Talk:Christopher Green (paediatrician)

Christopher Green (paediatrician)

Christopher Green OAM (paediatrician - author)

Conflict of interest I am Christopher Green's older brother (Michael Green, Emeritus Professor, Biomedical Sciences, University of Brighton). However, as a co-author of over 100 peer-reviewed scientific papers, I am aware of the importance of accuracy and attribution.

The stub on Christopher Green contains at least one mistake and I can provide additional information to extend the article and describe two key aspects of his work.

I hope it is acceptable for his brother to provide correct information on his personal details (D.O.B., parents, education etc.). I am not qualified to comment on the more controversial aspects of his work, but fortunately there appear to be balanced Wikipedia articles on the subjects. The descriptions of his work given here can largely be found in his books Toddler Taming and Understanding ADHD My reference (1) contains an inaccuracy, his nationality is Australian/British, not Irish. Stub reference (2) no longer exists This is an attempt at a complete rewrite, rather than an edit.

• What I think should be changed:

Dr Christopher Green OAM (born 23 February 1943) is an Australian/British paediatrician and author. He is best known as a children’s doctor, a television presenter, and the author of a number of childcare books, in particular his first “Toddler Taming” which sold over 1 million copies. Contents • Early life and education • The interest in child behaviour • Day to day work at the hospital • Attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) • Controlled crying • Stroke • Personal life • Honours • Books Early life and education Arthur Christopher Haughton Green was born on 23rd February 1943 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. His parents were Ronald Frank Green CB, a civil servant, and Margaret Mitchell Green (nee McBride). He attended Campbell College, Belfast. Despite significant dyslexia, he graduated in Medicine from the Queens University Belfast in 1968 (1). He started to train as a specialist paediatrician in Belfast and later worked in Canada, Malawi, and Australia. In 1976 he was appointed as Consultant in the Royal Belfast Children’s Hospital and Clinical lecturer in the Queens University Belfast. In 1979 he emigrated from Ireland to become the Head of the Child Development Unit in the Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children in Sydney, Australia (which later became The Children's Hospital, Westmead, Sydney). The interest in child behaviour When Dr Green finished his training to be a specialist paediatrician, he wanted to work with life-threatening conditions. He had no understanding of, or interest in, behavioural problems. Then he was asked to advise on a toddler who was having major tantrums. He had no idea what would work and when he asked his psychiatrist colleague and medical friends he received little advice. The experts were interested in serious psychiatric events but had little understanding of common worries. What was worse was the implicit view that bad behaviour was the result of bad parenting (mostly bad mothers). (2) There seemed to be a need that was not being met and thus he stumbled into what was to be his future work, finding practical solutions to children’s unacceptable behaviours. Parent groups started to ask him to talk about solutions to common problems (behaviour, sleep, feeding, toileting). As his reputation grew he spoke to larger groups and began to make regular radio appearances. One morning he was heard on the radio by an exhausted father suffering from chronic sleepless nights thanks to his toddler. The father was a publisher and next morning he was at Dr Green’s clinic door. Thus, his first book, "Toddler Taming" (2) was written. Day to day work at the hospital Dr Green was known for presenting on TV, lecturing, and writing in the media but his main day to day work was in the Child Development Unit. The unit sorted out complex blends of development and behaviour. He worked with children on the edge of autism (now termed Asperger's syndrome), children with ADHD (3,4), specific learning problems, and any of the more difficult young children’s behaviours, but also with common behaviours of the toddler. Attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (4) Forty five years ago hyperactivity was said to be a problem caused by diet or bad parenting. Dr Green was early to see that the “hyper” activity was not the main problem. It was difficulties with control and focus of attention that were the main factors in the resultant behaviour problems and school failure. He saw a strong genetic influence rather than blaming parents. In forty years of work, names have changed from “hyperactivity” to “attention deficit disorder“(ADD) and now to “Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder” (ADHD). He promoted the use of medication eg. Ritalin. This brought him into conflict with the more conservative psychiatrists in the UK and Australia at that time, though he always advocated combining medication with pragmatic observation . ("In our practice we work in a much simpler way, we listen to parents"(3). "Every parent forgets to give medication from time to time and these lapses provide on-going feedback as to the need for stimulants. If there is little change when a drug is missed, it is time to stop." (3))

Later, a more eclectic view of psychiatry and psychology has been reached by understanding brain chemicals, temperament and genes which has made the use of medication easier to accept.

Controlled crying (5) In the 1970s, when Dr Green became more interested in young children's common behaviour problems, he began to refine a technique to deal with toddler's sleep problems. At that time the main alternatives were (a) to always respond and accept total disruption, (b) to simply leave the child to cry or (c) to use sedation. "Controlled crying" was developed as a middle way, to achieve the benefits of better sleep by gentle progression, while avoiding the stress to the child of apparent abandonment. He first described it briefly in 1980 (6) and in detail in Toddler Taming in 1984 (2). In the technique, the child cries it is comforted, but comforting is minimised, and the length of time taken by the parent to respond is gradually lengthened. Dr Richard Ferber in 1985 (5,7) has successfully developed a similar approach. It is likely that earlier forms of controlled crying have been used by parents for many years. Versions of controlled crying are now widely recommended, often with alternative names. Nevertheless, it still provokes passionate debate. Stroke In May 1999 Dr Green had surgery for a heart condition. The surgery was a success but a day later he suffered complications leading to a stroke and virtually total aphasia, forcing him to retire in 2000. He remains an Honorary Paediatric Consultant at the Children's Hospital. With time and hard work, he regained most of his language and was able to write again. He is a patron of the Australian Aphasia Association and has spoken on recovering his language (8). Personal Life Dr Green was married to Dr Hilary (Boal) Green in March 1973. Hilary died in December 2004. He has two sons, one son died 2021. He married Judith Halliday 2007. His interests include sailing, woodworking, enjoying the Australian outdoors, and volunteering with the Sydney Heritage Fleet. Honours OAM (Medal of the Order of Australia) Books - Toddler Taming – The guide to your child from one to four. 1984, 1987, 1990, 1996, 2001, 2006, Toddler Taming Tips 2003 - Babies – The parent’s guide to surviving (and enjoying) baby’s first year, 1988, 1996, 2001, 2010. - (With Dr Kit Chee) Understanding ADD 1994, Understanding ADHD 1997, 2001, The Pocket Guide to Understanding ADHD, 2004 - Beyond Toddlerdom 2000, Beyond Toddlerdom Tips 2004. References (1) https://prabook.com/web/arthur_christopher_haughton.green/3406804 (2) Dr Christopher Green. Toddler Taming – The guide to your child from one to four (1984). Doubleday, Australia. (3) Dr Christopher Green and Dr Kit Chee, Understanding ADD (1994) Doubleday, Australia. p 106, 111. (4) Wikipedia: Attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (5) Wikipedia: Ferber method (6) Green C. A practical approach to the common behaviour and management problems of the toddler. The Journal of Maternal and Child Health. (1980), 5(2) 64-71. (Barker Publications, Richmond, Surrey). (7) Richard Ferber. Solve your child's sleep problems (1985). Simon and Schuster. (8) Green C. and Waks L. A second chance: Recovering language with aphasia. International Journal of Speech and Language Pathology. (2008), 10(3):127-131.

• Why it should be changed:

(a) to give more biographical information (b) to give a flavour of two key aspects of his work Christopher Green was awarded to Order of Australia medal in 2004

• References supporting the possible change (format using the "cite" button):

https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/1056236 Westwinds3 (talk) 10:21, 9 September 2023 (UTC)

Reply 10-SEP-2023

  Edit request implemented    Spintendo  22:12, 10 September 2023 (UTC)