I didn’t say anything about forcing anyone to conform or be normal. I stated she can encourage her to deal with her anxiety in a different way.Inmybizz wrote: ↑Mon Jun 24, 2019 12:07 pmThe girl's anxiety revolves around food. The anxiety needs to be dealt with before you can try to force her to be "normal" for 3 minutes at the dinner table. The all comes down to people wanting to make another person conform to their definition of normal in order to make THEMSELVES feel comfortable.PoplarGrove wrote: ↑Mon Jun 24, 2019 11:10 amInmybizz wrote: ↑Mon Jun 24, 2019 9:21 am Doesn’t have to be a rule..she can suggest/ask/encourage that she take a few minutes to engage in conversation with the family.
quote=AnnieArk post_id=450806 time=1561379867 user_id=638]
OP's niece was abused. She doesn't need any more stress added to meal times by more rules. Right now all that matters is that she be able to eat.
As time goes by, if no one tries to force her to conform to the way they want her to act, the phone will be used less and less as a distraction. Right now she needs to feel safe and if the phone or a book helps her do that she should be left alone.
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Engaging with the rest of the family at the dinner table is conforming. Taking a few minutes to engage with everyone at the table isn't a different way of dealing with her anxiety.