title: Addressing behavior problems among school-aged children: traditional and controversial approaches.
abstract: Managing children's behaviors is primarily the responsibility of parents, but pediatricians can help parents be more effective managers, especially when the child involved is presenting a particular challenge. Such help can range from providing reading material and brief counseling to referring the family to mental health clinicians. First, the pediatrician must be able to identify and judge the severity of the problems to refer appropriately. Behavioral interventions, commonly based on the principles of behavior modification with an emphasis on improving the positive and reinforcing aspects of parent-child relationships, can be effective. In addition, pediatricians need to be aware of unconventional therapies in the categories of dietary and exercise interventions. They need to know what motivates parents to seek such therapies, how to judge the efficacy of these approaches, and how to help parents become better-informed consumers.
authors.affiliation: Division of Child Development, Vanderbilt University, TN, USA.
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Wolraich
mesh_terms: D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000628:therapy; D001521:Behavior Therapy; D002648:Child; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D004035:Diet Therapy; D004358:Drug Therapy; D005081:Exercise Therapy; D006801:Humans