Q: My son is 2 years old. He stays disturbed and beats his forehead on the ground or the wall. He pinches his face as well as of others. At time he even bites himself and others. This is mostly observed when he is not within the reach of his needs or requirements, when others try to take his belongings and especially when his sleep is disturbed when he gets the above symptoms for at least half to quarter of an hour. After great efforts at consoling, he cools down. The rest of the time he plays and recognises well. He weighs 10.5 kg. Every time he cries for his needs. The doctor said that he has hyper kinetic behaviour. What precautions should I take and what should be my further move in this aspect?

A:Some children are more sensitive to being given rules or instructions. Understand your child's needs and gently help him to cope with his anger. Please try not to wake up the child when he is sleeping. Play soft instrumental music on a cassette player when he is resting or about to sleep. Reduce TV watching in the family. Do not give the child any Cola drink. Make sure that there are no violent scenes in TV or in real life, that the child is exposed to. Do not feed spicy food to the child. All these will help a little bit, but you do need to see a doctor who can help, with more than just giving the condition a name. Many doctors are not trained to handle any behavioural differences in children. It would be a good idea to see a Psychiatrist, specialising in children, but such a person may not be available. If you are in or near Bangalore, NIMHANS, a national institution in the north of Bangalore city, is the place to visit for a consultation.