. That was, obviously, overkill, but in some families the use of Dramamine to cool off overstimulated children is still viewed as a safe alternative to going nuts. Perhaps the sitter came from such a family. It was wrong of the sitter to use any medicine without confering with the mother first but I don't see this as some horrible act, I try to keep things in perspective. Six months in jail seems harsh for something that used to be common practice but she'll probably only serve a few weeks, which imho is appropriate.

[pixies]

My middle child has ADHD and we chose not to medicate her. It has been a wonderful option to us and the best decision we ever made concerning her health but talking to her doctor he actually told me to use Benadryl to help calm her down if she gets overtly hyper. Following the dosage amount, we had to use it when she was unable to control herself.

Another "shocking" non-medicine thing we use is Mountain Dew. You would think it would make her more hyper but the opposite is true. It calms her.

[sherri79]

My middle child has ADHD and we chose not to medicate her. It has been a wonderful option to us and the best decision we ever made concerning her health but talking to her doctor he actually told me to use Benadryl to help calm her down if she gets overtly hyper. Following the dosage amount, we had to use it when she was unable to control herself.

Another "shocking" non-medicine thing we use is Mountain Dew. You would think it would make her more hyper but the opposite is true. It calms her.
mountain dew calms my son with adhd so i am not surprised. i try to avoid giving it to him often because i am sure the caffeine is not good for him but when we have a really nice dinner out i order it for him if they have it.

[Amraann]

Often drugs that make most adults hyper calm children and vice versa.
I do Agree with much that karlK said but she should have had permission!!!
I have had many Dr's tell me to give the little ones Benyryl to put them to sleep. (not that I ever complained of sleep issues except for Richie)
Hell had one tell me that last week about Richie ... To which I totally cracked up .. Like Benydryl would work for him??? HAHHAHAHHHA

I think its pretty common knowledge for Dr's to suggest this .... Really IMO this maybe is not so much a legal one but a moral one in that she did not have permission from the parent.

In retrospect I look back on a private daycare I used and wonder... if she did the same as my then 4 yo was really hard to awake sometimes when I went to get him.

[crypto6]

Often drugs that make most adults hyper calm children and vice versa.
I do Agree with much that karlK said but she should have had permission!!!
I have had many Dr's tell me to give the little ones Benyryl to put them to sleep. (not that I ever complained of sleep issues except for Richie)
Hell had one tell me that last week about Richie ... To which I totally cracked up .. Like Benydryl would work for him??? HAHHAHAHHHA

I think its pretty common knowledge for Dr's to suggest this .... Really IMO this maybe is not so much a legal one but a moral one in that she did not have permission from the parent.
In retrospect I look back on a private daycare I used and wonder... if she did the same as my then 4 yo was really hard to awake sometimes when I went to get him.

Agree with you and karlk; this is an off-label indication for occasional use. The nanny didn't get permission and apparently used it frequently, both wrong.

Crypto6

[Filly]

Just another article where the nanny explains. My question is the kid was referring to this as his medicine bottle. Did he see the nanny put the Benadryl in the bottle? Why does a three year old have a bottle? Why did the mom come home from work and taste what her kids were drinking? Not excusing the nanny, but just wondering?http://www.northjersey.com/news/crimeandcourts/16063962.html

[Mygirlsadie]

Pixies I have taken the same route as you. My son was diagnosed with that too and he also has Autism. The doctor wanted to put him on a treatment plan that included drugs and after talking about it with hubby we decided against the drugs and went another route. Lots more work on our behalf but to us it is more than worth it! One thing we have been given by our doc. for him to help him sleep is Melatonin. That is the only thing my son has ever taken and I even feel guilty giving him that but something had to give since he would still be staring at his ceiling at midnight on a school night. I would be so mad if someone gave my kids any type of drug without my knowledge...so many things can go wrong.




My middle child has ADHD and we chose not to medicate her. It has been a wonderful option to us and the best decision we ever made concerning her health but talking to her doctor he actually told me to use Benadryl to help calm her down if she gets overtly hyper. Following the dosage amount, we had to use it when she was unable to control herself.

Another "shocking" non-medicine thing we use is Mountain Dew. You would think it would make her more hyper but the opposite is true. It calms her.

[angelmom]

Not to excuse her, but I think 6 months in jail is actually a pretty tough sentence for this.

From her quote at the link http://www.northjersey.com/news/crimeandcourts/16063962.html

"I made a very poor decision that day." [emphasis mine] it sounds like she did this once. There is nothing in the article to say she gave them an overdose or that she did it on an ongoing basis.

I know doctors who recommend this, especially for sick kids (as in, "Use the Benadryl at night b/c then they'll sleep better, too." or "Use the Dramamine on the long trip and you might get some peace and quiet.").

When I think that my friend's brother was killed by a drunk driver who got 6 months in jail, and served 3 months of it in a half-way house, this girl was treated with no mercy. There is no indication that the children were harmed in any way.

Like I said, not to excuse her, but drunk drivers and even first time drug offenders routinely get off with probation and a fine. Six months in jail is a long time.

[Vegas Bride]

It's not known yet what her sentence will be, that won't be decided until May so the whole 6 months may not even happen.

VB

[KarlK]

My middle child has ADHD and we chose not to medicate her. It has been a wonderful option to us and the best decision we ever made concerning her health but talking to her doctor he actually told me to use Benadryl to help calm her down if she gets overtly hyper. Following the dosage amount, we had to use it when she was unable to control herself.

Another "shocking" non-medicine thing we use is Mountain Dew. You would think it would make her more hyper but the opposite is true. It calms her.

25mg diphenhydramine (1 Benadryl caplet) is what a pediatrician recommended my sister gave her daughter when she was being a heck of a hyper toddler back in the early 1990's. Such a low dose does not have a spectacular effect but it made my niece behave normal for 4-6 hours at least. My sister is herself a physician (she's an anesthesiologist) with an extensive knowledge of tranquilizing drugs and she says that when used as directed there is no safer tranquilizer for small children than drugs from that family of antihistamines which also includes dimenhydrinate (Dramamine). These drugs are also excellent against motion sickness and other conditions that cause nausea such as chemotherapy and opioid painkillers especially when these have to be used on children. Best of all they are not addictive.

Speaking of motion sickness, Mountain Dew is what worked for me when I was a kid, provided almost instant relief of nausea related to car travel. No other soda drink worked, only Mountain Dew and what's weird is that I didn't like the taste much, I was a root beer lover as a kid (still am lol). I know Mountain Dew contains no known drugs but perhaps one of the chemicals used in it has a slight calming effect on some people.