Some children are constantly restless, incapable of paying attention and controlling their impulses, intolerant of rules and having to wait, and continuously elude adults' control. When they witness such behaviour, parents and teachers often react with impatience and place the blame on the children or themselves. The cause of such behaviour, however, is not an inadequate upbringing, nor do scolding and punishment represent a solution. These children suffer from "attention deficit hyperactivity disorder", a recently diagnosed condition among youngsters. The volume - which devotes much space to parents and teachers, key figures for any successful therapy - describes the clinical features of the disorder, and discusses which therapies and treatments can give parents and their children a more peaceful existence.

Gian Marco Marzocchi is a researcher in the Psychology Department of the University of Milan-Bicocca.