my newpthew is about 5 years old, and he doesn't like to have dinner. he is getting very skinny. all he eats is sushi, and cheese, nothing else. I'm worried he would be sick if he doesn't have a proper meal.

the other thing is, he is having trouble talking properly. he talks alot, but his sentences doesn't make any sense. he confuses "HE" with "SHE". typically, most 5 years old can talk very fluently, but as for him, he tends to stutter,

the other thing is he plays too much. i am quite disappointed in her mother to buy him so many computer stuff like XBOX, playstation and game boy.

when ever he comes over, he wanted to play with the computer. i tried my best to settle him down, and read him a book, but few minutes he would jump out of the chair and find something to play.

I think too much videogames and computer time can be harmful. He should have some other things to do with his time.

With the eating.. What type of sushi does he eat? Seems that sushi is pretty healthy. Low in fat, has fish and veggies and has rice and the seaweed stuff. Sounds better than McDonalds which a lot of kids eat all the time. Cheese has fat for him to grow. Lots of kids are really picky. My neice lives off of macaroni and cheese. I don't think there is anything good in macaroni and cheese. I guess the milk. What type of proper meal are you thinking of?

My son is really skinny and eats lots of fats. Some kids are just like that. I grew up really skinny myself. Could eat anything and not gain a pound.

Wow I've never heard of a 5-year-old liking sushi. Ah well, as rouge said, it's a heck of a lot healthier for him than all that greasy stuff from McDonalds. Cheese is good too - he gets calcium and not too much fat. Is he looking like he's anorexic? Does anyone else show concern about his weight? If he's just a little skinnier than the average kindergartener, that's okay. If his ribs are protruding far past his stomach, then it's time to worry.

As far as the video games, I know how kids are with video games. I hate to say this, but kudos to him for playing XBox so young. I myself am a rather avid gamer and I can't hold those darned XBox controllers because they're so bulky. But look on the bright side of video games - people who play and excel at video games usuall y end up with better driving skills. Hehe we gamers get a bad rap, so we need to be backed up sometimes XD.

Playing games frequently probably isn't too much of a problem unless there are other factors. If he were an overweight child, perhaps it would be good to encourage him to play outside more, but that's not an issue. If he, however, prefers to play games rather than play with his friends or try to make friends, then the games can be a problem. He'll become a hermit like me X3

whenever i go and visit him, i would see him sitting on the floor with a videogame on. maybe it's a wrong timing. but most games that his mother bought him has a MA15+ rating, such as "HALO 2".

Last year, I saw him playing "The simpsons" on a playsatation - he was laughing hilarliously, when his character, "Homer" kick and bash people in the streets. And I can't believe that "the Simpsons" game has a "platinum" rating - meaning that it is a best seller.

I don't understand why kids find those "kicking" and "bashing" games funny.

do you think too much videogames can cause seizure?

i could understand why his mother buys him lots of stuff because he is her only child, and the doctor said that my sister can't have anymore kids.

I too wanted my newpthew to be happy - because I have a rotten childhood myself.

you see, my sister told me that it's really stressful to look after a child, and buying those videogame sytem is the only way to keep a child from menance.

apart from that, my newphew just recently signed up for an 1 hour of piano lesson fortnightly, and goes to swimming on sunday. i hope that's not TOO much for him at that age.


He's not anoxeric - he's skinner than a usual 5 year old. when i say "proper" meal, I meant he doesn't eat vegetable, and chunky meats like grown-ups do.
so it's Normal for a kid to eat sushi? I mean, I am concern that those food lack some vital vitamins in it.

jimmyhonda~
Your nephew sounds just like my 3 year old son. He is SO picky and hardly eats anything. No veggies, not too much 'grown up' stuff. He would eat yogurt and Cheezits all the time if I let him! He's skinny, but not anorexic. I give my son a children's vitamin each day....maybe your nephew would like those? That would ensure he's getting most if not all of the vitamins and minerals he needs.

As for the video games, I completely understand. both my kids watch a lot of TV, play on the computer, play on the playstation. It's just their generation, you know? Our generation used to go outside and ride our bikes for hours and hours and play in the yard. It just seems kids don't do that anymore. It's sad, I agree. But taking swimming lessons and piano sounds WONDERFUL!! My 7 year old daughter played soccer this year and it was so nice to get her out of the house. And the best part was she LOVED doing it! Your sis is right...sometimes kids are menacing and it's nice to have something they can do for a while so we parents can get stuff done.

I think it's so fantastic that you are such a caring uncle and are concerned about your newphew. He is very lucky to have you in his life!!!!