Your questions
Questions answered by Dr Michael Nagel. Showing results 1-10 of 11
Rough and tumble play with girls
My husband plays very rough with my 3-year-old daughter. But one day I wanted to see him amusing my little daughter and find him swinging her upside down by the ankles, I got a little nervous when I saw her hanging like that, but I smiled when I saw that she was enjoying it and hearing her laugh, so I did not say anything, but whenever he plays with her, he hangs her upside down surprising her at some point. She loves it but I don't know if that's okay.
When is rough play too rough?
My 5yr likes to engage in rough play but it seems to turn into him on the ground with the others boys focusing on him eg light kicking or putting their foot on his arm. I think this is too rough and looks vindictive and mean. When my husband stepped in and said it was getting too rough our son was extremely upset to stop the situation saying he wanted to continue. I am confused I am worried the other boys are turning on him and it is a form of bullying? Any ideas?
My baby is not getting enough sleep
I’m worried my baby is not getting enough sleep, or proper awake time. Night time sleep is going ok. Not so much in daylight hours though. We spend hours trying to go to sleep, then have to get up for the next feed without having slept at all. He doesn’t really cry when put in bed, mostly grizzles. I try patting, rocking, white noise, dim lights, wrapping. Then he gets over tired and sometimes frustrated. Help!
3-week-old is very unsettled
My 3 weeks old is very unsettled. He can only fall asleep in our arms. As soon as we put him in his cot he wakes up even in deep sleep. He cries so loud as if something is wrong. The only thing that settles him is breastfeeding.
Day time naps and sleep patterns
Hello. My 5 almost 6 month old was only waking up once a night. But now she is waking up at 10.30 and will not go back to sleep. She then wakes more times throughout the night. She is sleeping well in the day, sleeping for two long naps, morning and afternoon and then one at about 4.30 and then bed at 7. But it’s just not working and I don’t know what to do anymore.
Toddler sleep issues
Hi, My 4th child is 16 months old and every night he wakes on average 10 times a night. It can be every 45mins. He sleeps very well during the day for approx 3 hours 10-1. He self settles both at nap time and night time sleep. He is still having a bottle at around midnight just to try and get a longer sleep in the early hours for me. We have always had a good night routine but this sleep pattern has now been going on over 12 months and I am tired of not getting a good block of sleep. Help?
7-week-old rarely sleeps
7-week-old rarely sleeps for several hours. After lots of rocking/walking in carrier baby looks like she is asleep then her eyes just open and she is looking around for a while then cries because she is so tired. This goes on for hours and hours. Sometimes she does seem to stay asleep after being placed in the bassinet and wakes up after half an hour. Then the cycle starts again. She doesn’t like pram. Very hard on my back. Weighs about 4.7 kg now. Was 9lb 4oz at birth.
Strong-willed 3-yr-old pushing boundaries
Hi, I’ve got a 12-week-old boy and a 3 1/2-year-old girl. My girl is very strong willed - and I’m struggling with knowing how to deal with her. She’s had a lot of change recently with a new house and new baby who is very needy - and has recently been pushing boundaries so so far. Not only answering back to me but friends of mine too. When I say to stop doing something she does it again and again. Looking for tips and advice with handling kids like this please
Encouraging 4-yr-old to draw and write
My just turned 4 yr old boy doesn’t like to draw or write. He tells me he "doesn't know how" and won't even attempt it. He has easy access to thick crayons/felt pens and paper at home, but when we sit down to do drawing or colouring, he would prefer to make things with craft supplies (gluing, cutting, etc) or do painting. Our GP said he should be drawing figures with 3 distinct parts and writing his own name by now. Any tips on how to encourage him to take up or even attempt some drawing/writing
2.5-yr-old refusing to go to bed
Over the past week my 2.5 year old is now refusing to go and stay in bed, completely wide awake until 9pm (usual bedtime is 7.30 with his brother). He still has a nap at daycare (from 1.5 to 2.5 hours). I’m wondering if there’s some kind of developmental leap or something around this age as he genuinely is wide awake and no matter what we do he’s just not tired? We follow the same routine dinner, bath, quiet time, book and bed but it’s gone pear shaped!