Taming Tiny Tigers

School violence increase. Who is to blame?

2009-10-08T08:29:00.002-04:00

The strange thing about human rage is that if untamed at an early age
it grows out of hand as a child grows older. The parent has the primary task of doing this task. If the parent themselves are dysfunctional then often no efforts or the wrong methods are used in
helping children manage their emotions. To add to the complexity of the situation some children may have innate deficits that makes it harder for them to regulate rage. These children need even more guidance than others. The bottom line is that, it is our responsibility as parents to shape our child's future because in the end the parents who perform the greatest feats will have a child who will have a chance of survival and a better quality of life. This attitude will help break the cycle of
violence.

Bernie Madoff: The accoutability factor and the lack there of.

2009-07-10T13:38:00.003-04:00

One must wonder why a person like Bernie Madoff would do what he did. In the end he can give a million reasons and there will be no justice in this lifetime. Was he a man with no fear of authority, cocky and entitled to the point of delusion or simply unable to see that he can be held accountable for his actions. The answer may never be known. People who do not think themselves to be accountable for their actions run the risk of doing major harm to others. I think such accountability is either cultivated from a young age or innate to many.

My message is that we have to teach our children that they are accountable for their actions. They have to be accountable to themselves, higher authority and larger forces be it nature or God. If they are not then we risk the formation of another monster with a "Bernie Madoff" complex. The worst of its kind.

Transformers 2: Not so child friendly

2009-07-01T15:43:00.002-04:00

This past weekend I took my 7 year old like many other parents to watch transformers 2 given that he enjoys watching the animated series on TV and plays with the action figures like many of the boys his age. I had seen the first one and had felt it was more child friendly than this one. I was surprised to see there were more sexual under tones and curse words. Given that the market for transformer toys is mainly for 5 to 8 year old children, it is disappointing that the movie is more like a PG 13 movie. There were so many young children in the theater I wonder what those parents thought. I do feel when toys are marketed to a particular age group one can expect that they would be the ones wanting to watch the movie. I would caution parents taking 5 to 10 year olds to this movie. As an adult it was a good action packed movie. I only wish that they could have skipped some unnecessary scenes so that the younger children could enjoy it to the fullest and not have parents wondering how inappropriate some of the scenes were.

Swine Flu Panic: Should I or should I not

2009-04-30T18:38:00.007-04:00

Fear is like a double edged sword. A little bit is a good motivator and keeps us in check. Too much of it and it will incapacitate you. Is the current near pandemic a situation we need to panic about? Lets take a closer look.

The influenza virus is an old scrooge. The H1N1 virus has been there for many years and is present in birds, pigs and humans. Over the years it has mutated causing new pandemics and deaths.
The vulnerable population is often the young, old and the immuno-compromised. This has always been the case and is the same for all "viral flu's."
The current Swine flu has mutated and has been lethal only in Mexico. Probably because it was most virulent then and has changed since.
All the cases in the USA have been mild and like any other flu except for one death in a young child which can happen with any strain of influenza.
This can spread like any other influenza via people to people transmission, like sneezing, touching a contaminated surface then one's nose and mouth which is no different form how the common cold spreads.

Now, does it mean we have to shut down every school in the state, like Texas or cocoon oneself at home. I don't think so. Simple measures of washing hands for at least 15 seconds with a mild detergent and avoiding public places where many potential sick people are (like a hospital) is appropriate.

If you do get this flu or any other, then the treatment is only symptomatic, ie, for the high fever, chills, and headache. Keeping hydrated is very important. If you have a coexisting condition like Asthma you might need additional care.

Seek emergency medical care only if you:

Have difficulty breathing or chest pain.
Are vomiting and unable to keep liquids down.

Therefore, do we stop life as usual and obsess over "the flu" by listening to everything the media has to say? Definitely not. Just take basic precautions and if you are healthy then nature will take it's course. There is no need to have the "Swine Panic" as there will always be a different H1N1 virus around the corner. We have to mentally get used to it and not make emotionally irrational decisions but logical steps to maintain a good health.

So take a few deep breaths and hope that you did not inhale anything you should have not. Just remember most often it is the bodies reaction to the bug that can be variable in different people and not necessarily the bug itself.

What happened to the White Plains mom Madlyn Primoff?

2009-04-23T18:54:00.007-04:00

Yes kids can be frustrating, yes you feel like pulling your hair out, yes it's alright to teach them a message. But at what expense? Maybe if she had kicked them out and waited for them to stop and not drive away, would that have been better? It is more likely that she had no tolerance for the childrens bickering and lost her emotional cool thereby leading to a poor decision herself. The reason is very simple,Emotional decision's are never rational. Her own Emotional division decided to show them who was the boss and who was in charge. She needed to carry out her verbal threat to show that she means what she says even if it was a poor choice. Her own emotional division "believed" she had do to it in order to not loose credibility within the family hierarchy.

Did she go too far? What about the psychological consequences for the kids?

If you have lost common sense then maybe Universal Sense will help.

The idea for a book

2007-11-17T16:53:00.003-05:00

One day, a few weeks after 9/11 as I sat reading a posting on CNN about all the people who lost their lives in that terrible tragedy, I began to wonder if there was a larger meaning to their lives and what would happen to their souls. All in a sudden a story flashed in my mind that I quickly wrote on a piece of paper. I knew then I needed to write a story that was larger than life, that would communicate the essence that there is a bigger purpose and meaning to our passage on this planet.

I knew that in order to capture and convey such a message the book needed to be captivating, interesting and thrilling. I realized a good story based on the work I do would be a good place to begin.

I am a child and adolescent psychiatrist working in NY with very young children who have very difficult life circmstances. I had just started a new job in August 2001 and was fresh out of fellowship. I had worked with children with numerous psycho-social issues during my fellowship and had many "life stories" to tell.

It was that moment when I decided I could write a book that would capture all these thoughts and that was how "A Circle of Souls" was born.

Visit www.acircleofsouls.com