Posts by blogEPantley

The Quick Facts on Potty Training

Many parents get the idea that potty training is a complicated, difficult undertaking, and can’t possibly be done with ease. I have good news! Potty training can be simple, pleasant, and yes, even fun. The first step is to know the facts.

When Your Child Says “I Hate You” He Really Doesn’t!

Raising children requires that you act like a grown-up. That means you must tell your kids no when they want to hear yes, you must tell them stop when they want to go.

You have to impose rules about homework before playtime, dinner before dessert, and “No, you can’t stay out until midnight.”

How Do I know if My Child is Shy?

Do your think that your child is shy? Maybe . . . but maybe not. The actions we perceive as shyness are sometimes a sign of something entirely different.

Some children are slow to open up and they need more time to warm up to a group or a new peer. Some kids just don’t have enough practice in social situations to feel comfortable. Some are tentative about all new situations. And some are, yes, shy.

100,000 Hours with Your Child

From the time your baby is born until she leaves home for college or wherever the future leads, the two of you may have over 100,000 hours together. It would be absolutely impossible, unnecessary, and unhelpful to spend all of those hours as your child’s personal Sesame Street Live. Your time with your child should be balanced between focused, engaged together-time with some “we’re in the same room, and we’re both doing our own thing” time.

Co-Sleeping: Making it Work

The family bed, co-sleeping, shared sleep: no matter what you call it, having Baby sleep with you, or close to you, is becoming more common (or perhaps it’s always been common but is becoming more well known).

Sharing sleep is very popular with parents (particularly nursing mothers) of young babies who wake throughout the night, since it allows parents to avoid getting up out of bed and traveling up and down a dark hallway. Co-sleeping is popular also with parents of older babies who enjoy the nighttime closeness with their child.