We need to teach our children not to hurt other children. Hitting, slapping, pinching, scratching, shoving, knocking down, hair pulling and biting are all unacceptable behaviors. Clarify for your child, “We don’t hit. We don’t hurt people. Disagreements are settled by talking, not hitting.” If children do fight, respond swiftly: • First, intervene at the […]
Children of all ages and most adults have some food dislikes. If this is the case in your home consider the following: • First, most complaints are about vegetables such as spinach or broccoli. Vegetables are over rated. There are no essential foods, just essential food groups. Since fruits and vegetables are in the same
More than 30% of toddlers are still sucking their thumbs. Fortunately, thumb sucking is harmless until your child’s permanent teeth have erupted about age of six. Your main response to thumbsucking in the meantime should be to ignore it, especially when your child is tired. If it occurs when your child is bored, try to
Some children drop whatever they’re doing as soon as their parent picks up the telephone. Avoid part of this problem by making most of your calls during naptime or after bedtime. However, that won’t help you with incoming calls. Try this approach. • First, have a rule,”Don’t interrupt me while I’m on the telephone” and
Blessed is the child who has a loving grandparent. Don’t begrudge the fact that they’ve learned a lot since having you. Include them in your family life. Here are some ideas: • First, everyone needs extra help during those first weeks at home with a new baby, and the best person to call upon is
Your response to biting should leave no question but that you mean business. Make the rule absolutely clear, “Don’t bite. It hurts. We don’t bite people.” • First, give your child verbal disapproval in a sharp voice. Say, “No biting.” It’s fine to startle your child for this type of behavior. • Second, put him
A spoiled child makes unfair demands on others, does not respond to “no,” and constantly wants an adult to entertain him. The spoiled child gets his way with whining and tantrums. Spoiled aren’t happy, because they don’t get along with age mates or grown ups. They also tend to be poorly motivated to work hard.
“Time-out” is the best discipline available for the irrational behaviors of young children. It’s especially helpful for behaviors that can’t be ignored, such as harmful or disruptive behaviors. “Time-out” means isolating your child in a boring place for a few minutes. “Time-out” has the advantage of providing a cooling off period for both you and
Breath holding spells occur in some children who are able to hold their breath long enough to actually pass out. Only five per cent of children have this abnormal reflex. They are healthy in every other way. Following a triggering event, such as being frustrated or falling down, your child cries once, holds his breath,
Toddlers can learn a lot by going shopping with you. They can also get into trouble at the supermarket, so here are some tips. • First, to prevent grabbing food off the shelves, distract your child. On arrival, give her a snack such as animal crackers. Keep her sitting in the grocery cart seat and
