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Sedate Your Kids While They Play

If your child won't sit still at the dentist, the doctor, or the kitchen table, you need the PediSedate Helmet. The device consisting of a colorful headset that connects to a game component or a portable CD player. After a snorkel attachment goes into the child's mouth, the helmet will monitor respiratory function and distribute nitrous oxide or anesthetic gas. The company website states, "The child comfortably becomes sedated while playing with a Nintendo Game Boy system or listening to music. This dramatically improves the hospital or dental experience for the child, parents and healthcare providers."

264 comments

  1. Ahh, just like mom used to do by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Funny

    She was a Nazi, though, so probably not the best example.

    1. Re:Ahh, just like mom used to do by fractoid · · Score: 1

      Hey, with kids like these you need to be a little strict.

      --
      Rampant carbon sequestration destroyed the Dinosaurs' tropical paradise. I'm here to help repair the damage.
  2. Adults? by WilyCoder · · Score: 4, Funny

    Do they make an adult model? Where's my checkbook....

    1. Re:Adults? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      C'mon now... think of the children!

      Those little bastards want to get high too!

    2. Re:Adults? by Critical+Facilities · · Score: 5, Funny

      They should make one that is bluetooth enabled. It would make those hour and a half conference calls much more interesting.

    3. Re:Adults? by Dahamma · · Score: 1

      Yes, they do! And I heard it goes great with Pabst Blue Ribbon...

      Dennis

    4. Re:Adults? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Go to the supermarket. Reddi-Wip uses nitrous oxide as a propellant. Do not invert the can per instructions.

    5. Re:Adults? by daem0n1x · · Score: 2, Funny

      Yes, but it uses marijuana instead.

    6. Re:Adults? by Hoi+Polloi · · Score: 1

      Do they sell a model that runs off the car's cig lighter power? I've always wanted a flying car.

      --
      It is by the juice of the coffee bean that thoughts acquire speed, the teeth acquire stains. The stains become a warning
    7. Re:Adults? by jerep · · Score: 1

      I wonder if they'll sell the refills that can work without buying the fancy hat.

    8. Re:Adults? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's called a volcano.

    9. Re:Adults? by fractoid · · Score: 1

      I always loved eating that Dairy Whip straight from the can... now I know why. ;)

      --
      Rampant carbon sequestration destroyed the Dinosaurs' tropical paradise. I'm here to help repair the damage.
    10. Re:Adults? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Seriously? What do they need chemical sedation for? Have you seen a kid under 10 in front of a gaming console? They are one slimy drool strand away from being Bruce Willis in 12 Monkeys

    11. Re:Adults? by noundi · · Score: 2, Funny

      Or 12 monkeys in Bruce Willis for that matter.


      Wait -- what?

      --
      I am the lawn!
  3. WTF by MyLongNickName · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    I have idle blocked intentionally. Why am I seeing this crap?

    --
    See my journal for slashdot ID's by year. Mine created in 2005. http://slashdot.org/journal/289875/slashdot-ids-by-year
    1. Re:WTF by Amouth · · Score: 2, Informative

      because they put it under games..

      --
      '...if only "Jumping to a Conclusion" was an event in the Olympics.'
    2. Re:WTF by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Because Samzenpus wasn't getting enough views in idle, so he quit submitting idle stories where they belong, the twit.

  4. Hmm... by FlyingSquidStudios · · Score: 3, Informative

    I smell Joey Skaggs at work.

    1. Re:Hmm... by Locke2005 · · Score: 2, Funny

      Sounds more like Joey Ramone to me!

      --
      I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
  5. That smile on the ad... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    ... seems to suggest otherwise that the device doesn't really work properly. They need a picture of a kid with eyes like X_X and maybe his tongue hanging out for good measure.

    Then I'd buy it. For... medical purposes. Yes.

  6. This device by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 5, Funny

    Is CE marked, UL listed, and Pedobear approved!

    1. Re:This device by JCSoRocks · · Score: 1

      No, no, you're thinking of the PedoSedate. Very similar but the device is integrated into a fun-to-wear fuzzy bear mask. Fun for the entire family!

      --
      You are using English. Please learn the difference between loose and lose; they're, there, and their; your and you're.
    2. Re:This device by Adm.Wiggin · · Score: 1

      Should've named it "PaedoSedate" instead...

  7. If you're giving the kid nitrous.... by MuChild · · Score: 3, Funny

    ...why do they need the video game? Once it kicks in you could amputate at the knee and recieve only chuckles in response.

    1. Re:If you're giving the kid nitrous.... by morgan_greywolf · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Not a parent, huh? You have to get them to cooperate enough to get the nitrous dispenser hooked onto their face. If they view the headset as a toy to be used while videogaming, you're far more likely to get them to cooperate.

    2. Re:If you're giving the kid nitrous.... by twidarkling · · Score: 3, Funny

      Are kids really going to fall for that? They're not stupid. They know the gameboy or CD player works without that helmet. They're not going to suddenly be fooled by someone going "Jimmy! Your CD player needs this large, indimidating helmet, and a tube stuck down your throat to work!"

      You'd have more luck taking House's approach, and take a hit of nitrous yourself before strapping it to the kid.

      --
      Canada: The US's more awesome sibling.
    3. Re:If you're giving the kid nitrous.... by vidarh · · Score: 2, Informative
      Nitrous doesn't prevent pain in most people to any great degree. It mostly make you care less and react less to it and give a sense of wellbeing.

      I've used it while at the dentist (though not any more - it's too expensive to be worth it), and it was nowhere near strong enough to replace a novocaine injection or others for anything but the most trivial stuff that I wouldn't have minded doing without any sedation at all anyway.

      It was however a very pleasant addition. When I had nitrous, I was in the chair with headphones listening to relaxing music, some dark glasses and just laid there breathing in the nitrous, mouth wide open, wondering why that silly man kept disturbing me to get me to open wider.

      I left the dentist more relaxed than when I came, with the added bonus that it's out of your system in a minute or so.

    4. Re:If you're giving the kid nitrous.... by cayenne8 · · Score: 1
      "Nitrous doesn't prevent pain in most people to any great degree. It mostly make you care less and react less to it and give a sense of wellbeing.

      I've used it while at the dentist (though not any more - it's too expensive to be worth it), and it was nowhere near strong enough to replace a novocaine injection or others for anything but the most trivial stuff that I wouldn't have minded doing without any sedation at all anyway.

      It was however a very pleasant addition. When I had nitrous, I was in the chair with headphones listening to relaxing music, some dark glasses and just laid there breathing in the nitrous, mouth wide open, wondering why that silly man kept disturbing me to get me to open wider. "

      Hell, I won't go to a dentist that doesn't use nitrous!!

      :)

      I used to, as a kid...suggest that it wasn't fair that I rarely got nitrous since I took care of my teeth and had very few problems. I suggested they should give it as a reward, use it when just cleaning teeth, etc.

      I remember when I had my wisdom teeth pulled. Was the best time of my life!! I kept acting when they'd tug on me that I felt something, and they'd turn it up higher...till they caught on and faked touching me, and I still flinched. Hahaha. But man, I had the headphones on...Pink Floyd (DSOTM), some Zeppelin, Klaatu..whatever I wanted. He'd let you bring your own tapes (before CD's) and plug you in. It was great...till it all wore off, and I suffered dry sockets for a couple days after.

      Anyway, I was shocked last time I moved...I would call up offices and ask if they gave nitrous. I couldn't hardly find a dentist that DID give laughing gas.

      I'm about to get on a new dental plan...guess I have to start the search all over again to find one that gives gas. It is the one reason I've never feared going to the dentist.

      LOL...I did find out one thing when I got my last crown. When I went in at first...I had some allergy sinus problems...I couldn't inhale the stuff fast or deep enough.

      When I went back the 2nd time, I made damned sure I'd done plenty of nose spray before I went in, and was clear as a whistle when they strapped on the gas mask.

      --
      Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
    5. Re:If you're giving the kid nitrous.... by PitaBred · · Score: 1

      You allow your child to disrespect you like that? If s/he doesn't respect you, who WILL they respect? Fear of it is fine, but why doesn't your child trust you enough to put on the nitrous mask and sit quietly?

    6. Re:If you're giving the kid nitrous.... by form222 · · Score: 1

      The headset provides the sound. Sure, the kid can play without the headphones but to hear what's going on in the game the headset has to go on.

    7. Re:If you're giving the kid nitrous.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Um, maybe they don't give kids the same mix of nitrous, but I can say from experience they aren't chuckling when stitches go in.

    8. Re:If you're giving the kid nitrous.... by fractoid · · Score: 1

      Simple. Tell them that they're only allowed to use the helmet for 10 minutes but that it gives them a higher score. Then grudgingly 'let' them wear it a little longer 'if they're good'. :)

      --
      Rampant carbon sequestration destroyed the Dinosaurs' tropical paradise. I'm here to help repair the damage.
    9. Re:If you're giving the kid nitrous.... by IllForgetMyNickSoonA · · Score: 1

      Sure, that's the best way to earn your child's trust... NOT!

      This... "device" is just unbelievable! It actually sounds like an April Fools joke.

      You should not trick your kids into things, especially not things like *this*. Which sick weirdo even came to the idea??

      As a father of three, I must say this device makes me feel sick in my stomach. >:-(

    10. Re:If you're giving the kid nitrous.... by DrXym · · Score: 1

      Possibly the first time. I still remember the first and only time I was sedated to remove a tooth as a kid. They made out it was a game that I had to put the mask on and breath deep. I know in hindsight they probably couldn't have proceeded otherwise but it still felt like a betrayal of trust to have been lied to like that. I expect that if I had gone back to the dentist I would have fought long and hard before falling for that trick again.

    11. Re:If you're giving the kid nitrous.... by morgan_greywolf · · Score: 1

      You're not putting the nitrous mask on your kid. The doctor/dentist/nurse/tech is. And those masks are kind of scary to a kid.

    12. Re:If you're giving the kid nitrous.... by ilo.v · · Score: 1

      Also, as twidarkling said, "they're not stupid" The kids definitely know that something bad is about to happen, no matter how much you try to hide it or fool them. They will be incredibly suspicious of anything new or different. If you really want this to work, you need to let the kid play with the helmet and wear it at home or alone in a waiting room with Mom ahead of time (preferably without any anesthetic loaded in it of course)

  8. And Now you Know by Dr.+Eggman · · Score: 1

    Huh, I always wondered what those weird helmets and head gear on everybody, especially children, in those old 1950's cheesy sci-fi movies, were for. I guess I know now...

    --
    Demented But Determined.
  9. Is drugs the answer? by BadAnalogyGuy · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Forcing your kid to inhale a dangerous substance like Nitrous Oxide is right up there with leaving your 2 year old cerebral palsied daughter at home while you go drinking. It is shirking your parental responsibilities. In this age of selfishness and self-centeredness, it's really no surprise that such a device would be proposed.

    Whatever happened to a quick backhand to the kid's face? Or walloping his butt with a belt?

    Teaching your kid to control themselves is a fundamental parental responsibility. They aren't always going to be able to rely on drugs to get them through life.

    1. Re:Is drugs the answer? by MuChild · · Score: 1

      That's why I say the drugs should be enough. And IANAD, but nitrous really isn't dangerous in a medical setting when compared to the other options in the pharmacopia.

    2. Re:Is drugs the answer? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Bah bah bah baah
      I wanna be sedated~

    3. Re:Is drugs the answer? by Ken+Broadfoot · · Score: 1

      Well, you can get the same effect by strapping on a scuba tank and going down to about 215 feet or so. Then you would not need the "snorkel". However the CD or game component probably would not work.

      --
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    4. Re:Is drugs the answer? by Morphine007 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The kid died from respiratory obstruction due to a malformed lower jaw and pneumonia. The article you're linking to mentions that the NO2 did aggravate those factors, but it was hardly the cause. Also, the article is from 1926 and the death occurred in 1923... pneumonia was the 2nd leading cause of death in 1923 as well.

    5. Re:Is drugs the answer? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      When I was a tyke I was very fearful of doctors, dentists, and even barbers.

      There was no reasoning with me. And I was a pretty smart kid.

      I remember all the lieing techniques my parents used to get me into a dentists office. I remember having to be dragged into the chair by 2 nurses.

      My parents were mortified, but there was no reasoning with me.

      I don't fault any parents that resort to this when it is needed. I am just as stubborn 40 years later, but I don't have an unreasonable fear of dental/medical procedures.

      The selfishness and self-centeredness was all my fault. I think people who fault the parents have little memory as to what they were like from the terrible twos to 7 or 8 or never had medical procedure fears.

    6. Re:Is drugs the answer? by SCPaPaJoe · · Score: 1

      You would beat your kid for crying at the Dentist? Different strokes for different folks, I guess.

    7. Re:Is drugs the answer? by fubar1971 · · Score: 4, Informative

      It's not meant for parents. Easier way to sedate a child for medical purposes. RTFA

      Parents use Strawberry flavored milk and sudafed.

    8. Re:Is drugs the answer? by internerdj · · Score: 1

      From the website it appears to be a device that will
      a) be presented so the child will fight it less
      b) monitor the child's vitals (it implies this isn't standard practice for NO2 at the dentist)
      when undergoing routine procedures that require anesthetics. The summary does seem like it is saying just pump them full of sedatives anytime you take them to the doctor.

    9. Re:Is drugs the answer? by tnk1 · · Score: 4, Funny

      I would take more of a compromise tack. Instead of opening a can of whoop-ass on your little delinquent, or using some wishy washy sedation on them, I suggest heroin*. It's both soothing and hardcore.

      Also, a benefit of being their drug dealer is that you can cut them off when they have been naughty. It's a great disciplinary tactic, at least until they are big enough to commit drug-related crime to get more.

      You can also ensure that your kids have only the purest and safest (relatively) dosages and that they use clean needles too!

      This message brought to you by the Afghan Agricultural Council.

      * Heroin may be habit-forming. Be sure to consult the Internet before usage.

    10. Re:Is drugs the answer? by internerdj · · Score: 1

      Or not after reading more carefully.

    11. Re:Is drugs the answer? by PenisLands · · Score: 1

      This device is intended for use in hospitals to sedate children before surgery. It is NOT intended for home use by parents.

      BadAnalogyGuy, I'm disappointed with your recent posts. You seem to comment on every article with a bombastic and alarmist opinion, often without fully reading the article first. If you had looked into this thing at all, you wouldn't have needed to post this comment at all.
      It looks to me like you only care about getting as many "insightful" ratings as you can.

    12. Re:Is drugs the answer? by Hatta · · Score: 1

      Drugs are the question. "Yes." is the answer.

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      Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
    13. Re:Is drugs the answer? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      b) monitor the child's vitals (it implies this isn't standard practice for NO2 at the dentist)

      A dentist needs something like an extra 2 years of med school to get his anaesthesia cert. Many small practices will bring an outside guy to do it because of this. This device does not obviate that requirement.

    14. Re:Is drugs the answer? by Locke2005 · · Score: 2, Funny

      "Is drugs the answer?" No, teaching better grammar is the answer!

      --
      I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
    15. Re:Is drugs the answer? by Locke2005 · · Score: 2, Informative

      I find paregoric to be much more effective. Just give the kid the whole bottle, and you can finally get a well-deserved rest!

      --
      I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
    16. Re:Is drugs the answer? by Morphine007 · · Score: 1

      There's a good part of me that agrees wholeheartedly with what you just wrote. There's another part that finds the idea of gassing my kid mildly horrific. I think I'd still side with you on this one though. If you can trick your kid into becoming mildly sedated, so that they don't freak right the hell out as soon as they hear the high-pitched whine of a dentist's pneumatic tool, then it's probably worth considering.... as long as it doesn't knock them completely unconscious.

      But that nagging feeling of it being wrong likely wouldn't go away. =S

    17. Re:Is drugs the answer? by JCSoRocks · · Score: 4, Funny

      If you're not comfortable with heroin, I'd like to recommend meth! It's got the added advantage of encouraging your children to clean your house and themselves! Citation. Plus, when they're not actually on it they can hum the song that's almost as addicting as the substance itself!

      --
      You are using English. Please learn the difference between loose and lose; they're, there, and their; your and you're.
    18. Re:Is drugs the answer? by h3llfish · · Score: 1

      I agree. If your kid needs surgery, then surely drugs in the form of anesthesia are NOT the way to go. Clearly it's much better to just beat the child until they "cowboy up", and take it like a man.

      Seriously though, I pity you, BAG. I'm not quite sure if you really are a zealous advocate of child abuse, a troll, or maybe just a guy who made an unfunny joke that betrayed some major psychological issues, but regardless... no one likes you. And I think that's sad, so hugs! I hope you feel better soon, bro. There is help available! Let me know if you ever need someone to talk to, ok?

    19. Re:Is drugs the answer? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Note the pattern. Prior to this he was modded down quite a bit. He's karma whoring so he doesn't lose posting privileges.

      If moderators would simply appreciate his standard analogy posts, this type of karma whoring would not be necessary.

    20. Re:Is drugs the answer? by teldar · · Score: 1

      N2O is actually the chemical termed laughing gas. Not NO2. That' nitrogen dioxide and doesn't really have any place in medicine. And today, hopefully, any anesthesia provider would know better than to use N2O on a patient with pneumonia.

    21. Re:Is drugs the answer? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Then there is good ol' cocaine, which will earn you an interview on CNBC...

    22. Re:Is drugs the answer? by treeves · · Score: 1

      Hey, why not just give him ten tabs of Substance D. Sorry, I just got done reading A Scanner Darkly.

      --
      ...the future crusty old bastards are already drinking the Kool-Aid.
  10. What ? by anonymousNR · · Score: 2, Insightful

    How come this kind of posts even make it to the main page? That too into Game section, in which way this falls into game category? aah forget it.

    --
    -- It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it. -- Aristotle
    1. Re:What ? by LiquidFire_HK · · Score: 1

      It matches the section's colour.

    2. Re:What ? by Jeng · · Score: 1

      It makes it to the main page because this is one of those fun stories people like to share even if they are not commenting.

      --
      Don't know something? Look it up. Still don't know? Then ask.
  11. Wrong Choice of Words... by HasselhoffThePaladin · · Score: 1

    FTA: The result is a system that provides a calming influence over the children, monitors the child continuously, allows the procedure to be performed by less skilled personnel...

    As far as I can tell, this thing is for real, and it sounds like a worse idea than the Jump to Conclusions Mat.

    1. Re:Wrong Choice of Words... by HasselhoffThePaladin · · Score: 1

      Sorry for the extra bold.

    2. Re:Wrong Choice of Words... by whiledo · · Score: 1

      I like it. It was just what I needed after a bland, heavy lunch.

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  12. Relax people by Daimanta · · Score: 4, Funny

    It's a joke.

    I think.
    I hope.
    God, don't let this be true.

    --
    Knowledge is power. Knowledge shared is power lost.
    1. Re:Relax people by taustin · · Score: 1

      Of course it's a joke, just like the "ball and chain with a time" joke. It's a felony for anyone to administer any kind of general anesthetic other than a licensed anesthetologist, mostly because generals are moderately dangerous. Last I heard, the most like reason you'd die on the operating table was a problem with the general.

    2. Re:Relax people by HasselhoffThePaladin · · Score: 4, Funny

      I especially like the triad of concepts at the top of the logo: Distraction, Comfort, Sedation. Sounds like the perfect date-rape process. For the record, IANAR.

    3. Re:Relax people by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      its in use in the Torontoâ(TM)s Sick Childrenâ(TM)s Hospital. i saw around half a dozen of these things.
      its not a joke.

    4. Re:Relax people by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      It's *not* a joke. It's not for home use. One hospital is using it. The summary is beyond misleading, it's completely false.

    5. Re:Relax people by tepples · · Score: 1

      It's a felony for anyone to administer any kind of general anesthetic other than a licensed anesthetologist

      Which is why dentists have been double-majoring in dental surgery and anesthesiology, so that they can offer advanced sedation techniques to their patients.

    6. Re:Relax people by geekoid · · Score: 1

      Why? If it is a way to have children relax and prepare for surgery, it's a good thing.

      No, it is NOT for everyday use, or home use.

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    7. Re:Relax people by Paul+Jakma · · Score: 1

      When I was 11 or 12 or so, I had teeth removed at the dentists. For whatever reason I got scared on the chair as they went to sedate me and went into a panic. I'm pretty sure I landed at least a couple of good kicks and punches ("Oooh my solar-plexus.." one of the men cried, I'll always remember) in the minute or two before they managed to hold me down and anaesthetise me.

      So I note the line "more comfortable for .... healthcare providers" in the article and don't doubt it's for real. ;)

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    8. Re:Relax people by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm beginning to fear not...

      http://www3.whdh.com/features/articles/healthcast/H872/

    9. Re:Relax people by mathx314 · · Score: 2, Funny

      I'm not a rhinoceros either, but I hardly see how that's relevant to this discussion.

    10. Re:Relax people by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Last I heard, the most like reason you'd die on the operating table was a problem with the general.

      Absolute nonsense. Risk of death from anaesthesia is approx 1:250,000. Risk of death from surgery and post operative complications is almost always higher.

      You are right, however, in that a GA is lethal (literally) in the wrong hands. (ANd

    11. Re:Relax people by Abreu · · Score: 1

      What the heck is wrong with local anesthesia? It seems that only in the USA are people so wimpy that they feel they need to be completely asleep just to fill a cavity

      --
      No sig for the moment.
    12. Re:Relax people by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Legal drugs, claim to be afraid of the pain for the NO2 hit. You're in there anyway and its available.

    13. Re:Relax people by tyrus568 · · Score: 1

      Well, it's available at some dentists. At my local dentist it is $70, so not exactly cheap for just a quick high. (I have no insurance and so it wasn't exactly free.) When I went to have five teeth extracted in the same session, you're damn straight I took nitrous, I wouldn't call that being wimpy.

      Now, the 40 vicodin I got for afterwards helped.

    14. Re:Relax people by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think its child abuse week on Slashdot. Parents bully and torture their kids with things like this and then wonder why their kids get bullied and teased at school. Your kids have boundaries and you have to respect them. Control doesn't work. Reward and punishment does.

    15. Re:Relax people by cdrudge · · Score: 1

      A lot of times it's not just for pain, but for anxiety. Some people have a phobia of going to the dentist. My wife was one of them. Last year she had to have a root canal performed among several other dental procedures. A cleaning alone was barely able to complete, but no way was a root canal going to be performed without some additional help. I don't remember what exactly the meds were, but I believe it was a generic derivative of Valium. Took one the night before to allow her to sleep, then another as we were leaving to go the office the morning of the procedure. The procedure itself still used a local though.

    16. Re:Relax people by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      >For the record, IANAR.

      I Am Now A Rapist?

  13. News articles from 2002? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    All the listed news coverage on their sidebar seems to indicate this was covered in 2002. Any reviews on how it worked?

  14. What happened to... by ForestGrump · · Score: 3, Funny

    What happened to good ol parenting and talking the kid through the procedure with soothing words like, "just one more and we'll be done"

    --
    Is it true that more people vote for the winner of American Idol, than vote for the president? -Ali G.
    1. Re:What happened to... by drpentode · · Score: 1

      You've obviously never had to see your kid off to open heart surgery. The kid WILL freak out at the alien-looking nurses in their shower caps and bright yellow smocks. Anything to reduce the fear is a good thing.

    2. Re:What happened to... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Haha...are you nuts?? That's way too much work for today's parents.

  15. are you kidding me? by ilblissli · · Score: 3, Insightful

    what the hell ever happened to smacking your kid upside his head and making him behave? ughhhh i'm really feeling my age when i can now say things like "in my day we didn't have video game sedation helmets...."

    1. Re:are you kidding me? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      the same thing that happened to reading tfa

    2. Re:are you kidding me? by geekoid · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Those children grew up to be a little angry and thinking smacking kids is a good thing.
      My kids behave fine, and I don't have to bully or beat them.
      Maybe you should use a more modern technique for child care?

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    3. Re:are you kidding me? by BitZtream · · Score: 1

      Contrary to current trendy beliefs, history shows this to be entirely untrue. Like it or not, if smacking your kid when he did something wrong turned him into an evil bastard when he/she was an adult then all of us would be evil bastards continuing to smack our children when they do something like parents used to.

      The entire animal kingdom uses punishment this very same way, you can cream in your pants all you want about not punishing your children and do all you want to convince yourself that positive reenforcement only is the best method.

      You'll still be wrong, and I'll still be pissed off at your annoying unruley children when you bring them out to dinner.

      History shows that when people don't get a proper sense of punishment for doing wrong, they do wrong a lot more often. All animals will do whatever is best for them until they get enough negative response to make them stop.

      Call it a feature of evolution, call it whatever you want, but please take your head out of your ass and recognize it.

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    4. Re:are you kidding me? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think it's more about getting them to not freak out at the dentist or when they are going to have surgery.

    5. Re:are you kidding me? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Or they grew up bitter, said "Not my kids" and ended up bringing up a generation of illiterate, lazy, obnoxious kids so wrapped up in their mistaken sense of self-entitlement that anything that requires effort is beneath them. Both are options, certainly.

    6. Re:are you kidding me? by FiveDozenWhales · · Score: 1

      Believe it or not, but there are other methods of negative reinforcement that don't involve beating your child.

    7. Re:are you kidding me? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      My kids behave fine, and I don't have to bully or beat them.

      My guess is they actually don't.

      This all went wrong when people decided a smack upside the head was a beating. I got beatings, and I wouldn't recommend them, but a smack upside the head is something your grandmother does.

    8. Re:are you kidding me? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Those children grew up to be a little angry and thinking smacking kids is a good thing.

      I disagree. I've been smacked upside the head twice and swatted once on the bottom as a child. I learned that my actions have repercussions.

      Your children, on the other hand, will be the ones featured in the media for beating a special-ed kid to death for sake of curiosity, or that they were bored.

      I've worked with folks who engage in everything from the "give them a time-out" technique to the "well, they've got to make their own decisions (at the age of six)" method, and I'm not making this up: at least 1/3 of their kids have had serious trouble with the law (including felonies) when they've grown up. And this is in a yuppie neighborhood where the median income level is well above the norm and the level of parental education is right around a masters.

      Then again, if you are indeed from Portland it wouldn't surprise me that you're dense; the only thing worth a damned in the area is Tektronix and Microware. Talk about Seattle's poorer brother... shave the dreads and take a bath, son.

  16. this doesn't look like an onion story by jollyreaper · · Score: 1

    I mean, it sounds like an Onion story but none of the links are going to the Onion.

    --
    Kwisatz Haderach
    Sell the spice to CHOAM
    This Mahdi took Shaddam's Throne
  17. Not a joke? by Ken+Broadfoot · · Score: 1

    April 1st was a month and 20 days ago.
    I actually had to check.

    This has to be a joke.

    Any use of this device would be misuse in my opinion.

    --
    Bitcoin pyramid: Join here: http://www.bitcoinpyramid.com/r/1427 it's FREE!
    1. Re:Not a joke? by Tiro · · Score: 0, Troll

      You moron. This device is clearly designed for oral surgery, emergency room situations, and the like. Why would "any use be misuse"?

  18. Oblig. by Reason58 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Bender: And so I ask you this one question: Have you ever tried simply turning off the TV, sitting down with your children, and hitting them?

    1. Re:Oblig. by whitefang1121 · · Score: 0, Funny

      No, it's much easier to hit them with a shovel and watch TV in peace.

  19. It is a medical device. by DAldredge · · Score: 3, Informative

    It is a medical device, it isn't meant for the general public. PediSedate is a medical device consisting of a colorful, toy-like headset that connects to a game component such as the Nintendo Game Boy system or a portable CD player. Once the child places it on his or her head and swings the snorkel down from its resting place atop the head, PediSedate transparently monitors respiratory function and distributes nitrous oxide, an anesthetic gas. The child comfortably becomes sedated while playing with a Nintendo Game Boy system or listening to music. This dramatically improves the hospital or dental experience for the child, parents and healthcare providers. The result is a system that provides a calming influence over the children, monitors the child continuously, allows the procedure to be performed by less skilled personnel, increases the speed with which procedures can be performed and makes the procedure a less stressful experience for all involved. Each headset can be used multiple times per day by replacing the disposable components contained in the disposable kit. PediSedate consists of a state of the art anesthesia administration and monitoring system. A pulse-oximeter within the headset, monitors oxygenation and a capnometer monitors second-to-second respiratory rate ensuring the safety of the patient. This currently is not the standard of care in outpatient settings. The PediSedate anesthesia delivery system delivers Nitrous Oxide and other volatile agents via a patented anesthesia delivery/scavenging mask situated in the snorkel. Inhalation anesthesia is both painless and titrateable. The benefits of volatile anesthetics are that onset and recovery times are rapid, which reduces cost to the healthcare system.

    1. Re:It is a medical device. by el3mentary · · Score: 1

      Who stills plays on a Game Boy though...

      --
      I reject your reality and substitute my own.
    2. Re:It is a medical device. by mr_mischief · · Score: 1

      What, you want your medical insurance to buy the PS3?

    3. Re:It is a medical device. by morgan_greywolf · · Score: 1

      Hell, yes!

    4. Re:It is a medical device. by Cornflake917 · · Score: 1

      Only if I get to keep it!

    5. Re:It is a medical device. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The result is a system that provides a calming influence over the children, monitors the child continuously, ALLOWS THE PROCEDURE TO BE PERFORMED BY LESS SKILLED PERSONNEL, increases the speed with which procedures can be performed and makes the procedure a less stressful experience for all involved.

      does anyone else see that as a problem?

    6. Re:It is a medical device. by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      It is a medical device, it isn't meant for the general public.

      Which is really unfortunate, because ThinkGeek could sell a basically infinite number of these at essentially any price.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    7. Re:It is a medical device. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      While the device's delivery of the volatile anesthetics is critical, the question remains: will it blend?

    8. Re:It is a medical device. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You had me at "allows the procedure to be performed by less skilled personnel".

      Is that really considered a selling point of the gas-helmet? That your kids don't care if it's a dentist or a hobo cutting into their face?

    9. Re:It is a medical device. by GameboyRMH · · Score: 1

      I just got a good idea for making it more attractive to children (any ethics issues aside)

      Sell it with a handheld system running a fighter jet game, and make the helmet like a fighter helmet with a HUD and everything, and a functional gas mask. I'd have loved to play that and would have been too caught up in how awesome it is to be suspicious!

      Oh crap...I just designed the ultimate pedophile's weapon 8-(

      --
      "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
  20. Idle is there for a reason by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    How is this not in idle?

    Oh, wait, I spot a clue: Posted by samzenpus

    1. Re:Idle is there for a reason by eln · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I think samzenpus was hired to make kdawson look competent by comparison.

  21. Can it be used the other way round? by warlorddagaz · · Score: 1

    Could we use this to turn kids into superkids by sending them caffeine or something? We could turn the schools into kid army barracks!

    1. Re:Can it be used the other way round? by cashman73 · · Score: 1

      Are you on crack?!?! That's a horrible idea!

    2. Re:Can it be used the other way round? by fubar1971 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Can you smoke crack through it?

  22. Great by ausekilis · · Score: 1

    Start them young, I bet you'll have kids in the playground huddled around a couple of these helmets fighting each other for the next hit.

    Pedistate Helmet, the new gateway drug.

    1. Re:Great by Jeng · · Score: 1

      Oh get a clue. It won't replace whip cream inhalation. Kids can't go and purchase this helmet nor the drugs that it dispenses, but they can buy whip cream which uses nitrous oxide as its propellant.

      --
      Don't know something? Look it up. Still don't know? Then ask.
  23. I'm stumped by StefanJ · · Score: 1

    I was going to write something snarky, but I'm honestly stumped.

    I can't decide whether this is an innocuous gimmick or something subtly terrifying.

    OK. I have to try something; if you switched out the nitrous tank for something foul smelling and nausea inducing, you could use this rig for adversion training obsessive vidiot kids.

  24. Forget the safety of our kids by Digitus1337 · · Score: 1

    Where do I sign up for one of these things for around the house?

  25. Brave New World... by Akido37 · · Score: 2, Informative

    Didn't I read about this somewhere before?

  26. What the holy hell? by webdragon · · Score: 1

    Isn't it bad enough that our kids are being fed growth hormone laced meats and pesticide drenched veggies while being bombed out of their skulls on ADD medications cause some teacher decided to tell the parents cause little Timmy was all squirmy from having to sit on uncomfortable hard plastic chair in a crowded classroom? No someone says, lets get them addicted to whiffing nitrous now. Please someone sue these idiots into never wanting to touch another kid ever.

    1. Re:What the holy hell? by mr_mischief · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Lots of the ADD over-referrals are because little girls sit still more readily than little boys, and we have lots of female primary school teachers. "Boys will be boys" is replaced with "ADD is much more prevalent in males". The over-referrals be damned, though, the doctors shouldn't drug up every kid referred to them regardless of actual diagnostics.

  27. Hard Mode by njfuzzy · · Score: 5, Funny

    Finally, a way to add some challenge to older games!

    --
    My Photography - http://ian-x.com
    The Deathlings (comic) - http://thedeathlings.com
    1. Re:Hard Mode by DamienNightbane · · Score: 1

      You've obviously never played Battletoads.

    2. Re:Hard Mode by COMON$ · · Score: 1

      Awesome game, wow, havent thought about that baby in years...never did beat it.

      --
      CS: It is all sink or swim...oh and did I mention there are sharks in that water?
    3. Re:Hard Mode by twidarkling · · Score: 1

      You and every other being on the face of the planet.

      --
      Canada: The US's more awesome sibling.
    4. Re:Hard Mode by Nesman64 · · Score: 1

      How frustrating would it be to get worse and worse over a few minutes, and then never even get to finish the level before you pass out?

      --
      coffee | nose > keyboard
    5. Re:Hard Mode by COMON$ · · Score: 1

      As a gamer I loved and hated the game all at once, amazingly fun, amazingly frustrating. I don't even know how close to the end I was with the jet skiis.

      --
      CS: It is all sink or swim...oh and did I mention there are sharks in that water?
  28. It's not a joke... by Facegarden · · Score: 4, Insightful

    If you RTFA it's not a joke, but it's not meant for home use, it's for doctors to use in the doctor's office to put kids under with less anxiety.
    -Taylor

    --
    Worldwide Military budgets: $2100 billion. Worldwide Space Exploration budgets: $38 billion. Really, world? Really?
  29. Let me be the first to say. . . by JSBiff · · Score: 4, Funny

    Welcome to Slashdot, where the 'editors' routinely post multi-year-old 'news'.

    1. Re:Let me be the first to say. . . by FatAlb3rt · · Score: 2, Funny

      Your journal hasn't been updated for 7 months... just sayin'.

    2. Re:Let me be the first to say. . . by GameboyRMH · · Score: 1

      At least he didn't copy-and-paste an old journal entry to a new one...

      --
      "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
  30. Re:Getting addicted to nitrous oxide at a early ag by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    PROTIP: it's not addictive. (Nor is it even metabolised by the body.)

    Not much point to it on its own anyway, it only really becomes worthwhile in combination with acid / shrooms.

  31. Dental visit, hell! by TrebleJunkie · · Score: 1

    One of this would _vastly_ improve the workday!

    --

    Ed R.Zahurak

    You know, oblivion keeps looking better every day.

  32. RTFA by fubar1971 · · Score: 4, Informative

    RTFA!!!!!!!

    It is for medical use only. Evryone that is bitching about Parents not being parents, and ADD, smacking kids, etc. Please RTFA

    1. Re:RTFA by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It doesn't exactly help that TFS begins with "If your child won't sit still at the dentist, the doctor, or the kitchen table..." (Emphasis mine. Sure, it's a clever attempt at humor on the submitter's part, but when I see the area that normally contains the synopsis being written like a Fark headline (barring the Idle section), I can see how some people might take it at face value.

    2. Re:RTFA by stonewallred · · Score: 1

      How in the fuck is a call to RTFA modded informative? This is /., home of an almost infinite number of readers who never RTFA.

    3. Re:RTFA by T+Murphy · · Score: 1

      It's not their fault- they used the device before they had a chance to read anything.

    4. Re:RTFA by BitZtream · · Score: 1

      So its to help out doctors when parents won't smack their children and they can't without getting sued?

      Seriously, the problem still comes back to the parents smacking their damn kids when they won't listen to what they are told.

      You can read the article all you want, it won't change the fact that its a stupid fix to a stupid problem created by idiots who think they are smarter than everyone else. The entire rest of the animal kingdom 'smacks their kids' when they get out of line.

      Humans, thanks to 'doctors' think that we're different and special and don't work that way, and that we just need to fix the problem by 'being nice' and/or prescribing some drug.

      We aren't different. When children stop respecting their parents they need properly punished, which isn't 'be good or I'm going to make you wait an extra 10 minutes before you can send your next tweet!'. You don't punish them properly, the won't respect you. They don't respect you, they won't respect anyone until they are put into their place. Then they'll respect that asshole.

      If parents did their jobs, this device wouldn't exist. If doctors did their jobs and stop facilitating hippie parenting ideals, parents would be more likely to do theirs.

      RTFA all you want, its still comes down to parents not doing their job.

      --
      Persistent Volume manager for Kubernetes - https://github.com/dwimsey/openshift-pvmanager
    5. Re:RTFA by swilde23 · · Score: 1

      This isn't about punishment versus reward, it's about children being frightened at the doctor's office. The drug is going to be administered regardless of the method, this is just attempting to make that process a little easier for EVERYONE involved.

      But if smacking your kids gets them to sit still through a root canal, I suppose withholding sedative medication is ok.

      As for me and mine, we will be taking the sedation for the procedure... any way they offer.

      --
      There are 10 types of people in the world. Those that understand this sig, and those that beat up people who do.
    6. Re:RTFA by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      RTFA!!!!!!! Please RTFA

      Hi, you must be new here...

    7. Re:RTFA by ConceptJunkie · · Score: 1

      And why would a child be getting a root canal?!

      --
      You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike.
    8. Re:RTFA by swilde23 · · Score: 1

      Perhaps he was like my little brother and he had poor tooth enamel and every trip to the dentist resulted in several cavities. This wasn't a kid who ate an abnormal amount of candy, he just had problems with his teeth.

      --
      There are 10 types of people in the world. Those that understand this sig, and those that beat up people who do.
    9. Re:RTFA by swilde23 · · Score: 1

      I suppose you might be wondering why a root canal might be performed on a "baby tooth" when such teeth are temporary. I believe the answer you are looking for can be found with a simple google search for "pediatric root canal".

      I'm not a dentist so I can't say why for sure. But it seems that the reason has to do with even though the teeth are temporary they still serve several purposes. 1) They are place holders for the permanent teeth. Removing one before the adult tooth is developed can lead to movement and spacing problems. 2) Even though the teeth will fall out, they are still teeth. If the child is young enough (as my brother was), tearing out a molar at 4 years old is going to leave a gaping hole in his/her mouth for close to a decade. If the tooth is sick and needs to be repaired, you do what needs to be done.

      But as I said... I'm not a dentist

      --
      There are 10 types of people in the world. Those that understand this sig, and those that beat up people who do.
    10. Re:RTFA by ConceptJunkie · · Score: 1

      Actually one of my kids had baby teeth like chalk. The front four on top were seriously chipped and broken by time he was three, and we had to get them capped just so he could eat ice cream and also not look like a Klingon when he smiled (we still joke about that).

      Fortunately, his permanent teeth have been fine so far. He's 13 and hasn't had any problems since he lost his baby teeth.

      --
      You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike.
    11. Re:RTFA by swilde23 · · Score: 1

      That sounds similar to what happened with my brother. (mostly) Worthless kid teeth, normal adult teeth. He's in his 20's now and seems to do just fine.

      --
      There are 10 types of people in the world. Those that understand this sig, and those that beat up people who do.
  33. Snorkle attachment in mouth...at the dentist's? by TheCodeFoundry · · Score: 1

    Won't dental work be difficult with a snorkle attachment in the child's mouth?

    How exactly does that work?

    1. Re:Snorkle attachment in mouth...at the dentist's? by belmolis · · Score: 1

      You take the snorkel out and do the dental work once the kid is under.

    2. Re:Snorkle attachment in mouth...at the dentist's? by wjousts · · Score: 1

      Try RTFA. It doesn't go in the mouth.

    3. Re:Snorkle attachment in mouth...at the dentist's? by hesiod · · Score: 1

      Hammer and dentures. Done.

    4. Re:Snorkle attachment in mouth...at the dentist's? by v1 · · Score: 1

      Anesthetics like that are continuously applied in a small dosage, which is why they have the equipment monitoring the patient during anesthetic, to make sure they're delivering the right amount and to make adjustments to the flow in response to too much or too little response.

      So no, they can't remove the snorkel after the patient is out. Imagine waking up in the middle of having your appendix removed...

      Though this will likely be applied through a nasal tube.

      --
      I work for the Department of Redundancy Department.
  34. Re:Jesus Christ! by mr_mischief · · Score: 0, Troll

    Was it your kid that was putting his hands in the garbage can then playing with the drink lids at Roly Poly, then stepping on my suede shoes? DCFS would still be happy to find that kid a new home, I'm sure. Sure, you have to accept some acting up and rebelliousness, but you can't just let the kids do whatever they want without limits.

  35. Holy cow! by Quiet_Desperation · · Score: 1

    You know, I thought the kiddie ball and chain was the best (and funniest) child accessory ever, and would not be topped for quite a while.

    I stand corrected.

    Combine the lil' gas helmet with the lil' ball and chain, and hilarity ensues.

  36. Re:Getting addicted to nitrous oxide at a early ag by stephanruby · · Score: 1

    Forget the Nitrous Oxide, the real tragedy for the parents is if their kids ever get addicted to the denti$t.

  37. Re:Jesus Christ! by Quiet_Desperation · · Score: 1

    If you can't handle a child acting like a child, the answer is NOT to modify the child!!!

    Unless it's the "off switch for children" that Douglas Adams mentioned.

  38. I LOVE BRAIN SLUG by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    My Brain Slug is itching

  39. Re:Jesus Christ! by erroneus · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It's the TYPE of control I object to, not control. My sons, three of them, have all been exceptionally easy to manage without drugs or anything similar. I use spanking and similar old fashioned methods and always have. Frankly, when spanking properly, you don't have to spank so often and eventually not at all. But every time I see a parent attempt to "medicate" behavior I get angry because the potential damage is pretty obvious to me. Kids need to be TAUGHT not medicated.

  40. College Students will LOVE it! by StCredZero · · Score: 3, Funny

    Who needs an Adult version? After all, college students loved the Teletubbies. Any excuse for intoxication.

    1. Re:College Students will LOVE it! by WilyCoder · · Score: 1

      I've got a big head, man....

    2. Re:College Students will LOVE it! by FredFredrickson · · Score: 5, Funny

      holy crap! You hands are huge too! and why the hell is my tea kettle falling asleep? I'm not sitting on it.

      --
      Belief? Hope? Preference?The Existential Vortex
    3. Re:College Students will LOVE it! by Trikki+Nikki! · · Score: 1

      Yeah, well I've got two fingers! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txqiwrbYGrs

      --
      i r in ur /.s girling up ur storiez
  41. Do they still exist? by wjousts · · Score: 1, Redundant

    The website for the company looks old. All their press room links are from 2002. Did this product ever make it into production or was the idea abandoned?

    And yes, the headline is horribly misleading. This is a medical device for children undergoing surgery, not a home device for controlling your kids.

  42. Re:Jesus Christ! by R3d+M3rcury · · Score: 4, Funny

    Dr. Foster: Would you please tell your son to stop?
    Ned's Dad: We can't do it, man! That's discipline! That's like tellin' Gene Krupa not to go [starts banging on the desk] "boom boom bam bam bam, boom boom bam bam bam, boom boom boom bam ba ba ba ba, da boo boo tss!" We don't believe in rules, like, we gave them up when we started livin' like freaky beatniks!
    Dr. Foster: You don't believe in rules, yet you want to control Ned's anger.
    Ned's Mom: Yeah. You gotta help us, Doc. We've tried nothin' and we're all out of ideas.

    Simpsons, "Hurricane Neddy"

  43. Re:Jesus Christ! by erroneus · · Score: 1

    See my other comment. My objection is not to discipline. My objection is to medicating. That's what this thing is supposed to do. Make them high!

  44. Re:Jesus Christ! by COMON$ · · Score: 1

    Having ADD myself, there is a big difference between a rambunctious kid and one with ADD. Let me explain it to you in a simple way, imagine everyone you know speaking at a quarter the speed they do and see how much of what they say you absorb...some kids need it until they can learn to cope with it themselves. I still am dependent on caffine to help and never had ridalin but my life would have been much much better if I would have been able to control things earlier...

    --
    CS: It is all sink or swim...oh and did I mention there are sharks in that water?
  45. so when can I get one? by mackil · · Score: 1

    So when can I get one for my 2 year old?? Please hurry...

  46. Re:Jesus Christ! by hesiod · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Kids need to be TAUGHT not medicated.

    Wow, you teach your kids to sit still while their teeth are being drilled without any anesthetic? You must, since these are medical devices, and not for parental use. That's pretty hard-core, dude.

  47. stupid! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    how hard is it to put a damn mask on the kid and knock him out?!
    SHEESH

  48. Re:Getting addicted to nitrous oxide at a early ag by Foolicious · · Score: 1

    Anyone else curious why this is flamebait?

    --
    Please don't use "umm" or "err" or "erm".
  49. Kidstoned Chewable Valium by guruevi · · Score: 1

    I would still rather go with this:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8fbHpttc5A

    It's easier to do than a big helmet.

    --
    Custom electronics and digital signage for your business: www.evcircuits.com
  50. Re:Jesus Christ! by erroneus · · Score: 1

    You are missing what the article is keying in on. For one, it is talking about waiting rooms and even places like the kitchen/dinner table. We are talking about "fidgety kids" and the proposed solution as sedation. I can't agree with sedation as the cure for being fidgety. Self-discipline is the cure for such behavior and it can be taught with patience and focus. These same kids can spend hours in front of a TV or a game so the problem is not likely to be the inability to focus or remain calm, but rather the unwillingness. THAT cannot be medicated. Willingness to learn or adapt must be taught in some way.

    My older brother was medicated because he was diagnosed as "hyper-active." Out of 5 boys born to my mother from the same father, he was the only one to later develop a serious weight problem and the only one who, to this day, maintains fidgety habits. Is he merely an anomaly or is he the product of the the "medical solution"? We tend to believe the latter is the most likely cause.

  51. Re:Getting addicted to nitrous oxide at a early ag by BlitzTech · · Score: 3, Informative

    Nitrous oxide is non-addictive. In many people, it gives an enhanced sense of euphoria, though a majority of that feeling comes from near-asphyxiation. It's a bit more potent than Dust-Off, but otherwise gives similar results.

  52. Potential for abuse by EvilIntelligence · · Score: 1

    The potential for abuse of this thing is off the charts. I mean, its even named: PedoHelmet. Problem comes with a complimentary teddy bear.

  53. WTF by OrangeMonkey11 · · Score: 1

    Why not just give them a balloon and a box of whippits it does the same thing.

  54. Re:Spanking by danknight · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Um,,Just in case you are uninformed, Spanking is no longer politically correct. This is 21st century liberal America, in this country we either DRUG our children or negotiate with them. Please get with the program. PS, the DSS Situation response team is on the way to your home to repossess your kids. Have a nice day :)

    --
    wanted: one clever sig,apply within
  55. Re:Getting addicted to nitrous oxide at a early ag by twidarkling · · Score: 1

    It can still become a psychological addition, and those are often as or more powerful than a physical addition, in difficulty to break.

    --
    Canada: The US's more awesome sibling.
  56. Re:Jesus Christ! by erroneus · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Most diagnoses of ADD and ADHD are pure bullshit. Unquestionably everyone is different and perhaps there are rare instances where medication are actually required to get people within the broad window we call "normal." But as an example, of all the morbidly obese people in the world and especially in the U.S., only a tiny fraction of a single percent of those people have actual "medical" conditions as the root cause. The rest all brought it on to themselves in some way... or their parents did it to them if it was a condition since childhood.

    We live in a society that seeks to medicate everything under the sun. We can't medicate knowledge, wisdom or understanding. We can't medicate anyone to better understand what appropriate behavior is. These are the things that developing children will be missing out on when their behavior is altered medically. Furthermore, it will tend to make drug addicts of them and others when they learn that the solution to all of their problems is found in chemicals.

    To give you some idea of how strange and alien the "fix it with a pill" approach is to me, consider how weird you might think it is to stick a bunch of needles in your body to fix everything from cuts and scrapes to cancer. (I speak of acupuncture in case you didn't get it.) And the people who believe in acupuncture are believers every bit as strong as you are in your ADD/ADHD diagnosis.

    There ARE people who have true ADD and ADHD. But the number of true cases are similar, to those who have true medical causes for morbid obesity. The rest are all diagnoses given to parents who lack the patience to teach their "difficult children." And frankly, the odds are quite likely that these "difficult children" are the results of being born to parents who are "difficult people" themselves. How many ridiculously nervous, anxious, paranoid or aggressive adults do you know? And of those with children, how difficult are those children to deal with? What about children whose parents are absent or otherwise uninvolved?

    I am very involved with my sons and I have a very "easy" personality. My sons are also very easy... especially when they are around me -- I seem to be a very calming influence on them. A huge portion of a child's behavior is learned. And while it can be altered medically, there are undoubtedly better ways that result in increased knowledge, wisdom and understanding in the children. So yes, you feel restless or that you want to stand up, escape, run out of the room, throw a random object... learn not to do it. Stop taking pills.

  57. Malignant Hyperthermia by VE3MTM · · Score: 1

    And if the child has an undiagnosed case of malignant hyperthermia? "Lesser-trained" medical professionals should not be messing around with volatile anaesthetics.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malignant_hyperthermia

    --
    09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0 Whoops, silly middle mouse button...
    1. Re:Malignant Hyperthermia by geekoid · · Score: 1

      And "lesser trained" professional shouldn't be using a scalpel.

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    2. Re:Malignant Hyperthermia by profplump · · Score: 1

      First, the drugs in question are already in use, and this device doesn't do much to change that.

      Second, malignant hyperthermia is not immediately life threatening -- in general there would be plenty of time to call the paramedics and get the appropriate treatment at a hospital.

  58. Two things: by twidarkling · · Score: 1

    1. I really can't see having to wear that being much more comforting than just having a parent in to reassure the kid. Make it so they don't need to go in alone. Whether this is just for medical facilities to use or not, it doesn't strike me as a wonderful idea.

    2. In the picture, is that a boy or a girl, or some mix? Because gyuh.

    --
    Canada: The US's more awesome sibling.
  59. Re:Getting addicted to nitrous oxide at a early ag by profplump · · Score: 1

    In that case the dental work could become a psychological addiction too. And an addiction to dental work is probably more dangerous than an addiction to nitrous.

  60. Love that stuff by bagawk · · Score: 0

    Hell... why all the fancy games and shit. Just give me the N2O please! And LOTS of it! Thank god for whipits...

  61. PedoDate by Murpster · · Score: 1

    At long last, I no longer have to tell kids that the roofies are magical Tic-Tacs. Thank you, science!

  62. David after dentist by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Obligatory youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txqiwrbYGrs

  63. Re:Jesus Christ! by erroneus · · Score: 1

    And one more thing. A perfect example for today.

    I really want to go see the new Terminator movie with my two older boys today. The problem is that my wife has to work this evening and my third son is less than three years old. I can count the number of parents and people I know on more than two hands and two feet that would simply give the baby some "cough medicine" so that they can go see the movie. Not this parent. Tonight, I stay home... I doubt I can find a suitable babysitter and I sure as hell am not going to inconvenience the world with the potentially fidgety crying behavior of a two-year old. There is a certain amount of this behavior you can expect from a child of that age. You have to make allowances. But by the time he is 4 or 5 or 6, I expect the same results I had with my first two -- I will be able to take him anywhere and people will comment endlessly about "what a good boy he is!" It's not an accident. My handling and management of children is very deliberate. I had good parents and I took a class or two in addition.

    Today, I deliberately decline my personal enjoyment and interests in favor of the public at large. This is something most parents are unwilling to do and it's a damned shame that they would rather medicate their kids than change their own personal lives. "What? You mean to say that becoming a parent means I have to compromise my own interests?!" The answer is "no... not if you are more interested in yourself than your kids! And the answer is yes if you care more about their development and training than your own personal time and interests."

    And I really wanted to see that Terminator movie today too...

  64. Re:Getting addicted to nitrous oxide at a early ag by twidarkling · · Score: 1

    Yeah, but I imagine it'd be cheaper and less difficult to get Nitrous, since no dentist is going to let a young kid book their own appointment (probably no one under 18, even).

    --
    Canada: The US's more awesome sibling.
  65. Kids today... medicate them all... by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

    When I was growing up in the 1970's, I was declared "mentally retarded" and tossed into the special ed classes. Never mind that I could blow out their tests in ways that normal students couldn't touch, wanted to learn more than what the teachers weren't teaching, and had way fewer behavioral problems than the other kids. Troubled kids back then were treated like idiots rather than medicated to no return.

  66. Discipline? What's that? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ..cause after all, NO parent should ever have to teach their kids that life can be unpleasant sometimes, and that they need to DISCIPLINE themselves in those cases and get through them with some dignity and grace!

  67. Happy Happy! Joy Joy! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The little critters of nature, they don't know that they're ugly!

  68. samzenpus by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Who in the fuck is samzenpus and why does he post on Slashdot?

  69. The title is a joke by misexistentialist · · Score: 1

    "Device Lets Your Kids Play While They Are Sedated"

  70. Re:Getting addicted to nitrous oxide at a early ag by Nick+Ives · · Score: 1

    You're wrong. I cant be bothered to provide any support for my assertion but then neither could you.

    --
    Nick
  71. Erm by OwlofDoom · · Score: 1

    Would you trust a product from a company who name one of their pages "Backgound.html" and even label it "BACKGOUND" on the main navigation bar?

    1. Re:Erm by Sir_Lewk · · Score: 1

      Uhhm, maybe I'm being dense but what exactly is the problem with their product's webpage having a section explaining its background?

      --
      "linux is just DOS with a UNIX like syntax" -- Galactic Dominator (944134)
    2. Re:Erm by OwlofDoom · · Score: 1

      It's my understanding that the word 'background' normally contains the letter R.

  72. Re:Jesus Christ! by pwfffff · · Score: 1

    Wow, not only did you not RTFA, you managed to also not read the asstons of comments on here proving you an idiot. And, on top of that, you told someone ELSE to RTFA!

    Take a chill pill, man. Or a chill helmet. Whatever.

  73. This is progress? by The+MAZZTer · · Score: 1

    I remember once I had surgery as a kid over 15 years ago. They gave me a small cup with something to drink (some kind of anesthetic I guess) and then sat me down at an NES with Zelda. I was out in a few minutes.

    This sounds like a step BACK from that.

  74. Anonymous Coward by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I have an 18th month old daughter that's had multiple surgeries and procedures. She starts freaking out the minute we set foot in a hospital. Even with a dose of versed she struggle's mightily when they sedate her. She's too young for this, but anything they could come up with that would distract or otherwise reduce the trauma for her I'd be in favor of. This doesn't seem like such a ridiculous idea to me.

  75. Hmmm... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    How did this escape from Idle?

  76. This reminds me of by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8fbHpttc5A

  77. Tetris by theeddie55 · · Score: 1

    Gotta get me one of these, it would add a whole new challenge to playing tetris.

  78. Re:Getting addicted to nitrous oxide at a early ag by Pentagram · · Score: 1

    In many people, it gives an enhanced sense of euphoria, though a majority of that feeling comes from near-asphyxiation.

    This isn't really correct. N20 has euphoric and hallucinogenic properties in itself. People generally get a euphoric feeling whilst breathing it in combination with oxygen.

    If your statement was true, people would get a similar effect breathing nitrogen or helium.

  79. The perfect excuse. by Hurricane78 · · Score: 1

    Because of course it is completely unthinkable, that we just might be completely incompetent crappy idiot parents. Right?

    I wonder when those things will become government-mandated in schools.
    I wonder when the first rise in child abuse will start, because of this.
    I wonder when children will grow up, being used to that thing, and just thing it's ok to wear it all the time.
    I wonder when those things will become government-mandated for everyone not working for the inner party.

    Remember: If it is possible to use something for something evil, it will be used for that. ^^

    --
    Any sufficiently advanced intelligence is indistinguishable from stupidity.
  80. Re:Jesus Christ! by erroneus · · Score: 1

    Read it. Read the comments. It is a mistake to induce behavior in a child chemically when it should be taught and learned. It is really as simple as that.

    If a child is afraid, teach him to face fear and manage it. If a child can't sit still, find a way to make it happen. But there is no mistaking that you also fall for the notion that people should take a pill in order to relax. True peace comes from within. It always has and always will. Learn to have your own peace within you and eventually learn to teach it to others. Things work better. It's amazing though. I know I am definitely in the minority camp on this. I don't think it's good to place the responsibility for how you feel or think or act on other people or other things. But we see it everywhere we look. Every time you think a video game shouldn't be banned because of another "think of the children" law, you are on my side of the camp. But when it comes to being in control of yourself, you jump to the other side of the camp.

    You can take the chill pills. I don't need them and my sons don't need them. Barely if ever sick a day in our lives speaks very well of my methods and philosophies. Strong mind, strong body. Don't need anything else.

  81. Bah! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If I could get my kid to wear the frickin' helmet, I wouldn't need to sedate him!

  82. Re:Getting addicted to nitrous oxide at a early ag by uniquename72 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Yes, this is why dentists generally give you acid / shrooms before sedating you with nitrous.

  83. Re:Jesus Christ! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You sir, are an idiot. My village is currently short an idiot, the last one was left out in the rain and managed to drown himself.

    Looking for a job?

  84. hmm... by ystar · · Score: 1

    Now you too can raise your own little reaver!

  85. Umm... Why? by Moraelin · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Look, I'm not going to get into the whole debate about punishments. But this isn't even for when the kid did something wrong. It's a kid with a medical problem, which makes a lot of adults anxious too, in an unfamiliar place, etc. It's a kid which is ill, maybe in pain, and scared.

    So your solution is obviously to smack him upside the head... Just because in your day they didn't have ways to make an already shitty situation less traumatizing. Better make sure your kid is properly traumatized by the experience too.

    Right...

    Geeze. This must be a new low even by the standards of Slashdot trolling.

    --
    A polar bear is a cartesian bear after a coordinate transform.
    1. Re:Umm... Why? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      thats the way all of us were raised - smack em until they SHUT UP, etc.

  86. Re:Jesus Christ! by PitaBred · · Score: 1

    I wish more parents were like you... good parenting takes work. Too many of our generations parents have forgotten that, and their kids are repeating it.

  87. Except that's not what TFA is about by Moraelin · · Score: 1

    If you bothered to RTFA, you'd find that it's not for when the kid did anything wrong. It's to get a kid sedated when he's got a medical problem, might even be in pain, and he's likely scared too.

    Now I can imagine alternative ways to calm a scared kid down, but advocating smacking an already scared and sick kid... strikes me as the most idiotic thing I've read on Slashdot in ages.

    --
    A polar bear is a cartesian bear after a coordinate transform.
  88. Re:Getting addicted to nitrous oxide at a early ag by khellendros1984 · · Score: 1

    I think AC meant from a recreational point of view. Given a large enough dose, it'll knock you out either way, of course.

    --
    It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue.
  89. Re:Jesus Christ! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Yes, I'm sure if you smack a Downs syndrome child hard enough, you'll smack the downs right out of them.
    Just because some parents use medication when it's not appropriate doesn't mean that there isn't a child anywhere that genuinely has a condition that needs to be medicated. Furthermore, this kind of attitude, that any kid taking medicine is just a hypochondriac is detrimental to the kids that do have real problems that really do need to be medicated, and already probably feel bad about being different without being told that there's really nothing wrong with them, they're just lazy and have bad parents. If your kids are all fine, great, good for you, but a sample size of 3 is statistically meaningless.
    And of course I shouldn't need to repeat what has already been mentioned numerous times, that if you RTFA it is clear that this specific device is not meant for home use.

  90. Re:Getting addicted to nitrous oxide at a early ag by BlitzTech · · Score: 1

    They do give a similar effect. Helium is different because it is much lighter than the other components of air, so any oxygen in your lungs, trachea, and mouth sinks into your lungs and dulls the 'asphyxiation' effect. Also note majority - N2O does, in fact, have some euphoric properties, but only a little more than asphyxiation.

    I can't speak to the hallucinogenic properties. I've never heard mention of it, but it wouldn't surprise me.

  91. Re:Getting addicted to nitrous oxide at a early ag by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Nitrous oxide is addictive. In humans, it elicits a feeling of euphoria, though a majority of that feeling comes from the yet well-understood properties of anesthesia in general, but it has been observed to be an NMDA receptor antagonist, as are most anesthetics in use by physicians today.

    Chill on the original thought produced by propaganda-induced association with inhalants. Just because you inhale something doesn't mean all it does is displace oxygen.

    http://www.jneurosci.org/cgi/content/abstract/18/23/9716
    http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/nitrous/nitrous.shtml

    That's not to say that it can't kill you by displacing necessary respiratory gases, but that's not what you were insinuating.

  92. Re:Jesus Christ! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    People with attitudes like this are what make people with genuine medical conditions feel too ashamed to properly treat their problems. How many people have genuine depression or ADD or any sort of a mood or behaviour altering condition but refuse to treat themselves properly because of the social stigma people like you attach to them?
    If you aren't a doctor, if you haven't read all of the studies in the field, then do everyone else a favor and don't spread your misinformed opinions based on a sample of 3 children and a broken analogy (Real doctors don't use acupuncture. Real doctors DO diagnose people with ADD). The history of mental health is absolutely full of diseases everyone recognizes today which were in the past thought of as just laziness or stupidity, and laymen who thought the proper treatment was to just suck it up. So let's stop complaining so much about people being medicated who don't have problems, and have some compassion for people who genuinely do.

  93. Re:Getting addicted to nitrous oxide at a early ag by Pentagram · · Score: 1

    And I'm disputing "majority". I guess it would be possible to get more of a buzz from oxygen deprivation if (ab)used in that way (prolonged breathing of N2O exclusively, which would be pretty stupid), but that is certainly not the case in "normal" recreational usage. I have used nitrous several times without getting anywhere near "asphyxiation" and got a fairly strong euphoric effect.

  94. Re:Jesus Christ! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Are you seriously patting yourself on the back for not knocking your kid out with cough syrup? If that's the sort of thing you think is praiseworthy, maybe you aren't really in a position to be saying what does and doesn't make for good parenting- most of the world kind of thinks "Don't slip your kids a roofie" goes without saying. As for people saying what a good boy your kid is, why are you taking that as a genuine compliment? People always say that around other peoples' kids. Just like saying "What a beautiful baby" about a newborn or "Who's a good dog?" to a dog.
    If kids really take after their parents, I'd worry less about your kids being "easy" like you, and more about being sanctimonious know-it-alls like you.

  95. It's the solution by mizzouxc · · Score: 0

    To dealing with people at work!!!

  96. All this bitching by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    and nobody bothered to point out how hilarious that picture is?

    Shit looks like a retard helmet.

  97. Baby Cage by Weezul · · Score: 1

    I prefered babycage.net myself, but this seems more believable than their teenager cage, so i'll give this hoax 1 thumb up. wait what? ohhh

    --
    The Christian religion has been and still is the principal enemy of moral progress in the world. -- Bertrand Russell
  98. Music? by adavies42 · · Score: 1

    I suggest Pink Floyd. "I have become comfortably numb...."

    --
    Media that can be recorded and distributed can be recorded and distributed.
    -kfg
  99. Re:Getting addicted to nitrous oxide at a early ag by fractoid · · Score: 1

    Which dentist is this again? :D

    --
    Rampant carbon sequestration destroyed the Dinosaurs' tropical paradise. I'm here to help repair the damage.
  100. Re:Getting addicted to nitrous oxide at a early ag by fractoid · · Score: 1

    Anyone else curious why this is flamebait?

    A lot of addictive things need to be burned. :)

    --
    Rampant carbon sequestration destroyed the Dinosaurs' tropical paradise. I'm here to help repair the damage.
  101. Amazon needs to carry this. by roc97007 · · Score: 1

    It'd be their best seller.

    --
    Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
  102. Re:Getting addicted to nitrous oxide at a early ag by fractoid · · Score: 1

    Just because you inhale something doesn't mean all it does is displace oxygen.

    Wait wait wait, who said anything about inhaling? Nitrous oxide goes in the cylinders, the smile comes from the whooshing sound that the world makes as it goes by!

    --
    Rampant carbon sequestration destroyed the Dinosaurs' tropical paradise. I'm here to help repair the damage.
  103. Re:Jesus Christ! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    They have a snorkel in their mouth don't they? How do the dentists expect to get at the teeth?

  104. Does it come in adult version? by Reservoir+Penguin · · Score: 1

    I grew up in the soviet union at the time when dental equipment could only be compared to Gestapo torture tools (no anesthesia, very low rpm) . Even now the childhood trauma makes me so nervous that it takes twice the normal dose to make the sensations acceptable, even though I rationally know that there is nothing to be afraid of anymore.

    --
    US-UK-Israel: The real Axis of Evil
  105. The people that designed this... by rnturn · · Score: 1

    ...should be prohibited, surgically, if necessary, from breeding.

    --
    CUR ALLOC 20195.....5804M
  106. visit to the dentist office by cstacy · · Score: 1

    "Lisa, so you won't be scared, I'll show you some of the tools I'll be using. This is the scraper, this is the poker, and this happy little fellow is called the gouger. Now the first thing I'll be doing is chiseling some teeth out of your jawbone. Now hold still while I gas you."

  107. I was thinking ... by nitroyogi · · Score: 1

    What if they serve Red Bull instead of Nitrous Oxide out of it to the kid?

    It'll be interesting to see how this wud dramatically improve the hospital/dental experience for the child, parents and healthcare providers.

  108. What is the Pediasedate supposed to do again? by Slugster · · Score: 1

    In the demonstration video, the examples they show of kids crying while getting wounds treated are awake--but the kids are only awake because they were given local anesthesia, and not a general to put them under.

    With the Pedisedate helmet, the kids just "fall asleep and wake up with no memory of the ordeal",,,,, but if the whole point of using only a local anesthetic was to avoid using a general anesthetic (which is a factor particularly in certain types of head injuries) then the Pedisedate helmet is no help at all.

    Additionally, the video does not demonstrate that the Pedisedate has any advantage over just applying general anesthesia the normal way (which in itself involves painlessly breathing through a normal respirator, and that only takes maybe all of 30 seconds to take effect)
    ~

    1. Re:What is the Pediasedate supposed to do again? by MLease · · Score: 1

      Sedation is a little different from anesthesia. I was sedated several years ago when I had an endoscopy to check for celiac disease (which turned out positive). To this day, there is a complete blank spot in my mind from the time I lay down on the examining table to the time I found myself talking to my wife in the recovery room. I remember being in mid-sentence when I snapped out of it, and couldn't remember what I had started to say. According to the doctor and her, I was conscious and responsive the whole time, but I have absolutely no recollection of anything that went on during the procedure. I gather I could feel pain/discomfort, but I don't remember any of it.

      -Mike

      --
      I'm sorry; I don't know what I was thinking!
  109. Oh please... by frenchbedroom · · Score: 1

    Effing hell people, if a child won't sit still, drag him/her to judo/dance classes or something (not necessarily respectively).

  110. Finally, A reason to have kids! by freaker_TuC · · Score: 1

    Do they get born with this kit standard included?

    Does it has batteries included?

    Are the supplies easy to buy, because we don't want to get out of sedation when play^H^H^H^Hworking!

    --
    --- I am known for the ones who want to find me on the net. Is that a privacy risk or a privilege? One might wonder..
  111. This would have sold well a few years ago by anonymous+cowshed · · Score: 1

    Neverland would have ordered several of these.

  112. I Wanna Be Sedated! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Includes the hit single by The Ramones, "I Wanna Be Sedated"

  113. Re:Getting addicted to nitrous oxide at a early ag by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Try it after smoking a little weed. Even a tiny amount of NO2 (IE: the same amount when not stoned has no effect whatsoever) will have a very dramatic effect, lasting no more than 60 seconds.

  114. Don't Lie by ilo.v · · Score: 2, Insightful

    ... it still felt like a betrayal of trust to have been lied to like that

    Absolutely. One of the most common complaints of chronically ill children is that they are lied to. Paraphrasing one 7 year old boy with cancer: "When they say that this won't hurt a bit, what they usually mean is that it will only hurt for a moment. Why can't they just say that instead?" As soon as they catch you lying, they will never trust your reassurances about anything else. A woman could come to the hospital room for 30 minutes to help fill out insurance paperwork, but the kid is going to be afraid the whole time because he doesn't believe you when you tell him that the visitor isn't doing to do anything painful to him.

  115. Que Family Guy references by 192939495969798999 · · Score: 1

    So it'll be what, the next 8 episodes of Family Guy where the creepy old guy has one of these?

    --
    stuff |
  116. Re:Jesus Christ! by hesiod · · Score: 1

    ven places like the kitchen/dinner table. We are talking about "fidgety kids" and the proposed solution as sedation.

    I may see where some confusion is coming from: the /. editors (of course). The Slashdot summary suggested that, but neither "the kitchen/dinner table" nor "fidgety kids" is referred-do in the "article" (more of an advertisement, but whatever). As I said before, this is a medical device. Even if it could be purchased by individuals ( which is doubtful), those individuals do not generally have access to the anesthetic gases necessary to use it, so it WOULD NOT be used in a home. This is NOT used for knocking out your kid to get some peace and quiet.

    The point is not even that the device knocks kids out: that was already happening for what this is used, like for dentistry anesthetic, which is necessary and has been used already for a long time. The actual difference here is the Gameboy/music distraction while the gas -- that would have been administered anyway -- is being released. Even better, the included PulseOx and other incorporated devices are a good idea, because if they were used at all previously, they were a bit bulky and scary-looking compared to this.

    This is ("was": it's actually an old device) a step forward in incorporating multiple existing devices in such a way as to be less intimidating to kids, basically by adding headphones. Even the best, most well-behaved kids in the world can become nervous when a doctor is trying to wrap an anesthetic mask to the kid's head, with all those tubes and stuff.

    Just to ensure clarity: no children are being knocked out or otherwise sedated, unless they were already going to be drugged by a professional anesthetist for the purpose of surgery.

  117. Science and Medicine by Little+Brother · · Score: 1

    Hmm, either you made an absolutely wonderful analogy, or you just proved you don't understand two different areas of medical science.

    Acupuncture has been shown to effective for the treatment of pain. It would be effective in mitigating the pain associated with everything from cancer to cuts and scrapes. It would not, however, treat the root causes. If you were using acupuncture as an example of "junk" medicine that really doesn't work, you fail. On the other hand, if you were using it as an example of something that seems like it would be counterproductive, but actually works for treatment of some conditions, you've hit a home run.

    Almost all ADHD drugs are stimulant medication. If you give them to someone who doesn't have ADD/ADHD you will see an increase in hyperactivity, decrease in attention control and a the subject might get a mild sence of euphoria (but only if to much was given).

    But in an ADHD patient, the stimulant medication have a CALMING effect. This is strikingly counterintuitive, yet is real double-blind tested science. (Acupuncture, by its nature cannot be tested with a double blind test, so the evidence for its effectiveness might be slightly less conclusive.)

    However, from your last paragraph, I'm guessing you understand NEITHER aspects of medical science. Sadly, not understanding something does not make it any less true. You were blessed with sons with "easy" personalities. Congratulations, your sons probably do not have ADD. This is not a result of your parenting methods, it is a result of your genetics. Some people have ADD, for some of these children medication is required so that they CAN learn not to "stand up, escape, run out of the room, [or] throw a random object."

    Asking people with diagnosed medical conditions to stop taking their medication, or worse, asking people who's CHILDREN have diagnosed medical conditions to stop treatment because you do not understand the mechanism of the condition or treatment is irresponsible. When penicillin was first discovered, there was a small amount of backlash against it. People claimed that the old folk treatments were more effective, and that the penicillin craze was caused by manufacturers wanting to make more money off an injection. Indeed, the very notion of an injection was, at one time, considered barbarous. Yet again and again controlled, scientific studies show the same results: acupuncture is effective in the mitigation of pain, Ritalin is effective in the treatment of ADD and ADHD, antibiotics are effective in the treatment of bacterial infections. Refusing your child any of the three of these, if he or she has been properly diagnosed with a condition for which they are the most appropriate treatment, should be considered child abuse. Giving any of these to your child if he or she does not have the condition for which they are appropriate treatment is likewise abusive.

    --

    Little Brother, watching the watchers

    1. Re:Science and Medicine by COMON$ · · Score: 1

      YES, I learned that with the use of stimulants like coffee (sugar free of course). I would be able to study longer, but I would get sleepy. However, if I am going to a conference where a lot is going on all at once, I am better suited to understand my surroudings if I avoid the stimulants. I am really really good in a case where I am helping a friend of mine out, 60 girls with pink tu-tus running around getting photographs I am able to listen to the photographer, the organizer, the studio owner all at the same time as entering in data for each girl running around. This is because of my ADD not in spite of it. ADD is a very useful ability when you get a hold of it. Problem is, we work so differently from the average person that in the majority situation we are considered rambunctious, random, and disorderly. The opposite is true, we are just bored by the current way things are done, understimulated, under stressed.

      --
      CS: It is all sink or swim...oh and did I mention there are sharks in that water?
  118. Re:Jesus Christ! by COMON$ · · Score: 1
    Yes the overmedication of america is a problem. I am married to a soon to be pharmacist with an intense background in biology. A bigger problem is the over use of antibiotics and spineless doctors.

    I also was a camp counselor in another life and saw firsthand healthy energetic kids get slapped upside the head with their daily dose of ridalin.

    However, the cases of autism related disorders and ADD/ADHD are rising due to unknown causes. Teachers, god bless em for trying, cannot teach 10 different methods at a time so it is better in a proper case to treat a student until they can cope and get an education.

    just because your kids are well behaved doesn't mean that it is because teaching, more of that is because of genetics, friends, and parenting, in that order.

    And yes I am a fan of eastern medicine. But I like the combination of the two as I cannot make a trip to an acupuncturist every time I get a back ache.

    People are different, some people need to balance chemicals, some like me have to work on changing our attitude and gain a LOT of patience because the rest of you are so uninteresting and slow.

    --
    CS: It is all sink or swim...oh and did I mention there are sharks in that water?
  119. Re:Jesus Christ! by erroneus · · Score: 1

    Okay, I'll also admit that from the ages of 0 to about 5 I also allowed only the most pure and organic foods. Baby food was all made at home and so on and so forth. I know it sounds like a lot of work, but frankly, if I had to deal with some of the psycho-out-of-control kids I see, I am not sure what I would do. Consequently, I do all I can to avoid it. Healthy as possible, tough as possible, smart as possible. And I don't mean we're into all that vegetarian crap either. I have a very "country" outlook on life that is very close to nature.

  120. Not available for the general public... YET by vaporland · · Score: 1

    Sure, you can't buy it today, but how long until these are advertised like Viagra?

    "PediSedate Helmet is not for everyone. If you suffer from repressed rage, post-natal depression, single-motherhood or pedophilia, ask your doctor if PediSedate Helmet is right for your family. Check your mail for a 20% off coupon for refill cannisters of nitrous oxide. PediSedate Helmet: quiet at last, quiet that lasts..."

    --
    Ask Me About... The 80's!
  121. Re:Jesus Christ! by COMON$ · · Score: 1

    very country look on life eh, you must be one of them there city folk. Country born and bred here, roll in the dirt, practically get killed growing up with the stuff we pulled. Home cooked meals, never ate out, hell we had one Mcdonalds in town but we never ate there. Worked on a farm all through high school and middle school. Hell my elementary school was an old district building, 12 kids in my class and we were one of the big ones, my teacher for 3,4,5th grade had been teaching since she was 15, she was 80 or so when I was taught. I have less sick leave used, more problem solving skills, and a better outlook on life than most of my generation I am around ;) But still have ADD ;)

    --
    CS: It is all sink or swim...oh and did I mention there are sharks in that water?
  122. Re:Jesus Christ! by COMON$ · · Score: 1

    Oh and I wouldn't give up my ADD for just about anything. It is a gift not a disability. Kind of like being called an outcast for having a higher IQ or being tall, or anything else that makes you different in a way people can't understand.

    --
    CS: It is all sink or swim...oh and did I mention there are sharks in that water?
  123. This is a benefit of this contraption by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "...allows the procedure to be performed by less skilled personnel..."

  124. Vicious cycle... by GameboyRMH · · Score: 1

    10 The kid trusts you less because you've been dishonest
    20 You need to be dishonest to the kid because he doesn't trust you.
    30 If trust < smallvalue then useknockouthelmet=1
    40 GOTO 10
    Disclaimer: IANAP

    --
    "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
    1. Re:Vicious cycle... by IllForgetMyNickSoonA · · Score: 1

      Hehe, sounds not bad at all, on the first glance.

      However, if you take that route, you'll never establish a good relationship with your kid. This would be something like just giving up and saying "ok, I'm a failure, I'm a worthless little maggot, and I don't even care, it's fine with me if my kid grows up to become a criminal, I'm too lazy to even try to bring him up as I should". I suppose this is a perspective one probably can't realize without being a parent, it really changes the views about many things. :-)

    2. Re:Vicious cycle... by GameboyRMH · · Score: 1

      I'm confused, are you saying that being honest with your kid is a bad thing? The idea behind my post was to stay out of the vicious cycle by being honest.

      --
      "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
    3. Re:Vicious cycle... by IllForgetMyNickSoonA · · Score: 1

      Ooops - missunderstanding. I thought you wanted to say "well, if your kid already doesn't trust you anyway, just take the bloody helmet and knock it out", as if it were a viable option.

      Sorry, my mistake.

  125. My Definition of ADD by GameboyRMH · · Score: 1

    A mental disorder characterized by difficulty in paying attention to, and maintaining focus on boring things.

    --
    "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
  126. Nitrous at 12 by GWBasic · · Score: 1

    I got my first dose of Nitrous when I was 12, and I am literally hooked for life! As soon as it hit, I remember thinking, "damn, I need to get some of this stuff for when I'm not at the dentist!" Of course this comment is a bit tongue-in-cheek; but seriously, I don't like the idea of giving kids nitrous unless it's to cut some serious pain. The stuff is just too fun!