Growing up doesn't just mean overnight camp, keyboarding skills, taking off the training wheels, or putting on a training bra. That's the easy part.Getting from kindergarten to puberty means acquiring the ability to see someone else's point of view - even when you'd rather not. It means leaving behind silliness for jokes, and jokes for wit and humor. It means growing from wanting to be Good in the eyes of parents, to wanting to be Right in the eyes of others, to wanting to be Just in your own eyes. Most of all, it means developing self-awareness and an inner life.Parents need to do as much growing as Kids do during these years. This can be tricky, because Kids have a habit of entering a new stage without announcing that they're about to do so. Keeping a step ahead - or even just a half-step behind - can be a challenge. But it's well worth it, because these years set the stage for how Kids and parents will get along during adolescence. No wonder parents often wish someone would point the way.The Portable Pediatrician's Guide to Kids does just that. Each chapter, covering a specific period (Five and Six, Seven and Eight, and Nine to Twelve), looks at how Kids change during that time - in how they relate to parents, think about themselves, decide moral issues, and succumb to (or resist) the temptations particular to that age. Each chapter also covers school, sports and exercise, growth, nutrition, health, illness, behavior problems, and dealing with life stresses. Most of all, each chapter clues parents in on their own changing roles. Read Less