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After the Sobs
When Little Ones Hold Their Breath By Shannon McKelden
Lyons began with the child's morning snack and lunch. "He tried holding his breath," Lyons says. "I let him and went about feeding my two children and the other two kids I had in care, ignoring it completely. After all, it's an attention device."
Finding that Lyons didn't provide the same reaction that his own mother did, he carried it a bit further. "When he tried getting under my face to show me his crimson cheeks, I told him that he'd have to wait his turn in his chair," she says.
In this case, Lyons quickly confirmed that he couldn't hold his breath to unconsciousness. "Eventually, he lost the battle and breathed," Lyons says. "At dinner, there was one final snag. Holding his breath – and likely getting upset that it wasn't having the desired effect – caused him to [vomit]." Again, Lyons didn't panic, but calmly cleaned him up, mentioning to him that sometimes holding your breath could have this messy, unpleasant result.
Within two weeks of working with him, after the child's mother was reassured by Lyons and modified her own reaction to the breath-holding episodes, the behavior disappeared.
According to Dr. Shubin, Lyons had the right idea. "Paying attention to the behavior, even negatively, reinforces it and really should be avoided," he says.
Atkins' pediatrician agreed. "Our doctor said that the bigger concern is not spoiling the child," she says. "Parents tend to give kids whatever they want to keep them from breath holding." She finds that her older children can become upset about the breath-holding episodes and want her to do whatever her toddler wants immediately, but Atkins refrains. "I comfort her, but I don't automatically give her whatever she wants."
Dr. Shubin reiterates that as long as the child is protected, there should be no physical problems. "Once an approach to the situation has been established, then only if the child persists does the pediatrician need to be involved," he says.