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Expert Q&A

	By Dana Chidekel, Ph.D. Clinical Psychologist Author

My question is similar to the one about the 3-year-old who bangs his head when he doesn't get his own way. My son is 22 months old. If he is overly tired (I do have him take naps but sometimes he just gets so tired I can't get him to go to sleep), he pinches, bites, hits or scratches himself or bangs his head on the wall or throws himself backwards on the hard floor. He won't let us hug or hold him when he gets like this and he wonŴ stay in his room or go to sleep. I am concerned. What should I do?

If these are the problems youŲe having when your 22-month-old son gets overly tired, then the answer to your question is to make sure that he does not become overly tired. In my book, Parents in Charge, I talk about how brains develop through babyhood, childhood and on into adulthood. Childrenų brain development doesnŴ allow them to have good judgment. But as parents and adults, we are way ahead of the game in the development of our brains, so it is our judgment and our ability to think ahead that our children rely upon. Right now, those abilities to plan ahead are being called upon in you. For the next little while in your childų life, you need to use your mature think-ahead /planning skills to ensure that your son gets sufficient sleep at this tender, sleep-dependent time in his life.

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