Is It "Just a Phase"?

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

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.