Your Child in the Balance: Solving the Psychiatric Medicine Dilemma

Book excerpt: A thorough and balanced resource for parents facing decisions about their children. This book deftly navigates the thorny subject of whether and when to give prescription psychiatric medication to children and adolescents. A perfect overview for parents looking for an accessible guide, this book takes readers through the basics of diagnosis and treatment in children and adolescents. Your Child in the Balance is chock full of a wide variety of clinical scenarios, each demonstrating the challenges faced by parents and professionals who are considering the use of medication. The book teaches the reader how to analyze the risks and benefits that characterize all medicines and that underlie the decision to medicate. The principles discussed in Your Child in the Balance will resonate with parents and professionals whether they are considering Ritalin and Adderall or Prozac and Zoloft. The use of antipsychotics, like Abilify and Risperdal, and even holistic sleep medicines, like melatonin, are put into an even-handed perspective, as is the question of whether psychiatric medicines are over or under prescribed to children. Your Child in the Balance culminates with an extended story of parents who struggle with whether to medicate their daughter, Rosie. Every parent will identify with the emotions experienced by Rosie’s parents as they wrestle with this important decision. The book concludes with a guide to help all parents navigate this vexing, but crucial, choice.