Q. Our four-year old daughter often writes words backwards—writing from right to left instead of left to right. Do you think this is because she is left handed, or should I be concerned about dyslexia?

A. Your four-year old daughter is doing what many four year olds do––writing backwards from right to left. Developmentally, until age six or seven, children are unable to visually discriminate sufficiently to distinguish between “d” and “b,” to write in the correct direction or to properly order the letters of a word. At this point I think it is great that your child is able to write and recognize letters. It is not time to worry about either dyslexia or a problem produced by left handedness.

Q. When is it considered inappropriate to have a six-year-old female sleeping in the same bed as her father or entering the bed briefly in the morning hours?

A. It is not recommended that children of any age sleep in a bed with their parents. Young infants should always sleep in their own cribs. Although many parents are more comfortable having the child sleep in their room, the infant should never be placed in the parent’s bed. As children grow beyond infancy, it is recommended that, whenever possible, they sleep in their own rooms and always in their own beds. However, it is not unusual for children as old as 5 and 6 to jump into the parent’s bed in the morning, or when anxious, sick or frightened.

Q. How much sleep does a teen need? Our fourteen-year-old son falls asleep around 11 p.m. and has to get up at 6 a.m. to catch the 6:30 a.m. bus. He frequently seems tired.

A. The two times during childhood when sleep is most needed are when a child is very young and during adolescence. A teenager may need as much as ten to twelve hours of sleep nightly, particularly during his or her growth spurt. Because of early morning school starts and late night homework, this group of folks rarely gets appropriate sleep during the week. Consequently, “catch up” sleep is necessary on the weekends.