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When I was first contacted by Psychology Today to develop a blog for its online rendition, my first response was, "What's a blog?" As a member of the sixty-something generation, I read hardbound printed books, get my news from a paper, pay my bills by writing checks each month, and communicate with friends by telephone.
(I also am ashamed to admit that I still pay a monthly fee to AOL.com because I can't figure out how to terminate the monthly draw on my credit card without losing my screen name.) But to be fair, I had seen the movie "Julie and Julia," so I did know what a blog was; I just had no idea how to set one up. It turns out those were barriers that the techies at the journal were able to resolve quite easily. So now I have a blog.
Next question was, "What do I write about?" My interest over many years of practicing medicine and conducting research in various areas of child development has been the age-old question of how nature and nurture affect our lives. Most of my research articles and the majority of my books have explored biological and environmental influences on the developing fetal and infant brain. Maternal use of alcohol or drugs during pregnancy, a child's suffering early trauma such as abuse and neglect, or relatively commonplace events such as divorce in the family or death of a loved one can place the child at risk for developmental, learning, behavioral, and mental health difficulties; factors in the family and community environment can ameliorate that vulnerability or make things worse. Two key questions then emerge: How do we recognize and manage risk? and How do we build resiliency in our children by promoting healthy and strong family relationships?
About the title. Aristotle was the most prescient of philosophers when it came to understanding children's development as it is affected by both the mother's habits and lifestyle while pregnant and by family relationships after the child is born. Recognizing that "(parents) bring forth children like unto themselves," Aristotle was eloquent in defining risk factors for children . Viewed through the prism of modern science, some of his ideas seem quite antiquated, and many are horribly politically incorrect, but the essential nature of the parent/child relationship stands at the center of his observations on risk and resiliency.
As we set out together, we will examine the concept of risk from a perspective of biological vulnerability and explore how physical or emotional environmental stress can prey on that vulnerability to shape the child's future. We will look beyond the labels of risk to a path for intervention and treatment. Ultimately, I hope to facilitate a dialogue among parents who care for high-risk children, professionals from a variety of disciplines who provide assessment and treatment services, and policy makers whose decisions affect the ultimate trajectory of the children's lives. We will create a consensus that labels of risk do not necessarily predict potential; risk is not destiny.
Moving forward, I hope you'll respond and give me your feedback.
