Mary wrote:

I have a daughter with the opposite problems. She has anxiety,
depression, and tends to withdraw in situations she is uncomfortable
in. I always give other parents a heads up to her behavior, but not
specifics on the diagnosis or medications.

The one thing I am not comfortable with sharing is the fact that my
daughter takes medications. When my daughter recently went on an
overnighter, we did not send her medications, (for ADD and depression).

I have two kids who take medication for various reasons. In our case, I
figure the need to maintain the medication trumps any concern over what
people might think. And I figure problems are less likely to arise
during the visit if the child is taking the medications as usual --
changing the routine is much more likely to bring unexpected effects.

I send the pills in small ziploc bags with a note on each -- "bedtime"
or "breakfast" or whatever. My older son can take them on his own; for
the younger son, I ask the host parent to remind him. If I can give
anything a little early (e.g. before dropoff) I do, though that's not
possible when it's a full-day outing followed by an overnight.

In my experience, it seems more kids we're in contact with are taking
medications than not, and I think most of the kids who have slept over
here have had pills of some sort, or asthma inhalers.

I also figure that it's no one's business what the medication is for.
If anyone asks, my kids are instructed to say "for my allergies," which
is partly true.

I've also found that if I treat the meds like they're no big deal,
other parents whose kids have similar problems are more at ease sending
medications with their kids who stay with us. It's also nice when
another mom realizes her kid isn't the only one taking pills, and that
she can talk with me freely about it I have the same situation and will
understand.

--Robin