Hi, my name is bella17 and I have a question about managing my child's temper tantrums

bella17

Hi there, I have a 3 1/2 year old child with mild cerebral palsy and I just really want some advice on how to deal with temper tantrums (include hitting himself and me if he can reach) ..how to introduce new foods.. just any help is greatly appreciated

Cher_Alumni

Hello @Bella17 and welcome to our online community.  

I've moved your post to our Parents and carers discussion board so it's in a good place to get support from other people who may have experienced similar.  

You also might find it handy to browse our Cerebral Palsy board to have a look at what other people have spoken about.

I can imagine this is a testing time and I hope we can support you through it.  A lot of our members have knowledge of CP and parenting so you've come to the right place 

Richard_Scope

Hi @bella17
Great to meet you. Toddlers are a challenge, aren't they? Do the tantrums begin specifically around mealtimes? 
I would start by looking at the physical environment, is his high chair comfortable? He could be frustrated by the type of cutlery if he is trying to feed himself. Are the tantrums around certain types of food? Cerebral palsy can also affect the ability to swallow certain foods easily. Apologies for all of the questions!

bella17

@Cher_Scope @Richard_Scope
thank you for helping me out! 

The tantrums are happening around mealtime itself because he would’ve normally been distracted by tv but trying to break that habit as he’s going to nursery ? 
he doesn’t use any cutlery at the minute. A tantrum will happen with any food that isn’t the 5 ones he eats. Been trying to just introduce them on his plate hoping he just plays with them to even get the texture feel and slowly maybe try it too. 

He’s in a padded tall chair now which he much prefers to his highchair. But just wondering what I could do to encourage trying the foods - thank you! 

janer1967

Hi and welcome @bella17 Glad you have joined us here and I hope you get some advice from the areas you have been pointed to. Im not experienced in this area but just wanted to say hi

Richard_Scope

Encouraging trying new foods is a tough task with almost all toddlers! With my daughter, we just kept persevering with the new foods but it was stressful and messy. We have some information for Families with disabled children that might help.

Chloe_Alumni

Hi @bella17, just wanted to say welcome to the community.

Please do let us know how you get on.

newborn

Today's news had an item about a boy who wouldn't  eat anything but dairylee, so was getting  ill. A cognitive  behaviour hypnotist session  instantly cured him.  It probably  isn't relevant to you, at least not yet, but it's  a piece of knowledge  worth having at the back  of your mind

bella17

Thank you everyone for your help! So good to have more information on the situation and get other parents telling me their experience too ? 

bella17

@Richard_Scope
could I ask your advice on what to do when he’s just having a tantrum (not with food) but just when he’s playing. He starts hitting and scratching/biting if he can and then when he knows he can’t reach me he starts smacking himself to which I quickly go over and put his hands down and tell him it’s not okay to do that.. What other things can I do? How should I deal with these outbursts? 

Thank you! Sorry it’s a lot of questions 

Richard_Scope

Don't apologise! Questions are good. 
I used to use distraction techniques and then if that failed, straight to timeout after explaining why we were putting her in time out.