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| Behavior Problems | |
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Behavior Problems are very individualized and require specific planning and intervention. Our office has a mental health specialty clinic for this area of need. Contact our office to schedule an evaluation with Dr. Jerri Oehler for this special service. The following are general guidelines that will benefit most people regardless of the original source of the behavior concern. 1. Consistent rules and expectations are necessary for all children. This includes a specific bedtime and bedtime routine. Requiring the child to sleep in the same bed each night and not allowing him or her to decide nightly what room to sleep in is part of the routine and expectations. The child must know that the parent is in control and will not waiver on expectations. 2. Avoid caffeine and sweetened beverages and increase water intake. Children may refuse water at first if they are not accustomed to this beverage. Persistence in offering and refusing other beverages will set up a healthy life-time habit of drinking water. 3. Closely evaluate the foods your child is eating. Offer foods less processed and more nutritious. Decrease snack foods such as chips and snack cakes. Increase the vegetable and grain portion of your child's diet. 4. Remove any televisions from your child's room. 5. Decrease your child's access to television, computer, and video games to two hours per day or less, including week-ends. Recent studies link increased television viewing with increased risk of developing attention and behavior problems as much as 10% for each average hour viewed per day. 6. Be aware of what your child is exposed to through the media and the computer. Closely monitor for age appropriate viewing. |
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