John's Articles
10-Month-Old Tosses Food for Mealtime Fun
Posted on 8/4/2020
Q: Our 10-month-old son has recently discovered the joys of throwing finger food on the floor at mealtimes. He doesn’t seem to care if I feed it to him myself, one piece at a time, but isn't it...
Read MoreRestoring Peace to the Family Dinner Table
Posted on 10/11/2016
Q: Dinner with our three kids always, and I mean ALWAYS, turns into a disaster. Typically, the oldest, 11, begins to needle the youngest, 6, and then, when the middle one, 9, figures out which of...
Read More3 Rules for Taking Kids to Restaurants
Posted on 7/19/2016
The Wall Street Journal recently interviewed Daniel Eddy, a New York City chef, on how to have a mutually-successful experience with a young child in an upscale restaurant (“How to Take Your Kids...
Read MoreFail-Safe Formula for Getting Kids to Eat Everything
Posted on 1/14/2014
Yes, it is possible to get kids to eat everything on their plates-spinach, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, you name it. Why, in the American southeast, it is common for toddlers to eat something...
Read MoreEat What You Are Served
Posted on 12/31/2013
Q: Our son is two-and-one-half and for the most part eats very well. We make up his plate for each meal and he has to eat what is on his plate, or at least try each food on the plate before he can...
Read More18-Month-Old is a Table Terror!
Posted on 2/26/2013
Q: Our 18 month old is a table terror! While I'm preparing dinner, she walks around acting like she's starving, but as soon as we sit her in her highchair she takes a few bites and then wants...
Read MoreGive Children What They Need and Little of What They Want
Posted on 11/22/2011
Respect children; don't idolize them A young mother who identified herself as a practitioner of "attachment parenting" recently told me that "children should be approached with reverence." I...
Read MoreMeal Time Circus
Posted on 2/8/2011
Don't let kids run family food circus I must, in the interest of full disclosure, begin this column with a confession: I am a voyeur; more specifically, a parenting voyeur. In the words of...
Read MoreChildhood Obesity
Posted on 1/11/2011
Parents can solve childhood obesity Last week I offered 15 parenting resolutions for the new year. This week, I'm making a prediction: 2011 will see the beginning of a revolution in what and...
Read More15 Resolutions For Parents
Posted on 1/4/2011
15 resolutions for parents Given that this is the first column of a new year, I'm proposing a number of parenting New Year's Resolutions for my readers to consider. The list is by no means...
Read More2-Year-Old Girl Eating Issues
Posted on 9/28/2010
Don't get into a food fight with a toddler Q: My 2-year-old daughter eats a few bites of supper each night and then wants milk. So I give her milk. Then she refuses to eat anything else. We...
Read More4-Year-Old Girl Snack Requests
Posted on 2/23/2010
If child is hungry, give healthy snacks Q. My almost 4-year-old daughter asks for food constantly. I can't tell if this is a boredom thing or an attention thing, but regardless I am unsure how...
Read MoreReadership Solutions: Sibling Conflict, Fears, and Mealtime
Posted on 1/5/2010
NEVER WITHOUT GOOD SOLUTIONS AS LONG AS READERS SHARE STORIES One of the wonderful things about my job is my readership, many of whom feed me material on a regular basis. Here's a sample of...
Read MoreTrain Children to Behave in Public
Posted on 9/15/2009
RESPECT YOUR FELLOW DINERS - TEACH CHILDREN TABLE MANNERS "I feel a column coming on, " my wife said, doing her usual read-my-mind thing. It was another superb nine o'clock in the morning in...
Read MoreSpecial Meal at Dinnertime
Posted on 6/2/2009
SPECIAL MEAL? PARENTS, WHAT ARE YOU THINKING? The first Question of the Week is "Why at dinnertime should children be served what everyone else in the family is served?" This question would...
Read MoreDemocratic Family Creates Tyranny
Posted on 3/31/2009
DEMOCRACY WITH KIDS IS REALLY TYRANNY This week, as I continue taking issue with parenting styles born in the '60s, I explore the notion that the family should be democratic. My wife,...
Read More16-Month-Old Boy Refuses to Feed Himself
Posted on 12/30/2008
PARENTS SHOULD CALMLY HELP BABY LEARN TO FEED HIMSELF Q. Our 16-month-old son refuses to feed himself. He will not even touch his food other than to throw it to the floor. If I try to put a bit...
Read More18-Month-Old Boy Crys at Restaurants
Posted on 4/1/2008
CRYING AT RESTAURANTS IS TOUGH BEHAVIOR TO CHANGE, SO EAT IN Q. How should I handle an 18-month-old who cries at a restaurant because he wants out of his high chair to sit with me or someone...
Read MoreMealtime Issues With Young Children
Posted on 9/4/2007
Spilled drinks Q. My 2-year-old has a bad habit of tipping over a regular cup at meals. He will take a drink and then just dump the rest onto the tray of his highchair. We have tried only...
Read More20-Month-Old Spits Out Food
Posted on 3/22/2005
DON'T TURN TOT'S FOOD PLAY INTO A POWER STRUGGLE CHEWING, SPITTING OUT A PRODUCT OF HIS CURIOSITY AND DISCOVERY PROCESS Q: Our 20-month-old son has developed a bad habit of spitting out...
Read MoreSpoiled Children at Meal Time
Posted on 2/22/2005
WHY I WON'T BE A GUEST ON 'THE JANE PAULEY SHOW' A producer for "The Jane Pauley Show" called me recently, asking if I'd be interested in appearing on a segment they were doing on spoiled...
Read More5-Year-Old Picky Eater
Posted on 1/18/2005
The picky eater A mother recently asked my advice about a 5-year-old picky eater. She wrapped up her description of the child's bad manners (that's what so-called "picky eating" is, after...
Read More3-Year-Old Asks for Food When Upset
Posted on 8/3/2004
PARENTS: YOU ARE SMARTER THAN KIDS SOLUTIONS TO CHILDREN'S DISCIPLINE PROBLEMS CAN BE CREATIVE BUT SIMPLE Good ideas department: On my Web site (www.rosemond.com), I recently fielded a...
Read More9-Month-Old Mealtime Issues
Posted on 5/11/2004
IGNORE FOOD-TOSSING TODDLER Q: We recently expanded our 9-month-old daughter's finger-food menu at mealtimes. The problem is that she's discovered how much fun it is to throw her food on the...
Read More20-Month-Old Eating Dog Food
Posted on 1/20/2004
TODDLER LIKES MUNCHING ON DOG FOOD Q: I can't keep my 20-month-old daughter out of the dog's food. I've tried scolding, distracting, time-out - nothing has worked. This has been going on since...
Read More13-Month-Old Shares His Meal with the Dog
Posted on 3/11/2003
Q: Our 13-month-old eats table food at his high chair. The problem is that he shares his meal with the dog. He throws food over the side just to watch the dog jump on it. This is actually funny,...
Read More4-Year-Old Will Not Swallow Food
Posted on 10/15/2002
LOTS OF KIDS HAVE CERTAIN ODDITIES Q: Our 4-year-old daughter at some point during a meal will decide that she can't swallow her food. When I tell her that she cannot spit it out, she will defy...
Read More5-Year-Old Mealtime Manners
Posted on 8/6/2002
DISCIPLINE MUST WORK IN LONG TERM Once upon a time, I thought discipline was all about punishment. This wrong-headedness had a lot to do with my graduate training in psychology, especially the...
Read MoreSippy Cups
Posted on 3/19/2002
DISPUTE OVER SIPPY CUPS POINTS TO LAZY PARENTING The front page of The Wall Street Journal on Feb. 12 blared the shocking news: The sippy cup - the spill-free cup used by most American...
Read MoreChildren Want Foods They Love? They've Got to Eat Their Veggies
Posted on 7/17/2001
<b>Q. How, pray tell, does one persuade a 5-year-old to eat vegetables? We have tried every approach with our daughter, but nothing has worked. Help! A: </b>No doubt you've told your daughter...
Read More8-Year-Old Smacks When Eating
Posted on 4/4/2000
TELL YOUR SON THE SMACKER, '3 STRIKES AND YOU'RE OUT' Q. Our 8 year-old smacks horribly when he is eating. We have tried nagging, threatening and sending him away from the table. We obviously...
Read MoreParenting Short Stories
Posted on 3/28/2000
ADD OR BAD? BOY'S BEHAVIOR COULD BE BOTH Here's a collection of "parenting shorts:" First, an absolutely true story from my "A Rose, By Any Other Name ... " file, told to me by the mother...
Read MoreAdvice on Picky Eaters
Posted on 7/6/1999
WITH NO OTHER OPTIONS, PICKY CHILD WILL EAT Parents have asked me a lot of questions lately about young children who refuse to eat the food put in front of them, generally at the evening meal....
Read More10-Year-Old Complains About Food on her Plate
Posted on 7/22/1994
PARENTS MUST STOP CATERING TO FUSSY DINNER-TABLE TYRANT Q. When we sit down to eat, our 10-year-old complains about the food on her plate. Trying to persuade her to take even one bite of...
Read More4-Year-Old Eating Vegetables
Posted on 2/18/1990
CLASSIC CONFRONTATION: KIDS VS. VEGETABLES Q. We have tried various approaches to getting our 4-year-old daughter to eat vegetables, but nothing has worked. Do you have a solution? A. I...
Read More5-Year-Old Eating Issues
Posted on 3/16/1986
STOP PLAYING THE RESTAURANT GAME' WITH YOUR CHILD Q. I don't think out 5-year-old has ever finished a plate of food, regardless of how little it held. Ever since she graduated from baby...
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