Dr. Lee Salk; Child Psychologist, Author

NEW YORK - Lee Salk, a renowned child psychologist, author of eight books on family relationships, and brother of polio vaccine inventor Jonas Salk, has died of a heart attack. He was 65.

Dr. Salk died Saturday night at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Hospital, where he was undergoing treatment for cancer, his son Eric said yesterday.

Dr. Salk was a frequent television guest on shows such as "Today," "Good Morning, America," and "Nightline.' For 20 years, he wrote a monthly column for McCall's magazine called "You and Your Family."

"He was an advocate for the child," his son said. "All he wanted to do was teach parents how to be better parents. That was his thing.

"He told parents to pick up your baby when he cries, that it's hard to spoil a newborn baby, that parents should tell their children the truth. The reason he was so successful in getting messages across was because he used common sense."

Dr. Salk also was a pioneer in the research of heartbeat sounds in infants, sudden infant death syndrome and the effects of early experience on later behavior.

Salk, who was born in New York City, the son of an immigrant tailor, was a professor at Cornell University Medical Center and an adjunct professor at Brown University.

Dr. Salk's books are "How To Raise A Human Being," "What Every Child Would Like His Parents To Know," "Preparing For Parenthood," "What Every Child Would Like Parents To Know About Divorce," "Dear Dr. Salk," "Ask Dr. Salk," and "My Father, My Son: Intimate Relationships."

Another book, "Familyhood, Nurturing the Values That Matter," is to be published in August by Simon & Schuster.