| Back to Back Issues Page |
 |
|
Bonus Child Behavior Tips and Updates, Issue #0010 -- teaser here February 02, 2011 |
Winter Newsletter 2011Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Everyone! I know it’s a little past that time, but I have been very busy with my newest addition to the family born 12-21-10, whom we have nicknamed ‘Little A.’ Our oldest son ‘Mr C’ has been very excited to be a big brother and we are so thankful for such a smooth transition. In fact the other day he told Little A he had a secret to tell him and when he whispered in his ear I heard him say, “I love you.” It about melted my heart. Little A is now officially 6 weeks, so I am trying to get back into the swing of things again despite the inevitable sleep deprivation. I am especially happy to hear that the Groundhog day’s prediction indicated only 2 more weeks ‘til spring! Child-behavior-guide.com updatesI have revised the section Work from home to help give legitimate ideas on ways to supplement or replace income. This is especially intended for parents that want or need to be able to spend more time at home caring for the children with special needs.• Legitimate work from home jobsOther new pages: • Help for child aggression Bonus Child Behavior TipGiving ChoicesSometimes as parents we forget how important it is to give our children as many choices as possible throughout the day to help stimulate their minds and give them a sense of control. Without choices, a person or child can feel trapped and end up displaying oppositional behavior or defiant behavior just to gain some control in life.The best part about offering choices is that you can make sure to offer choices that have two desirable outcomes related to what you are trying to achieve. It doesn’t really matter that the choice may seem silly to you because to the child it will seem like they have some control. If you can give a choice for every request, you will find that your child is much more compliant. Some examples may include: • Do you want to wear the red shirt or blue shirt? • Do you want peas or carrots for your vegetable? • Do you want water or milk with dinner? Sometimes when my son can only have water I’ll even say, “Do you want water or nothing?” He always chooses water. • Do you want bubbles in your bath or no bubbles? • Do you want to read books before bed or have your back rubbed for 2 minutes? • Do you want to brush your teeth now or in 5 minutes? • Do you want to drive by the school or the fire station on our way home from the park? You can see how some of these choices are not necessarily real choices to you or I, but by simply presenting the questions with two different options that lead to the same outcome (taking a bath, going home, going to bed etc.) you are allowing your child to feel more control in what you are asking. You can also later say to your child, when there are no choices, “Haven’t I been giving you lots of choices all day? Well this is one request I have for you to do for me.” Most children are more likely to respond to a request this way, with the exception of children suffering from a disorder the prevents their understanding of this concept. What’s in the News?FDA to Review use of Food DyesThe Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has finally agreed to hold a hearing on food dyes in March. Despite the fact that Yellow 5, Red Dye 40, and other commonly used food dyes have long been shown in numerous clinical studies to impair children's behavior, the FDA has previously dismissed the obvious evidence against the dyes.A quote by Dr. Michael Jacobson, CSPI Executive Director, about the continued use of synthetic food dyes stated, "What's the benefit?" he says. "Junk food that's even more appealing to children than it already is? Why, when we're medicating so many children for hyperactivity, would we let food manufacturers worsen some children's problems? Behavioral problems aside, animal studies indicating that dyes pose a cancer risk provide another reason for banning those chemicals." Fortunately, a few companies including NECCO, Frito-Lay and Starbucks are adopting smarter policies even in the absence of government action. Starbucks does not permit dyes in any of its beverages or pastries and NECCO has switched to safer natural colorings for its famous Wafers, and Frito-Lay is testing dye-free snack foods. Europe is much further ahead in working to protect children from artificial dyes. The European Union requires a warning label on most foods with dyes and the British government has been urging companies to stop using most dyes. As a result, Kellogg, Kraft, McDonald's, and other American companies doing business in Europe use safe, natural colorings over there - but harmful, synthetic petrochemicals in the US. This I really don't understand, because if the safer products are available in Europe, why aren't they available on the shelves in the US? |
| Back to Back Issues Page |