When Your Toddler Pushes Your Buttons

After giving a parenting lecture one day, a mother approached me complaining that her two-year-old was constantly whining, getting into everything and making her very frustrated.

How to Grocery Shop with Kids

“I go shopping a couple times a week, and I have to take my child with me. He hates to go and so he usually ends up begging for candy and then fussing, crying or having a tantrum in the store. Is there any want to fix this?”

Why Short Cat Naps Are Not Good Enough

If your child’s naps are shorter than an hour and a half in length, you may have wondered if these brief naps provide enough rest for your little one. You might suspect that these catnaps aren’t meeting your child’s sleep needs – and you would be right. The science of sleep explains why a short nap takes the edge off but doesn’t offer the same physical and mental nourishment that a longer nap provides.

What to do about Firstborn Jealousy

What should you do if your firstborn is showing jealousy towards the new baby? What if your firstborn is mad at you for disrupting the predictable flow of his life with this new challenger for your attention? Here’s how you can smooth things out.

Getting Kids to Cooperate

How can you get your kids to cooperate and do the many things they must do from morning until bedtime? Here are some tips for a happier household.

Be specific:

Don’t hint at the tasks you would like done, such as, “It would be nice if somebody helped me clean up.” Don’t make it sound as if agreement is optional by starting your sentence with “Could you” or “Would you?” or ending your sentence with, “. . . Okay?” Make your request clear, short and on point, “Please put your dishes in the sink and wash the table.” or “It’s time to gather your homework and come to the table.” Make sure that your statement is clear and that it will identify what is needed or describe the problem without a lecture.

One Question NEVER to ask a Child Who is Potty Training

Potty training is a process that takes time to master. It will take quite a while for your little one to remember to even ask to go to the bathroom. Children have to learn how to read their body’s signals, understand what they mean, and act on them by stopping what they’re doing and making the trip to the bathroom. An active toddler who is concentrating on play will often miss the signals, or hope they’ll go away so that she can finish her activity. She may also misjudge how long she has before her holding control stops. She may think she can put off going to the potty, but eventually her natural response will be to release, no matter where she is. 

The Best Is Yet To Come

As a mom of four young adults, I can tell you this. As precious as those tiny bundles are now, the best is yet to come.