Q. My 10-year-old granddaughter used to eat everything, until she choked on a hamburger a year ago. Since then, she's been afraid to eat almost anything except select foods like macaroni and cheese, peanut butter sandwiches and ice cream. She eats very little. She was checked by a doctor and there's no obstruction. She's seeing a therapist, but we see no change and wonder if this is the way to go. She's maintaining her weight, but is definitely not eating healthy, and my daughter is beside herself.

A. Your granddaughter fears eating anything but soft foods, and it's likely she'll take her time before feeling brave enough to explore. Perhaps her parents can expand her menu to include soft foods like applesauce or mashed potatoes, and add a nutrition drink as well. Fruit and vegetable juices plus a daily multi-vitamin can round out her diet, until she gradually gains courage to try more textured food.

A visit to a nutritionist might provide the expertise that will win her over. Your granddaughter is old enough to learn about the food groups she must have for healthy nutrition, and perhaps after studying what will make her healthy, she can learn to make choices from all the groups. Fear of not growing to her potential or having weak bones may rival fear of choking. Rather than discontinuing her therapy, I suggest the parents plan a meeting with the therapist to better understand the therapist's treatment plan and how they can be of help in facilitating it. Therapy may take time after an anxiety-provoking experience like choking.

For free newsletters about raising girls, parenting with a united front, or the principles of parenting, send a large, self-addressed, stamped envelope to P.O. Box 32, Watertown, WI, 53094, or go to www.sylviarimm.com for more parenting information.

Sugared Drink Machines Should Go

Q. With all the news about children getting too much sugar and drinking addictive soft drinks, why are schools allowing drink machines in the lunchroom? My child's school has Snapple machines in the lunchroom. I checked the information on the cans. They're full of sugar!

Why can't New York State pass a law banning these machines from schools? All they have to do to stop the health problem is to get rid of the dispenser machines.

A. Considering the obesity and health problems taking place in our country, there's no doubt sugared drinks should be taken out of schools. However, it's a complicated issue. The first problem is schools actually make money on these machines and use that money for good educational projects. However, that shouldn't be an excuse, because machines with healthier drinks could be substituted. In some schools, the absence of sweetened drinks would send students off the school grounds to buy their sodas and sweets at nearby stores. Some states have already passed laws banning sugared drinks in schools, but other states are concerned it may make supervision of students more complicated in some schools.

Parents should speak up and voice their opinions to their school districts on this issue. You can make a difference in making your schools healthier places, but be sure to listen to all the issues. Incidentally, while removing unhealthy food choices is a good start for our obesity problem, it's far from enough toward solving the entire problem.

For a free newsletter about Dr. Rimm's book, "Rescuing the Emotional Lives of Overweight Children," send a large self-addressed stamped envelope to P.O. Box 32, Watertown, WI, 53094, or read more about her book at www.sylviarimm.com.

Dr. Sylvia B. Rimm is the director of the Family Achievement Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio, a clinical professor of psychiatry and pediatrics at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, and the author of many books on parenting. More information on raising kids is available at www.sylviarimm.com. Please send questions to: Sylvia B. Rimm on Raising Kids, P.O. Box 32, Watertown, WI 53094 or [email protected]. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.