[joskids]

Christie, by "giving in" I meant to give a child what he/she wants when he/she screams and raves. Positive reinforcement that fits the behavior, praising for good behavior, ignoring (when possible) the negative behavior. I think it's much worse to give a child food whenever he/she screams for it (causing health and emotional problems that will last a lifetime). But, of COURSE, always providing adequate and appropriate nutrition as a child learns more positive eating habits. And ALWAYS providing hugs and kisses, particularly after the behavior has calmed down so that a child learns that appropriate bonding is through hugs and kisses instead of screaming that is given in to. We did a lot of eye contact games with this child as he would avoid my eyes every chance he could. When he looked me in the eyes, he got lots of positive reinforcement, sometimes even with non-healthy treats like M & M's. For him it worked. That's about it. Remember, this particular child was removed from a foster home where she gave him NO POSITIVE ATTENTION but, instead, supplied him with one bottle after another so that she did not have to pay physical and emotional attention to him. I was left with the outcome and a very big job and feel that we did the best we could with THIS SITUATION, just as you said, Christie. Every child is different. How I would respond to a child who had NO FOOD GIVEN (and I've had this also, kids who ate off the street) would be very different, obviously. I certainly never had a child in my home that ate kitty litter or non-food items. In that case, I would have gone to a nutrition specialist at Children's Hospital.