Disease, normality or “children on demand”; reflecting in Paidopsychiatry

This paper describes some of the complexities associated to the current approach to diagnosing and treating mental disturbances in children. Most of the diagnoses are articulated in DSM categories that are insufficient. DSM´s categories capture heterogeneous overlaps. Because symptoms and impairments are expressed along a continua, there are no bright lines between healthy children and impaired ones. The goals of medicine, parental and social values and improving the best treatment for these patients are also discussed.