Parents of young children may encounter situations for which they were definitely not prepared. Often parents are faced with a question of universal importance: how to spend time with a child in a way that is fun, interesting and useful, and useful to everyone involved in the activity.
Children need constant care, and parents must not only give extra homework help, feeding and putting them to bed but also pay attention, develop them and walk with them. And here before, every parent faces a difficult choice. But what to do if the child refuses to sleep and eat? And why is he strongly against using a comb? Let’s break down popular questions from our readers together with the experts at Mela.
A child has a tantrum if he is taken in the arms of someone other than Mom. What to do?
It’s normal that a baby is so attached to his mom. But it is important and necessary to gradually accustom him to other people. For example, Mom holds the baby, and Dad or Grandma holds his hand, then vice versa: Dad takes him in his arms, and Mom holds his hand and tells him something.
The child is one year old, and he refuses to use the potty. Is this normal?
We know that a child needs to be stimulated to start crawling – to “push” him, to help. Sitting is a completely different situation. Small children begin to do this at about 6 months, but it is important that the child himself wants to do it. Otherwise, the bones of the hip joints will not form correctly. Therefore, to put children on the potty almost from birth, as the author of the question, do not. This can be harmful.
What should you do if a baby is constantly sucking his finger?
Thumb sucking in children after the age of two is a fairly common problem with which parents consult a psychologist. A child begins to suck his or her fists or thumb while still in the womb. This trains the muscles responsible for the sucking and swallowing processes. In addition, babies are not aware of their body boundaries and sometimes even suck their toes. This is why doctors and psychologists recommend that mothers breastfeed their babies.
As the child grows and develops, the sucking reflex dies down, the child begins to learn speech, and its nutritional ratio expands. But it happens that the habit of sucking a finger remains. In this case, we can talk about a neurotic reaction.
There may be several reasons:
Frequent quarrels in the family and stressful situations;
physical punishment;
Lack of sleep and wakefulness regimes.
You can read a detailed response from a psychologist here.
A child at age 4 continues to suck the pacifier and cries if it is taken away. What Should You Do?
The most important task of parents is not to wean their child from the pacifier but to teach him how to get along and live without it.
Wean your child from the pacifier gradually and gently. Don’t take it away right away, but gradually reduce the amount of time you spend sucking.
By no means use any harsh methods (smearing the pacifier with mustard, throwing it away, scolding the child, punishing it, and so on).
What to do if my daughter doesn’t like to comb her hair and does not allow her to braid her hair?
We associate the birth of a girl with a beautiful image: there will be dresses, shoes, and braids with beautiful bows. Yes, and in society so far, beauty is promoted from this side: long hair, slippers, skirts. Mothers are waiting when a girl will finally grow enough hair to tie the first “palm” on her head.
The process of hair growth in children is different. In general, at about 1.5-2 years of age, the length is already long enough to be able to tie the first bows. Mom’s aspirations are understandable: she wants to indicate that she has a beautiful girl with a pink hairpin on her head.
At this age, the child is quite able to understand her feelings, but the beauty is unlikely. The girl only understands that she is comfortable with one hairstyle and uncomfortable with the other.
The child doesn’t want to eat anything. What to do?
First of all, ask yourself, “Is the child not eating anything at all?” Then ask yourself: “What do I know about what my child is eating?”
Make a list of what your child eats and drinks. Take a close look at exactly what gives him or her energy. There are times, for example, when parents may not be aware of their child’s snacks on the way home from school.
If your child is a preschooler and spends most of his time in kindergarten, find out from the teacher what the diet consists of. Does the teacher complain that the child doesn’t touch food? Think about it: maybe the reason is the rough treatment? Or maybe the child does eat, just not soup and cutlets, but bread (with extra) and compote.
What to do if the child refuses to sleep during the day?
One of the reasons why a child does not want to sleep during the day is because he wants to spend as much time with his parents as possible. Even if he gets this attention through tears and tantrums at bedtime.
Also causes in this situation could be:
Your condition during bedtime. If you are irritated because your child is not falling asleep, how does this manifest itself? If it is anger, the child becomes restless and feels threatened, in such a state it is impossible to fall asleep, as adrenaline is released, which excites the nervous system of the child.
Physical state. If a child woke up late and did not have time to discharge his energy charge in the first half of the day, he simply can not fall asleep because he is still awake and full of energy.
