Q: My daughter is 4 and a half years old is always playful, good at her studies, gives no problem as such. As parents we are not able to bring her to normal disciplined life. Like for example even during night she continues playing. Even going to latrine she would not like to go regularly. Because of this she is always having health related problem like cold, constipation. Kindly advise.

A:I am glad that your daughter is bright and playful-she is bound to have a good future. Playing is natural to children and it is the way that they learn about things around them. However, you should be able to get a fairly simple routine going: fix specific times for meals and bedtime. You could make bedtime more interesting for her by reading stories to her or telling her stories. If you make that a routine, she will start looking forward to it and finish off other tasks first. Be gentle and firm with her, suggesting that you will give her more time, if she follows the basic rules. Children sometimes get colds from drinking iced water or worse, iced cool drinks. Encouraging the child to eat fruits and vegetables and reducing the intake of biscuits etc. might help. But since I don't know the child's weight, I should not suggest cutting out any item. I would rather suggest that you give her food that is well made, not too spicy, and full of vitamins.