Is it "Just a Phase"? » (REPRINT)

Dr. Susan Anderson Swedo is a pediatrician, a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the head of behavioral pediatrics at the National Institute of  Mental Health (NIMH). She lives near Washington, D.C., with her husband and three daughters.

Dr. Henrietta L. Leonard is a child and adolescent psychiatrist in practice at Rhode Island Hospital and the training director of the child psychiatry program at Brown University School of Medicine.  She lives in Providence, Rhode Island, with her husband and two sons.

When to get help for toddlers to teens and what to do about: thumb-sucking, bed-wetting, separation problems, shyness, hyperactivity, nighttime fears, ADHD, school avoidance, misbehavior, eating problems and much more.

Is It "Just a Phase"? uniquely combines the advice of an expert pediatrician and an expert child and adolescent psychiatrist on the challenges a child faces from toddlerhood through adolescence.  Drawing on real-life examples, Doctors Swedo and Leonard give concrete guidelines for determining when a behavior is a common developmental phase and when it is a more serious problem.  With the latest medical research on issues that concern every parent, Is It "Just a Phase"? includes information on:  

Excessive activity and ADHD
  Picky eating, anorexia, and bulimia Thumb sucking, other habits, and tic disorders Shyness and social phobia Excessive moodiness, depression, and bipolar disorder Childhood fears and separation anxiety disorder

Publishers Weekly

Parents concerned by the behavior of an overactive, shy or disobedient child, or troubled by their child's bedwetting or eating problems, can find reassuring, practical advice in this accessible handbook. Swedo, head of behavioral pediatrics at the National Institutes of Mental Health, and Leonard, a child psychiatrist and professor at Brown University School of Medicine, combine their expertise to aid parents in helping their toddler or teen through difficult stages in development. Each chapter in Part 1 includes brief stories that illustrate particular behaviors, such as eating problems, thumb-sucking or moodiness, in both a normal child and a problem child. The stories are followed by suggestions on what parents can do to help, and what help they can expect from teachers and doctors. Part 2 focuses on those problem behaviors that are not merely passing phases but symptoms of psychiatric disorders requiring therapeutic intervention. Such conditions as anxiety disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder are explained in clear language. Brief sets of questions assist parents in deciding whether their child fits the description or may have some related condition; the authors then discuss therapy options and offer a resource list of professional organizations. (Oct.)