Archive for November, 2009

My Child Is Not Swallowing His Food!

Tuesday, November 10th, 2009

“Joshua is 18 months old and likes to keep food in his mouth instead of swallowing, this is very frustrating and irritating, especially when I am in a rush. How could I correct him? Does he have a problem with swallowing food?”   Anne, 30 years old

 

Dr. Stork says: This could be due to distractions in the feeding environment (such as a television show or music playing loudly) or a sign that your child may already be full. Make sure the eating environment is calm and make eating fun. Also check whether you may be inadvertently ‘force-feeding’ your child by giving him overly-large spoonfuls of food causing difficulty swallowing food for his age. Using suitably-sized, child-friendly cutlery can prevent this from occurring.

 

Look for more Tips on Feeding Young Children here.

Dealing With Child With Temper Tantrums

Tuesday, November 10th, 2009

“I am very upset with Nicholas. He is 4.5 years old now. We took him to a restaurant yesterday evening and he started to throw temper tantrums in the public. I could not help but started yelling at him, I feel really bad” Jessica, 34 years

 

Dr. Stork says: Young children nearly always have tantrums out of frustration or because they are pitting their will against that of others.

Older children have tantrums because they can think of no other way of showing their determination. In the privacy of your own home the best way to deal with a tantrum is simply to ignore it and leave the room.

It’s slightly more difficult, however, in public, and you can do several things. Don’t fuss, shout, or get flustered. Take your child calmly into a quiet place and attempt to calm him down. If you are in a shop take him out into the street, or into your car, or out of the restaurant into the toilet.

To learn more about cultivating positive behavior in your children, please read further on:

Cultivate positive behavior in your child

Tips on raising a confident and well-adjusted child