Dr Kings Office

by Gertrude Carter, MSW and Jeffrey Winseman, MD, Bennington College

Foreword

Treating the emotional problems of children with medications is increasing as a principal component of contemporary mental health care. That is the reason we included "An Introduction to Pediatric Psychopharmacology" by Sandra DeJong, MD, in this web site section.

By Dina Rabadi, Project Assistant, Center for Middle Eastern Studies, University of Chicago
October 2003

Foreword

We work hard to raise our children to be happy and to develop good self-esteem. But they and we have another mission as well. To quote a Rabbinic scholar, “If I am only for myself, what am I?” Dina Rabadi’s article, from the September 10, 2003 op-ed section of the Boston Globe, seems, to me, to quietly illustrate that ethical teaching.

This is a remarkable web site. And very much needed. I hope all pediatricians are aware of it. Let me tell you why I found it so important.

Some days I struggle more than others looking for the skills to raise them because I didn’t have good models as a child. I’m an adult child of an alcoholic. My father has been twenty years sober. He is also bipolar. I’m not sure I was ever a “child.” I always seemed to be an adult.

About 10 years ago my husband and I switched health care plans, which necessitated a switch in pediatricians. Our son was about 9 at the time and our daughter, 5. A colleague referred me to Dr. King.

I'd never met any doctor like him. Our previous pediatrician offered good care but was all business. If you'd call the office, you'd get an answering machine; if you had an appointment, the wait could be an hour. Bedside manner in the office could be questionable; once, when my infant son was being immunized, the nurse practitioner screamed at me because I got teary-eyed when he started crying. "Stop it Mommy," she said, accusingly. "Would you rather he got sick?"

by Howard S. King with Jan Hindman, MS, LPC

Preventing the sexual abuse of children is both easy and yet complicated.

It is complicated in that how parents convey sexual information to their children reflects, among other things, parental and cultural attitudes, the life experience of parents, and the kind of information they are sharing.

On the other hand, there is a wonderful and direct way to begin the process of sharing. That way is as simple as a book that parents and children can read together. The name of this book is