Questions

Toddler Takes Over the Table

Posted on 11/12/2018

My 2.5 yr old daughter will not sit for meals. She is constantly getting up from her meal and moving about. Each time we direct her back to her seat and tell her it's time to eat. I have...

Junk Food Junkie

Posted on 11/6/2018

We have made some nutritional changes to the family diet at home. We are limiting sugar and providing healthier snacks and fruits and veggies for all of us. However, I have reason to believe...

School Age Attention Seeker

Posted on 11/5/2018

I have a 10 yo who says she is good at nothing, not intelligent, not good at school. She is not putting effort in nothing she is doing. She doesn't want to do her homeworks and doesn't care if...

Table Manners Matter

Posted on 5/18/2018

Our 8 year old daughter has poor table manners. What is your suggestion on improving them? We have tried nagging (obviously unsuccessful), working on one thing at a time (worked for the first...

Addressing a Picky and Disruptive Eater

Posted on 3/9/2018

I have one boy, almost 4, who is a good eater and another, age 3, who is not. They eat together before my husband and I do and the bad eater cries about food he doesn't like, tries to pass food to...

1 Year Old and Table Manners

Posted on 1/31/2018

My one year old has starting dropping food off side of high chair, yelling when she wants out, and sometimes refusing to eat what I have cooked. How do I teach her manners in her high chair?

5 year old table manners

Posted on 1/10/2018

We have a hyperactive, strong-willed 5-year-old daughter (and we are learning to get on with this). We would like to know how to approach what we call “multiple offenses”. For instance,...

Nanny Won't Help with Eating Issue

Posted on 1/7/2018

In November I asked about my three old not eating well and my husband and I told her and enforces that if she didn’t eat it meant she wasn’t getting good sleep and her doctor said she must go...

Pay Your Way

Posted on 8/28/2017

Hello, I've been asking questions for a few years now about my daughter. I've read John's book "The Well Behaved Child." My question regarding my now 7 year old daughter is this: How do I...

Stop Feeding the Beast

Posted on 8/28/2017

HI there, We are currently disciplining our 6 year old daughter for not eating her lunch most days. The problem she claims is that they turn on the TV during lunch so she doesn't eat. She also...

Mealtime Meltdowns Revisited

Posted on 8/23/2017

This is a follow up question to a previously asked question about my daughter's eating habits at breakfast. Things have gotten off track a bit with the start of Kindergarten for my son. Now that...

Morning Mealtime Meltdowns: Four-Year-Old Edition

Posted on 7/11/2017

I'm afraid we've created a mealtime monster. My daughter just turned 4. She is not a morning person. She's also a suspected hypoglycemic. This has not been medically confirmed because when I...

11-yr-old tummy troubles or just seeking attention?

Posted on 6/17/2017

Our 11 year old daughter began expressing stomach discomfort in early spring (i.e. VERY frequent complaining). In the absence of obvious illness (diarrhea, pain in night w/disrupted sleep, etc..),...

Frustrated Grandparents Want a Peaceful Family Dinner

Posted on 6/11/2017

Our grandchildren, preschool aged, do not eat dinner with their parents, and have not been reared to share a family meal. Consequently, when the family comes to our house for the occasional meal...

Skip the Sippy for Bottle to Cup Transition

Posted on 6/5/2017

My almost 2 year old still wants to drink only from a bottle. I've tried several different styles of sippy cups, but she refuses to drink from them. I've tried holding out for a while to insist...

Eight year old won't eat dinner

Posted on 4/19/2017

Food question. My 8 year old daughter hardly ever eats her dinner. For the first 6 years of her life I made too much a deal about it catering to her so she would eat. Now we just offer her...

Toddler Throws Food

Posted on 1/29/2017

We love your advice and have been following the "Turning the Terrible Twos Terrific" with our 19 month old son however we have a food thrower. We feed him before we eat, he's at his own toddler...

Nutrition for a 3 year old.

Posted on 1/16/2017

Is it okay to make a smoothie with whey protein added to the drink? This is for a 3 year old. Thank you.

Out of control 5 and 3 y/o boys

Posted on 1/3/2017

Hello, I am doing a miserable job as a parent to my two boys (aged 5 and 3). They are out of hand entirely. We can't get through prayers at the dinner table without at least one of them being...

Typical Day?

Posted on 12/18/2016

Hello.. I have a two year old who will be turning three in September...what should our typical day look like? I also have a 10 month old as well. We are struggling finding a routine and...

Stubborn 7-yo girl

Posted on 10/6/2016

This is about my 7 year old daughter, which wow, I can look back through my questions and see we've had many conversations about. I'm well-practiced in standing firm, not arguing, telling...

Severe Allergy

Posted on 8/1/2016

My 7-year-old son has a severe life-threatening peanut allergy. He cannot be around people eating peanuts (it's potentially airborne) and he certainly cannot eat food that I did not provide for...

Mother Wants to Stop Micromanaging

Posted on 2/23/2016

Micromanagement. I definitely do it. My husband does it. We catch ourselves, but need to rid ourselves of it. The problem is that I have a hard time knowing when I'm "parenting" and when I'm...

6 year old refuses to eat sometimes

Posted on 2/2/2016

Our six year old son at times refuses to eat meals that we serve. If he refuses to eat dinner, we have been sending him to bed right away without eating. If it is breakfast or lunch, we send him...

No Sugar

Posted on 10/22/2015

I need help in dealing with an overindulgent grandparent. My father-in-law is always willing to help out with the kids (ages 5 and 2). The problem is, he gives them obscene amounts of sugar. ...

Teens...

Posted on 10/9/2015

17 yr old update Since my last communication our 17 yr old has lived in her room. Comes out to eat when we are not in the house. If I knock on her door I am answered with an aggravated what!!...

Updating the Ticket System

Posted on 9/14/2015

Our daughter is really throwing us for a loop lately with some of her behaviors. She appears to be constantly tired and very moody/dramatic. She sleeps 10-11 hours every night and seems to still...

5 Year Old Picky Eater

Posted on 8/24/2015

My 5 year old son is a very picky eater. We have been trying to get him to eat more since birth. He is often mistaken for a 3 year old. I just tell people that he has never been very hungry. ...

5 yo Complaining

Posted on 7/23/2015

Our 5 year old daughter complains a lot. It seems that when we offer her a meal, there is something wrong with it. It is our fault if something happens rather than her taking some ownership. If we...

12 month old Fussy Eater

Posted on 6/25/2015

HI there, I have a 12 month old who is fussy at mealtimes. We mash and puree food for him and feed it to him. He won't eat most things without a distraction in front of him - i.e. a toy or...

20 month old mealtimes

Posted on 6/23/2015

My son is 20 months old. We have struggled off and on at meal time for a while now. Some days he will eat eggs, veggies, etc. and then the next day won't touch any of those foods. Last night he...

22 month old not eating and throwing tantrums

Posted on 4/1/2015

Two questions for you: 1) Our 22 month old daughter has become extremely picky at mealtime. As in, she will not eat anything that we put in front of her. We know that she snacks at daycare, but...

3 year old eating issues

Posted on 11/6/2014

Since our son turned 3 recently, he has completely refused to try anything new at dinner time. We really believe that he should at least take one bite of everything on his plate! Because he is...

Losing Weight

Posted on 10/30/2014

I have a 13 yo daughter who has lost 20 lbs during last 3 mo. Weighs 88 lbs. w/height at 5' 1". She is obsessed with her weight and what she eats. Constantly talks about how much she weighs and...

Stepsons and Chaos

Posted on 10/28/2014

I have two stepsons ages 8 and 5, who have behavioral problems. When they visit our home it is total chaos. They say they don't want to be at our house and just want to go back to their moms....

2 yr old doesn't like her high chair

Posted on 10/5/2014

Hello there, I think we may have made a mistake with our daughter, and I'm wondering what the best way to walk back from it might be. Our girl just turned two. We had been letting her sit in a...

4 year old Table Manners

Posted on 8/29/2014

My husband and I have been doing John’s “Fail-Safe Formula for Getting Kids to Eat Everything” for over two months with our almost 4-year-old daughter. We put one teaspoon of each of the served...

14 year old Food Fight

Posted on 8/25/2014

After I read Teen Proof, my wife agreed to go 100% using the principles in the book with my 14yr old daughter related to homework and school and we have had great success. I got excellent advice...

He Won't Starve

Posted on 8/16/2014

We have a 34 month old son, William, who is normally a pretty laid back and compliant kid. Meal time, however, has become an absolute battleground. We've tried everything, including asking him if...

1 yo Fits, Feeding a Food Flinger

Posted on 7/16/2014

My daughter just turned one, and has been showing more of her personality the past few weeks. During most diaper and clothing changes, she screams and fights us the entire time. She is very...

7 year old weight problem

Posted on 6/3/2014

My 7 y.o. grandson already has a weight problem. We are very concerned. Our biggest problem is his dad, who is also obese. His dad has unlimited access to the child and is very good father. The...

Cut the Sweets!

Posted on 5/29/2014

Hi there, My daughter is 9, I have noticed in the last year that she is becoming "thicker". Growing out of ALL of her size 10 shorts and pants, I can see that she eats quite a bit ( especially...

14 yo doesn't eat properly

Posted on 4/17/2014

My 14 year old son is extremely picky with food has very poor eating habits--he skips breakfasts, always wants to eat sweets and junk foods, does not eat any fruits, vegetables or any fresh foods...

New Question

Posted on 3/15/2014

I recently inquired about how to get my 10 month old to sleep through the night without bringing him into bed with us. I was offered the suggestion to soothe him every five minutes etc. How will I...

Picky eater

Posted on 3/9/2014

I have a 4 year old picky eater. I have read a lot of your articles and past questions about picky eating. My husband and I are thinking about implementing the teaspoon approach. But my daughter...

3 yo twin girls picky eaters

Posted on 2/18/2014

I am the mother of twin daughters who are now almost 3 1/2. They were born 8 weeks premature and for most of their first 2 1/2 years, both suffered from gastric reflux, to the point that it was...

Picky Eater Question

Posted on 2/12/2014

Time for another question, I wrote recently about one of my eleven adopted children. Now another. She is six years old (the youngest) and decided she does not eat certain things (she used to eat...

Childrens' Food Likes/Dislikes

Posted on 1/27/2014

My now 29 year old (with capital letters after her name) and at the time, a 4 year old, said she didn't like casserole. I said, "your mom fixed casserole and we are all going to eat it". She sat...

Picky Eater at Grandma's

Posted on 1/26/2014

We read with interest your article about not giving food choices to children. As parents, we took that approach with our children. Now, as grandparents who care for our 4 YO grandson four...

16 yo developing eating disorder

Posted on 1/15/2014

Basic question: When, if any, time is it appropriate to try to stop a romantic relationship with our 16 year old daughter and her boyfriend? Brief Explanation: My daughter is developing a romantic...

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