John's Articles
Early is Better Than Later For Toilet Training
Posted on 10/7/2008
EARLY IS BETTER THAN LATER FOR BABY'S TOILET TRAINING I've said many times that letting a child older than 30 months soil and wet herself several times a day is an insult to the child's...
Read MoreToilet Training: Lose the Diapers Early
Posted on 9/2/2008
LOSE THE DIAPERS ASAP From the Great Suggestions Department: Amanda from Illinois shares a great idea concerning night-time "potty" training. She writes: "When my first daughter was day-time...
Read More3-Year-Old Girl Afraid of Elderly Neighbor
Posted on 8/5/2008
CHILD'S SUDDEN FEAR IS NOTHING PERSONAL Q: My 3-year-old daughter is suddenly acting afraid of our elderly neighbor, who has been a constant presence in her life since day one. Admittedly, he...
Read MorePreSchool-Age Kids' Tantrums
Posted on 6/10/2008
TAMP DOWN TODDLER'S TANTRUMS EARLY An Atlanta pediatrician sent me an article from the February issue of Pediatric News describing research on tantrums in children ages 3-6. Intrigued, I spent...
Read More3-Year-Old Boy Putting Hands in His Pants
Posted on 4/1/2008
Washing hands of problem A 3-year-old's mom was horrified at his habit of putting his hands in his pants. One day, at day care, he exposed himself to the rest of the class. (To which a...
Read More3-Year-Old Boy is Rough with 10-Month-Old Baby
Posted on 1/29/2008
Separate 3-year-old from baby Q. Our 3-year-old son is very tall and strong for his age. When he tries to "play" with his 10-month-old sister, he often ends up on top of her, putting her in a...
Read More3-Year-Old Boy Urinates But No Bowel Movement on Toilet
Posted on 1/15/2008
TRY THIS SIMPLE TACTIC TO GET PAST TOILET-TRAINING IMPASSE One of the consequences of postponing toilet training until well past the second birthday (per the bad advice of most post-1960s...
Read More3 - Year - Old - Child Controlling Parent
Posted on 11/20/2007
Don't let child control you Q. My 3-year-old is a control freak. She's usually agreeable and obeys the first time more often than not. However, she often attempts to control her...
Read More3-Year-Old Girl Having A Hard Time Falling Asleep
Posted on 9/4/2007
LET 3-YEAR-OLD TAKE HER SWEET TIME FALLING ASLEEP Q. It's 10 p.m. and my 3-year-old daughter just fell asleep. She used to sleep 12 hours a night, from 7 to 7, but she hasn't done that in...
Read More3-Year-Old Boy Has Fun With Chore
Posted on 8/21/2007
3-year-old has fun with chore Q. I have recently assigned dish washing in the evening to our 3-year-old. He's quite capable of doing the job, the only problem being that he gets easily...
Read More3-Year-Old Boy Having A Hard Time Saying I'm Sorry
Posted on 7/24/2007
Q: My 3-year-old has a terrible time apologizing for wrongdoing. We generally send him to his room and require him to apologize after he calms down. He will say he's sorry, but he doesn't want us...
Read MoreYoungsters Don't Need To Use Computers
Posted on 7/3/2007
YOUNGSTERS DON'T NEED TO USE COMPUTERS Q: The first time our children visited the grandparents this summer, Grandpa began asking the oldest if he was going to computer camp this summer, if he...
Read More3-Year-Old Girl Naptime
Posted on 7/3/2007
Q. My 3-year-old daughter still takes an hour nap in the afternoon. My husband's parents keep telling me that their children stopped taking naps before age 2. My daughter is a mess if she doesn't...
Read MoreTicket Method for Discipline
Posted on 5/1/2007
WANT A WAY TO TRAIN CHILDREN TO BEHAVE? HERE'S THE TICKET Q: John, several other parents have told me about your "ticket" method for dealing with misbehavior, but I wonder if I can get it...
Read MoreAggressvie Children
Posted on 4/24/2007
STOP AGGRESSION WITH SIR METHOD Last week I promised to provide a tried-and-true solution to a problem that is increasing in both frequency and magnitude: children who are aggressive toward...
Read More3-Year-Old Tantrums
Posted on 4/10/2007
EARLY LESSON IN GOOD BEHAVIOR TAMPS DOWN A TEMPER TANTRUM I had a conflict with one of my grandchildren the other day during which I was insensitive to his feelings, used my size advantage to...
Read MoreUnstructured Play for Preschoolers is Beneficial
Posted on 3/27/2007
MICROMANAGING YOUR KIDS ROBS THEM OF MANY BENEFITS UNSTRUCTURED PLAY LEADS TO SOCIAL SKILLS Several months back, I answered a question from a parent who was bemoaning that in her community,...
Read More3-Year-Old Sleeping Issue
Posted on 2/20/2007
ALLOWING KIDS TO SLEEP IN YOUR BED CAN LEAD TO A NIGHTMARE Sometimes I wonder if parents understand the concept of robbing Peter to pay Paul - that taking the easy way out of a parenting...
Read More3-Year-Old in Timeout
Posted on 1/16/2007
Time-out turnaround Q: In looking over the last 25 years of your work, I've discovered that in one place you said a 3-year-old should spend no more than three minutes in time-out, but in...
Read MoreToddler/Preschool Classes
Posted on 1/9/2007
ALL THOSE CLASSES FOR TOTS WON'T TEACH WHAT REALLY MATTERS Q: In my hometown, various enrichment programs for children under 3 are proliferating. A 2-year-old can take ballet, music, yoga, or...
Read More3-Year-Old Going to Preschool
Posted on 1/2/2007
TODDLERS WHO DON'T GO TO PRESCHOOL UNLIKELY TO FALL BEHIND THEIR PEERS Q: At what age do you think children should start going to preschool? My son is going on 3, and he is home with me. I...
Read MoreToddler Tantrums
Posted on 12/12/2006
TODDLER'S TANTRUMS RUIN THE MORNING Q: My daughter skipped the terrible twos and is now going through the even more terrible threes. The worst part of it is her behavior in the morning. When...
Read More3-Year-Old Moving to a New Home
Posted on 10/24/2006
Moving day From the "I Told You So" Department: I recently answered a reader's question concerning preparing her not-yet-3-year-old daughter for the family's upcoming move by pointing out that...
Read MoreToilet Train by Age 2
Posted on 9/26/2006
BE KIND - LIBERATE YOUR BABY FROM DIRTY DIAPERS BY AGE 2 Knowing that I recommend toilet training between 18 and 24 months, and apparently feeling a tad contrary, a reader recently shared with...
Read More3 1/2-Year-Old Likes Crib Instead of Bed
Posted on 9/19/2006
TODDLER LIKES CRIB INSTEAD OF BED Q: My 3 1/2-year-old daughter still sleeps in a crib, loves it and has no interest in sleeping in the big bed in her room. She's a great sleeper, even though...
Read More3-Year-Old Potty Talk
Posted on 9/5/2006
3-YEAR-OLD REVELS IN POTTY TALK; HOW CAN MOM PUT A LID ON IT? Q: My 3-year-old son constantly uses what I call "potty talk." He uses the words "poop" and "poo-poo" and "poopy" all the time and...
Read MoreGrandma Giving Gifts to Grandchildren
Posted on 8/22/2006
LET GRANDMA ENJOY THE FUN OF BRINGING GIFTS FOR THE CHILDREN Q: Should I stop my mom from giving my three preschool kids presents every time she visits? She is usually here once a month for...
Read More3-Year-Old Imaginary Friend
Posted on 8/1/2006
He prefers imaginary pal Q: My just-turned 3-year-old son has an imaginary friend named Jonas, which I understand is fairly normal for this age. What worries me is that he'd rather play with...
Read MoreDon't Treat 3-Year-Old Like an Adult
Posted on 7/4/2006
DON'T TREAT PRECOCIOUS 3-YEAR-OLD LIKE AN ADULT Q: Our 3-year-old daughter is very intelligent for her age. I know all parents think their children are smart but several doctors have told us...
Read MoreToilet Training
Posted on 3/28/2006
TOILET TRAINING MAY BECOME A THING OF THE PAST I tried to write a column but all I could manage to write was pieces of columns. So, I strung them together and, voila! A column! From the...
Read More3-Year-Old Should Pay Attention to Parents
Posted on 1/31/2006
KIDS MUST LEARN THAT THEIR JOB IS TO PAY ATTENTION TO PARENTS By the time a child is 3 years old, he has come to one of two conclusions concerning his parents: Conclusion One: It's my job...
Read More3-Year-Old Bed Wetting Issue
Posted on 1/17/2006
SPANKING IS NOT SOLUTION TO BED-WETTING BY 3-YEAR-OLD BOY Q: Our 3-year-old son has been day- and night-potty trained for nearly a year. Several months ago, just after starting preschool, he...
Read More3-Year-Old Touching Herself
Posted on 1/3/2006
DON'T WORRY OVER CHILD'S TOUCHING Q: My just-turned 3-year-old daughter started masturbating about six months ago, seemingly to calm herself when she was upset. That didn't bother me, but she's...
Read More3-Year-Old and Day Care Issues
Posted on 12/20/2005
FATHER LEARNS LESSON ABOUT DAY CARE The father titled his letter "You Can't Tell a Day Care By Its Cover." It told a story that has become all-too familiar over the past few years. The dad...
Read MoreAgressive 3-Year-Old
Posted on 12/6/2005
AGGRESSIVE 3-YEAR-OLD LEAVES OLDER PAL IN TEARS Q: Our 5-year-old daughter and our next-door-neighbor's 3-year-old daughter play together a good amount of time. The problem is that their child...
Read MoreDifficult for Babysitter to Impose Discipline for 3-Year-Old
Posted on 11/15/2005
IT'S HARD FOR SITTER TO IMPOSE DISCIPLINE Q: I recently left my 3-year-old daughter with a 16-year-old baby sitter for the first time. She was fine for an hour or so and then began refusing...
Read MoreEffective Way to Teach Children to Share
Posted on 11/8/2005
Q: What's the most effective way to get young children, ages 2 and 3, to share, and what should I do when not sharing escalates into violence? I work in a day-care center and this is my biggest...
Read MoreToilet Training Myths
Posted on 8/9/2005
TOILET TRAINING MYTHS TO IGNORE As some of my readers already know, I have declared all-out war on the absurd, destructive idea - promoted by a good number of pediatricians and mental...
Read MoreNo Delay in Toilet Training
Posted on 7/26/2005
THERE'S NOT A GOOD REASON TO DELAY TOILET TRAINING My recent column on early toilet training prompted a good amount of reader response, both pro and con. Not surprisingly, the older the...
Read MoreToilet Training
Posted on 7/12/2005
DONE PROPERLY, TOILET TRAINING CAN BEGIN 'EARLY' Q: According to my grandmother's diary, my mother was completely toilet trained by age 18 months, but my grandmother didn't explain her...
Read More2- and 3-Year-Old Unruly on Disney Trip
Posted on 3/8/2005
A WHOLE NEW WORLD: TOTS TURN UNRULY ON DISNEY TRIP Q: Our two girls, ages 3 and 2, are very well behaved both at home and in public, so my husband and I decided to treat them to a memorable...
Read MorePotty-Training
Posted on 9/28/2004
POTTY-TRAINING NOT MUCH TRICKIER THAN SPOON-TRAINING A journalist recently asked me whether it was better to "push" children as young as 2 to learn to use the toilet or wait until they decide...
Read MoreHair-Pulling and Head-Banging
Posted on 8/17/2004
CALL CHILD'S BLUFF ON HAIR-PULLING WHEN SHE'S NO LONGER THE CENTER OF ATTENTION, SHE'LL PROBABLY STOP Some time ago, the parents of a 4-year-old girl asked for my thoughts on why their...
Read More3-Year-Old Asks for Food When Upset
Posted on 8/3/2004
PARENTS: YOU ARE SMARTER THAN KIDS SOLUTIONS TO CHILDREN'S DISCIPLINE PROBLEMS CAN BE CREATIVE BUT SIMPLE Good ideas department: On my Web site (www.rosemond.com), I recently fielded a...
Read More3-Year-Old Wakes Up Grumpy
Posted on 8/3/2004
More Good Ideas Department: The parents of a 3-year-old boy were troubled that their son always woke up sullen and grumpy in the morning - every morning. They tried everything they could think of...
Read More3- and 2-Year-Old Toy Cleanup
Posted on 2/17/2004
TOY LIBRARY' AIDS KIDS' CLEANUP Q: When it's time for my two children, ages 42 and 24 months, to clean up their play messes, they frequently don't do as I've asked, and I can't figure out what...
Read More2- and 3-Year-Old Have Issues Sharing Toy
Posted on 1/13/2004
Q: The park in the center of our neighborhood is full of parents and children of all ages every afternoon. My 3-year-old daughter is having a problem with a much smaller 2-year-old. Often my...
Read MoreToilet Training Must Start Early
Posted on 12/23/2003
TOILET TRAINING MUST START EARLY THE LONGER PARENTS WAIT AFTER 24 MONTHS, THE HARDER IT WILL BE Is it easier to house-train a 6-month-old puppy or a 1-year-old dog? The puppy, right? If you...
Read More42-Month-Old Having Meltdowns at Preschool
Posted on 11/18/2003
TIME-OUTS CAN MAKE LASTING IMPRESSION Q: Our 42-month-old son is in a mornings-only preschool. He was in the same church program last year and had lots of "meltdowns," usually during group...
Read MoreMom Does Not Use Sippy Cups
Posted on 10/14/2003
PARENTING NUGGETS' OFFER SOLUTIONS TO EVERYDAY CHALLENGES Every so often, through my Web site usually, a parent - well, actually, a mom - will send me an especially creative idea she stumbled...
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