"Parents begin to buy into the difficult child syndrome," he said.

Then there's the "too precious child" syndrome, which can result when parents have waited a long time to have a child.

Abandoned child syndrome is a behavioral or psychological condition that results from the loss of one or both parents.

Medical terms like "battered child syndrome" are created; ramifications for the legal system are endless.

Doctors speculated that she suffered from what they called "shaken child syndrome."

It appears from the literature that the battered child syndrome was first tentatively identified and reported to the medical profession in the early 1950s.

Uncertainty that the diagnosis of "battered child syndrome" is correct or appropriate in individual cases.

There is something psychologists call "the vulnerable child" syndrome; parents overreact and become too protective of children who were at high risk early.

"We saw a slew of cases last year in which the battered child syndrome was missed completely," he said.

I would advise parents to avoid the "not my child" syndrome.