6 Toddler Care Questions Answered

1. My toddler continues to thumbsuck and use a pacifier. Can this damage his teeth formation? How can I get him to stop?

“There are some babies who really need pacifiers. These are babies who are really anxious. Anxious babies can’t self-soothe. Sucking is their way of soothing themselves,” explains Dr. Guerrero-Manalo. Eventually, it’s easy enough to take away the pacifier. As for your child’s thumb, there are liniments you can put on it to discourage your child from sucking it. Better get on with these steps as thumbsucking beyond one year of age may cause teeth malformation.
 

2. My brothers like teasing my son, making him cry. Will this have a negative effect on his disposition?
Rowie Juan-Matti, educator and president of the Galileo Enrichment Learning Program, says, “Talk to your brothers about it. Don’t let it pass. What good do they get out of annoying someone?”
Vanessa Cainghug, M.D., a child and adolescent psychiatrist and a fellow of the Philippine Psychiatric Association, adds that the constant teasing “might cause your child to be withdrawn, shy, and sensitive.

On the positive side, it will teach him to better relate with people and to take teasing in stride.”   

Talk to your child about the situation. Juan-Matti says, “The role of a parent is to prepare his child to face life on his own because you will not be there all the time to protect him. He should learn how to deal with different kinds of people.”


3. Is it okay to use a child harness? My neighbors give us odd looks when I put my child in one, but it’s one sure way I can keep a hold of him.
What you do to keep your child safe is your business. However, if you are concerned about appearances, then there are other options. You can always just carry him or use a stroller, suggests Dr. Guerrero-Manalo.

Click here to read more answers to toddler care questions.

[previous|page|next]

Read on for more answers to toddler care questions.

4. How do I transition my son from drinking milk in a bottle to a cup?

The earlier you wean your child away from the bottle, says Dr. Guerrero-Manalo, the easier time you’ll both have. Start having him drink milk from a cup at around seven to eight months. If you don’t, then he might not want to take milk in any other form than the bottle. Plus, if you wean him off when he’s older, he might not want to drink milk anymore.


5. My daughter seems to always want to be with her dad. I’m getting secretly jealous. How do I deal with this?
Keep it cool, Mom. Kids don’t play favorites, Dr. Guerrero-Manalo says. Maybe your child sees her Dad less and thus, misses him and wants to spend more time with him.

Juan-Matti adds that your child is behaving normally. “Try to win your child in a fair way. Never show her that you are jealous. Free yourself of insecurities. This way, your child will grow in a more secure way, too.”

Dr. Cainghug asks, “How old is your child? If she is about three to five years old, she is in the Oedipal stage. This is expected of her. Just be a loving mom—supportive but still enforcing limits.”


6. My toddler used to alert us every time he needed to poop but now he only tells us after he’s done the deed. What’s wrong?
Toilet training is a process. Accidents are bound to happen in the early years. Just because your child was successful once does not mean he won’t have any accidents later on, says Dr. Guerrero-Manalo. If your child is busy with something, for example, he might not feel he has to go until the very last minute.
But if the accidents happen more and more frequently, Dr. Cainghug says, “He could be regressing due to some stress factor. If this persists, train him to have regular bowel movements. Let him sit on the potty at regular times in the morning whether he feels like defecating or not. And give consequences when he tells you only after he’s done the deed, such as asking him to help clean up the mess.”


Photography by Jun Pinzon