Child Safety

Angelo Giardino is the medical director of Texas Children's Health Plan, a clinical associate professor of pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine, and an attending physician for the Texas Children's Hospital's forensic pediatrics service at the Children's Assessment Center in Houston, Texas. Dr. Giardino completed his residency and fellowship training in pediatrics at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Immediately after his fellowship training, Dr. Giardino became the assistant, and then the associate, medical director at Health Partners of Philadelphia, where he had primary responsibility for utilization management, intensive case management, and health care data analysis. He also shared responsibility for the plan's quality improvement program. Additionally, Dr. Giardino began the Child Abuse and Neglect Team for Children with Special Health Care Needs, which was funded by a three-year grant from a local philanthropist. In 1998, he was appointed associate chair of clinical operations in the Department of Pediatrics at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), and in June of 1999, he was asked to chair the CHOP Quality Committee. These accomplishments are only a few of his career.

Child Safety is a well-written, readable guide for parents and caretakers, educators, and health care professionals, providing an outstanding overview of timely, important, complex problems that confront us, and our children. It reminds us that our children are challenged everyday and must meet critical decisions related to substance use, sexuality, violence, and development of their self-image, among others, head-on. The authors offer practical, usable advice and educational information, including tips on how to respond and guide children through these turbulent issues.

Michael L. Haney, PhD, NCC, CCISM, LMHC
Division Director for Prevention and Intervention
Children’s Medical Services
Florida Department of Health

This book is an excellent resource for anyone concerned with keeping children physically and psychologically safe and free from harm in an ever more complex world.

Chapters related to the Internet and threats of terrorism give valuable and up-to-date information about the risks of living in today’s highly complex world. The checklists offer easy-to-follow tips for parents and caregivers, allowing for the most difficult subject matter to be dealt with in an effective and informed manner.

Nancy Chandler
Executive Director
National Children’s Alliance

As the types and scope of influences on our children continue to mushroom at warp speed, parents and those who advise them are rightly feeling overwhelmed and uncertain about how and when they should intervene, draw the line, or pull the plug. Dr. Giardino and his associates provide a solid book, grounded in the most current research and understanding of these complex issues. The text educates us about the issues but, more importantly, provides concrete advice about what really matters. From child abuse to interpersonal violence to substance abuse and the Internet, this is a powerful tool for everyone involved with raising children in a world where young people are bombarded with media, hype, and marketing from the moment they can sit up and watch television.

Sherryll Krazier, PhD
Founder of the Safe Child Program & author of
The Safe Child Book and
Bully Proof Your Child

With an emphasis on current research findings, this book provides great insight into some of the pressures and challenges facing today’s youth, including bullying, drugs, sexual activity, media violence, and parental divorce. Peppered with case examples from the authors’ clinical work, this resource will help parents, educators, and clinicians develop a clearer understanding of the impact of these and other risk factors on children’s mental health. Having a heightened awareness of these issues will also enhance readers’ personal and professional relationships with children and adolescents.

Catherine Bradshaw, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Mental Health
Associate Director, Johns Hopkins Center for the Prevention of Youth Violence
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

This book is a common sense, easy-to-understand, but thorough, approach to child safety. As a former medical consultant to a day care center, I know there are many health-related issues that face those who provide day-to-day care and education to children. Having a reliable source to clarify the issues surrounding common health concerns will not only decrease anxiety and worry, but also help utilize the health care system more effectively. Of note is the book’s coverage not only of traditional topics such as poisonings, tobacco use, and sexual activity, but also of very modern concerns such as tattoos, terrorism, and the risks of Internet use. The authors are to be commended for their approach to these new morbidities.

Dipesh Navsaria, MPH, MS (LIS), MD
Pediatric Resident Physician & Occasional Children’s Librarian
University of Wisconsin
Hospitals & Clinics