Questions

"Special Tantrum Place" for Tantrums

Posted on 2/28/2024

My son (21 months) is in full blown “terrible twos.” He does lots of throwing fits. When they happen he gets a swat on the bottom and has to sit in his bed until he will be sweet and say he’s...

Hide and seek marriage.

Posted on 2/22/2024

I am married but in a lot of ways feel like a single mother. Our 2 kids are quite busy toddlers. My husband often works late (not because he has to but because he wants to) and when he is home he...

Big Girl Voice

Posted on 2/14/2024

Re the most recent question about the 5 yr. old whining, interrupting. What would the advice be for a 26-month-old, who basically does the same thing? Time outs don’t seem to affect her.

Lying 2.5-Year-Old??

Posted on 1/30/2024

My 2.5 year old daughter has started lying and it is quickly becoming a big issue in our home. I know that John says something like, “Ask no questions, they’ll tell you lies.” So I have tried to...

Mom and Grandma Working Together

Posted on 1/30/2024

My 26 month old granddaughter whom I watch 3x a week is pretty well behaved, naps without fussing, picks up toys. She has occasional outbursts when is refused something , but a very short 2-3...

Road Trip & Potty Training

Posted on 1/16/2024

My daughter (2.5) is potty trained and we are working on potty training our son (19 months). We have a long road trip coming up in April when we have to travel from South Dakota to...

Teaching manners and respect to toddler

Posted on 1/16/2024

We are working on teaching our kids manners and trying to teach them to be respectful. They know excuse me, please, thank you, and yes ma’am/sir. Recently when I’ve been feeding them my daughter...

Avoid Pushing Toddler Too Early

Posted on 1/9/2024

My daughter is 2.5. I don’t plan on starting homeschooling for quite a while yet but my husband feels like we should start working on letters. He started working with her on numbers when she was...

Toddlers are stubborn and sneaky - really?

Posted on 1/7/2024

We live in a rougher part of town and our front door is close to the road. Because of this and because of my kids being very young (2.5 & 1.5) I don’t want them outside without me. We lock the...

2.5 y/o refuses to poop

Posted on 12/28/2023

My 2.5 year old is potty trained when it comes to pee but not poop. She is a stool holder, she constipates herself and I have to give her mirlax daily. I believe they are painful because of how...

How to space kids?

Posted on 12/27/2023

From previous questions you know that our two kids are very active and often very naughty. God is helping us and we’re trying to follow your advice. Some weeks are rough. Others are better but we...

Big move Big changes

Posted on 12/15/2023

Since our move my daughter has started having accidents again. She was day potty trained (only a couple accidents a week so staying dry and clean 98% of the time) but after the move she started...

Toddlers Acting Up After Moving Across Town

Posted on 12/12/2023

Recently we moved to an apartment across town from where we were. My kids (2.5 & 1.5) are really struggling to adjust to the new place. They are used to seeing their grandparents every day and...

How much to expect from toddlers

Posted on 12/5/2023

How do I know where to draw the line between what to expect for proper behavior and what is too advanced for the kids (girl 2.5 and boy 1.5) to learn? My husband and I have high standards of what...

Toddlers struggle with rules.

Posted on 11/30/2023

How do I teach my little people (2.5 and 1.5) to have respect? Often the baby will scream and yell for what he wants and doesn’t use much English yet. My daughter talks clearly but often demands...

Night training continued

Posted on 11/27/2023

My daughter (2.5) that I mentioned in an earlier question seems to be a very heavy sleeper. Because of our current housing situation she sleeps in our room but is in her own bed. I have considered...

"Fit Places" for a two year old

Posted on 11/26/2023

At what age can I start using tickets? I tried for a while with my 2.5 year old but she just chewed/folded/tore them up and thought they were toys. So far time out and pictures taped to the fridge...

Night Training

Posted on 11/26/2023

1. My daughter (2.5) is day potty trained other than occasionally having accidents. But at night or nap time she still wets the bed. We stopped doing diapers totally with her quite a while ago but...

Climbing Toddlers

Posted on 11/1/2023

I have two very busy little people (2.5 and 1.5). They are very curious and love to explore but can also be naughty at times. Christmas time will be coming soon and I love to decorate for it. But...

When AlphaMom is in the Room

Posted on 10/30/2023

My 2.5-year-old son keeps asking, " are you happy?" when I am firm or use "Alpha Speech." I'm not exactly sure how to answer or even if i should answer the question. I don't want him to think my...

Stay The Course

Posted on 9/19/2023

A while back I had asked a question about potty training my daughter (2). She has the idea down but often gets too busy playing and then has accidents. I have been making her wash out her...

Wrong Place? Wrong Time?

Posted on 9/13/2023

My grandson is 32 months old. He’s been in a Christian preschool for the last 3 weeks. The teacher often sends texts and reports to my daughter (mom) about the grandson shoving, hitting, and...

When will sharing 'click'

Posted on 9/12/2023

When I hear my two little people (2 and 15 months) arguing, fussing, yelling, etc. at each other in the play room, should I go investigate and discipline whoever is in the wrong (if one sibling...

2YO's Fascination with Fido's Bowl

Posted on 9/11/2023

My son is 2 weeks away from turning 2. He plays in the dog bowl of food and water multiple times a day. We have told him not to and have calmly put him in timeout but he’s not seeming to get it or...

DISCIPLINE WITH A TODDLER

Posted on 9/5/2023

We have followed your advice and most of the bad behavior (throwing food, bully little brother, battles over picking up toys, being a tattle tale) have cleared up. But we are still struggling some...

Cannot serve two masters

Posted on 8/30/2023

Things are going better and God is helping us. I want to continue to stay on top of things and be a good leader for my kids. The issue is after a while, because of how life goes, I start letting...

TODDLER REPEATING HIMSELF INCESSANTLY

Posted on 8/24/2023

I have 3 kids- 4, 3, 10 months. The current struggle we are having is with our just turned 3 year old son. Come to think of it, this has been an issue since he could speak. Our son will ask a...

Toilet Training in the mean time

Posted on 8/22/2023

I have temporary custody of my just turned two granddaughter. Her dad works out of state and isn’t with her as much as he would like to be. Her Mom has supervised visits every other weekend. I...

2 YO having occasional accidents

Posted on 8/21/2023

We began potty training our daughter (2yr) when she was 16 months old. Now a year later she can take herself to the bathroom and sometimes stays dry all day. Other times she has accidents but I...

Testing 1 2 3

Posted on 8/17/2023

My children (2 and 1) are very used to having their grandparents around all the time since we currently live together while we try to find a house. My parents are away for about 10 days and the...

TODDLER TESTING ANXIOUS MOM?

Posted on 8/16/2023

My child (2) has suddenly started testing all sorts of areas that I thought we had conquered. She started purposely peeing on the floor, throwing food out of the high chair, pulling her hair...

Value systems call.

Posted on 8/10/2023

My nephew just turned 9. He is the oldest of 4 and they live four houses down from us. The youngest is a boy the same age as my son. He has been painting his nails along with his brothers nails...

No Need to Rush Transition from Crib

Posted on 8/9/2023

Hello, I have a 22 month old. He is starting to get to the point where he is going to be able to climb out of a play pen on vacation. Should we transition him to a toddler bed at home before...

Balancing Adult Responsibilities and Quality Time with Young Children

Posted on 8/9/2023

I hear so much about how kids grow up so fast, how we need to enjoy them when they are young, how they need more one-on-one time, etc. I agree that they grow up fast and that it is important to...

Tattletale Two-Year-Old

Posted on 8/9/2023

My daughter (2 yr) has trouble with being a tattletale. Off and on all day she tells me what her brother (1 yr) is doing. It’s true that a lot of the time when she says he is doing something wrong...

2-Year-Old Would Rather Play Than Eat

Posted on 8/9/2023

We need help with meal time, breakfast seems to be the worst. We have two girls ages 4.5 and 2. Every day I make breakfast and the girls sit down to eat. Breakfast usually starts well, and I’m...

Terrible twos

Posted on 8/9/2023

My daughter (2 yr.) has suddenly started undressing when she is supposed to keep her clothes on. She will be in the middle of playing with her brother while I do house work or cook supper and she...

An Adult-Centered...

Posted on 7/31/2023

My son is 22 months old, is it too early to start telling kids to wait while adults are talking? If not how should I go about correcting him when he interrupt adults?

Mom and 2yo girl in Great Transition

Posted on 7/15/2023

How do I transition my daughter (2 yr) to the next season? Right now we are in the first season, I think John calls it the season of servitude or something like that. But I know she has to take...

Not Always Smooth Sailing for 2 and 4YO

Posted on 7/13/2023

I am trying to determine age-appropriate behavioral expectations for a 4.5 year old. He is obedient and does small chores. He knows there are behaviors completely unacceptable (hitting, throwing...

How to Balance Being a Wife, Mother, and Student

Posted on 7/13/2023

I will soon be beginning college classes (from home) but I’m wondering how to balance being a wife, child rearing, house keeping (and all the laundry and cooking), and find time to study and do my...

Head Hurter

Posted on 7/12/2023

When my 22-month-old son is told no, he will usually obey but he will take his fist and hit the side of his head (hard!) repeatedly or will start running until he falls and then will bang his head...

Relax your parenting expectations.

Posted on 7/10/2023

I am very overwhelmed with trying to raise my daughter (2 yr). I’m a Christian so I have been praying about this and asking ladies in my church like John mentions doing. I feel like I am...

1 and 2-year olds scared of vacuum

Posted on 6/28/2023

My kids (2 yr and 1 yr) are both terrified of the vacuum. I thought that the older one was less scared and was getting over the fear but then she suddenly went back to crying and sometimes almost...

Book Etiquette and Two Year Olds

Posted on 6/27/2023

My daughter (2) has done pretty well in being gentle with books. But recently she has started tearing pages and biting books. It doesn’t matter if they are normal books or board books, she is hard...

2 yo girl bullies little brother

Posted on 6/27/2023

My daughter (2) has been biting her brother (1). It’s not just a nibble. It’s a hard chomp that leaves him sobbing and with teeth marks on his arm or wherever she bit him. She also pushes him,...

Potty training and perpetual frustration

Posted on 6/21/2023

We used John’s process of potty training and I thought my daughter was potty trained (other than diapers for naps and bedtime). We started around 16-17 months old and now she is a few months past...

Church Service Woes

Posted on 6/20/2023

Our family attends church services several times a week. We are trying to work with our children (girl, 2 years old and boy, 1 year old) to be quiet in church and are trying to train our daughter...

Is spanking working for us or not?

Posted on 6/15/2023

My husband and I believe in spanking but I don’t like doing it very often. We have a 2 year old girl and a 1 year old boy. If the our son is pulling out books, messes with my glasses, or refuses...

2 yo girl tests a learned lesson

Posted on 6/14/2023

My daughter (2 years old) has been trained to pick up her toys. She got to the place that I could tell her to pick up toys and would walk away and she would take care of them. We were very pleased...

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