Health Care for Children

Give Simple Choices
 
What all children strive toward, from infancy on, is independence. “Giving your child at least the illusion of choice helps him make transitions more smoothly,” says Eileen Kasten, MD, assistant professor of pediatrics at Boonshoft School of Medicine, in Dayton, Ohio. Offer no more than two choices, and make sure you can live with both options. “Do you want slices of apple or banana with your oatmeal for breakfast?”; “Do you want to watch your video before we go to the store or after?”; “Do you want to wear your blue pants or your red pants to go to Grandma’s house?”

Don’t Talk Too Much
 
We’ve all seen it happen. A baby or toddler throws a shrieking tantrum, and Mom gets down on her knees and pleads with him to calm down: “You really must stop making all of this noise, honey, okay? Please? Screaming like this isn’t very respectful. You need to use your polite voice so everyone knows what good manners you have.”

That mom might as well be trying to talk to the teeter-totter. Babies can’t understand long explanations, especially when they’re seeing red. It’s far more effective to keep your sentences short and your words clear. If your child hits his brother to get his brother’s ball, calmly say, “Hitting means no ball.” Of course, then you have to follow through and confiscate the ball so your child will take you seriously.