Questions

17 month old Picky Eater

Posted on 12/18/2017

I have a 17month old son who is very uninterested in eating most of the time. I am still nursing but I would like to start weening in the next month but I’m concerned because he doesn’t seem to...

3 yr old trouble eating

Posted on 11/9/2017

My 3 year old doesn’t like to eat. She has always had trouble staying on the growth curve and is quite tall for her age and has never been an easy eater. Now she likes to talk non stop during...

Sugar Junkie needs Intervention

Posted on 10/30/2017

My husband and I believe our daughter is addicted to sugar. We do keep limited amounts of cookies and chocolate in our house, and generally eat some dark chocolate after dinner. But, our daughter...

Follow-up for sugar junkie

Posted on 10/30/2017

Just extra information about my daughter - she's nine-years-old. Our neighbors are very good friends and she feels at home in their house. I don't think she goes to other people's houses and digs...

Calm Down Please!

Posted on 9/12/2017

My daughter is now 8 1/2 - through the years I have written to you about her personality - last year she was diagnosed with Dyslexia - which has explained where the low self esteem has come from....

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...

Diet is a 4 letter word

Posted on 7/18/2017

I wrote before about my 7 year old son asking if he’s fat and complaining about his thighs. While I agree that it’s a teaching moment about treating others kindly, the truth is he probably does...

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..),...

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...

Sweet Stuff

Posted on 3/26/2017

HI there! Do you have any advice how much of the sweet stuff kids should be allowed? We generally do not eat chocolates, lollies or cakes on a regular basis. If we do, it would be the...

Curing a 3-Year-Old Picky Eater

Posted on 3/9/2017

I've recently started the Tablespoon method for my very "picky" 3 year old boy. After a few tries, he's had one successful meal where he's eaten all three foods and gone on to get seconds....

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...

Distracted during meals.

Posted on 1/22/2017

We've read the article "Fail-Safe Formula for Getting Kids to Eat Everything". Our 3 year old takes his sweet time eating at every meal, irregardless of consequences, exciting things to do with...

Fussy Infant

Posted on 11/22/2016

Greetings: We have a fussy 1 month old. He has gained 2 lbs since birth....now weighs 10 lbs. Screams and acts uncomfortable all day and most of night. Breast and bottle feeding, but doesn't...

5 yo Thief?

Posted on 11/14/2016

Long story as short as possible-- Son (age 5) lost all his Halloween candy the day after Halloween because he left wrappers all over his bedroom. Two days later snuck into his sister's room...

7 y/o Dinner Woes

Posted on 9/13/2016

I just had it out with my seven-year-old daughter (and I lost my cool, sorry to say). Every night, when we sit down to eat dinner, she does everything she can to avoid eating what I have prepared....

clarification for overweight 15 year-old boy

Posted on 8/25/2016

I asked a question recently about wanting my child to make better eating choices and choosing to be more active. I failed to mention that he is 15 so I think this might change the answer a little....

Mom wants overweight boy to make better choices

Posted on 8/24/2016

What can I do to help my overweight child make better eating and exercise choices without damagingnhisnselfnesteem?

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...

Little boys crazy for candy!

Posted on 6/27/2016

Is candy making my kids crazy? At our kids' ages, candy seemingly appears out of thin air when we take our children to events, church events particularly. While we are careful to keep them from...

4 Year Old Eating Problems

Posted on 4/13/2016

My daughter will be 4 in a week and does not want to try new food or eat vegetables at all. It is my fault as I haven't been feeding her the best food up to this point as we're always on the go,...

Meal Time Attitude

Posted on 4/11/2016

Recently we are having a problem with our daughters attitude at meal times. As soon as any food is placed in front of her she immediately starts jerking her body around,whining,grunting, making...

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...

4 Year Old Picky Eater

Posted on 2/10/2016

My soon-to-be 4 year old is an extremely picky eater. He screams and pitches a fit if he even sees a new food or non-preferred food on his plate. As a baby, he had horrible reflux and...

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...

7 month old nippy while breastfeeding

Posted on 1/19/2016

How should I respond when my seven month old bites while breastfeeding to discourage the behavior?

10 year old with Food Anxiety

Posted on 12/3/2015

My 10 year old daughter has developed anxieties or panic attacks when she eats lunch at school, mostly; but when they occur, eating seems to be involved. She is a thin, tall girl, very...

20-mo Picky Eater

Posted on 10/22/2015

At what age is it ok to start this method: "Fail-safe Formula for Getting Kids to Eat Everything"? I have a 20 mo old who is starting to get pickier about what he eats at meal times and...

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. ...

Dessert for Picky Eater?

Posted on 9/10/2015

Hello, My daughter is a picky eater and doesn't like much of what we serve. I have read through the questions dealing with eating problems and have a follow up question. If we serve a teaspoon...

Healthy Diet for Kids

Posted on 9/9/2015

ADHD Diet specifics

Eat!

Posted on 8/21/2015

I have a 1 year old (almost 13 months) whom we have spoon fed up until now so he doesn't lose weight. He has a hole in his heart and weight gain issues. The doctor told us to prioritize...

Food Issues at 5

Posted on 8/14/2015

I just finished rereading the section in The Well-Behaved Child on food issues as well as the Q&A on the same subject here on the web-site. Unfortunately, I'm still not sure how to deal with the...

Table Manners

Posted on 8/7/2015

My question relates to table manners. I have a four year old, a six year old and an eight year old. Try as I might - through modelling, talking to them about it and even on occasion reading...

2 yr old Breakfast Dilemmas

Posted on 8/4/2015

I need some advice about breakfast time for my 25 month old daughter. (Incidentally, she is doing great in her toddler bed--I had written in a few days ago about that:-). Each morning my daughter...

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...

Picky Eater

Posted on 5/22/2015

Another update on my picky eater. We did the teaspoons thing for 2 months and he refused to eat a single molecule of a single food that he considered unacceptable. I think he's gotten used to...

The Case of the Picky Eater

Posted on 4/20/2015

This is a follow-up to my previous question about my 3.5yo picky eater. It's now been a month and he still refuses to eat a single bite of any food he doesn't like. Most dinners he eats the 1 or 2...

2 yo Picky Eater

Posted on 4/13/2015

I have just read your article on dealing with a picky eater by not giving them choices at mealtimes and have a few additional questions. I am sure we (parents) have caused this issue, but our...

4 year old takes forever to eat

Posted on 4/8/2015

Hello I would like some advice on meal times. Our almost 4 year old just recently has become very dilly dally through meals. She eats breakfast and lunch on her own and dinner with us. When eating...

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 yo send to bed w/o dinner?

Posted on 3/30/2015

I was too wordy in my last question. Sorry. So, my son....3 yrs old wont try any new foods and sometimes pushes food away that we know he likes....is he old enough yet to tell him that if he...

3.5 yo won't eat dinner

Posted on 3/29/2015

We've been trying the "teaspoons" idea at dinnertime to get our oldest two children (ages 6 and 3.5) to become more adventurous eaters. So far it's been 9 days and the 3.5yo has not eaten dinner...

Picky eater during visitations

Posted on 3/3/2015

My stepson, who is about 3 1/2, is refusing to eat what we serve when visiting us. He spends every Tuesday evening and Wednesday afternoon with us, as well as every other weekend. No matter what...

3 year old Picky Eater

Posted on 2/24/2015

My 3 1/2 year old refuses to eat anything healthy. He doesn't eat vegetables. The only fruit he'll consume are applesauce pouches. His only meat is chicken nuggets. Basically if it tastes sweet...

13 year old food choices

Posted on 1/6/2015

I have several children whom I've raised to eat very healthfully with homemade meals. They all appreciate the food I cook and have, thus far, had no interest in junk food. However, my 12,...

Questions

Search All Questions