Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Ages 6 to 12
What is attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder?ADHD (commonly known as ADD) is a behavioral disorder. Basically, children who have it find it difficult to concentrate, or are excessively active, or both. The American Psychiatric Association calls th…
Learn MoreAttention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Ages 12 to 16
What is attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder?ADHD (commonly known as ADD) is a behavioral disorder. Basically, kids who have it have difficulty concentrating and are extremely restless, or both. The American Psychiatric Association calls the disti…
Learn MoreThe Alcohol Talk: What to Say if Your Teen Is Already Drinking
If you’re talking to your kid about the important issues in life, the subject of alcohol is bound to come up. In some ways, the “alcohol talk” is a lot like the “sex talk”: Ideally, you’ll have the discussion long before your child really needs it. Le…
Learn MoreHigh School Students and Drinking
When it comes to teen drinking, parents would be wise not to look the other way. The consequences — from drunk driving accidents to date rape and violent crime — make it clear that teen drinking is much more than just harmless youthful experimentati…
Learn MoreWhining, Ages 6 to 12
How can I get my child to stop whining?A school-age child who whines can be a serious nuisance and may earn a reputation as a complainer at school. Ending the habit isn’t easy. Find the patience and resolution to help your child by reminding yourself …
Learn MoreWhining, Ages 1 to 3
How can I get my child to stop whining?That depends on why he’s whining. If he’s hungry, tired, or bored, give him what he needs: a snack, a nap, a suggestion of something to do, or maybe just a hug. Then you can figure out how to curb his fussy behav…
Learn MoreHarry Potter and Divorce Among the Muggles
We were listening to a tape of the most recent Harry Potter volume, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, on the way back from the beach, my three children and I. It was late, and everyone was sunburned and sandy, stunned into peaceful silence. T…
Learn MoreNight Terrors
If you’ve ever seen a young child in the grip of a night terror, you’ll never forget it. He’ll wail in panic, scream, and thrash about like a small animal. His eyes are wide open but he doesn’t recognize or even see you. A child with a night terror is…
Learn MoreHeadaches in Children
Most people think of headaches as an adult problem, but kids can get them too. Often, childhood headaches are just temporary symptoms of a cold, flu, or an an infection of the sinuses, eyes, or ears. But like adults, some children can get tension head…
Learn MoreCollege Drinking
An 18-year-old college freshman at Rider University in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, went into cardiac arrest after a night of heavy drinking at a campus fraternity. Thirty hours later, he was dead. An 18-year-old freshman with a blood alcohol content of…
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