John's Articles
32-Month-Old Potty Training
Posted on 2/26/2002
BOY IS VERY CAPABLE OF POTTY TRAINING Q: I tried toilet training my 32-month-old boy, but after a couple of days of no success, I decided to stop and try again later. My friend says I need to...
Read More23-Month-Old Unlikely to Recall Traumatic Event
Posted on 1/22/2002
TODDLER UNLIKELY TO RECALL TRAUMATIC EVENT Q: At 23 months (four months ago), our daughter had an experience that was, by adult standards, "traumatic." Without going into detail, it was a...
Read More26-Month-Old Potty Training Issue
Posted on 11/27/2001
LET SON MANAGE OWN POTTY-TRAINING Q: I've been trying to toilet-train my 26-month-old son for several months now. He will have a good day, then a few bad days, then a good day, and so on....
Read MoreToilet Training and Bedtime Issues
Posted on 11/20/2001
PARENTS ARE GOING BACK TO THE BASICS An analysis of the 3,000-plus questions submitted to date to my Web site suggests the two biggest problems besetting American parents concern the toilet and...
Read MoreMom Concerned about Development Skills of Premature 21-Month-Old
Posted on 10/2/2001
FUDD TALK IS OK FOR 21-MONTH-OLD Q: My 21-month-old was premature. As a consequence, her developmental skills are lagging by approximately three months. I'm especially worried about language...
Read More30-Month-Old Bedwetting Issue
Posted on 10/2/2001
Child must learn not to wet Q: Our 30-month-old was successfully toilet trained six months ago. We've been using pull-ups at night and during nap time since. When and how should we go about...
Read MoreMom-Care is Generally Better Than Daycare
Posted on 5/22/2001
CLOSED MINDS SHUT OUT VITAL RESEARCH ON DAY CARE We live in the postmodern age, which is characterized by a rampant anti-intellectualism. It matters not, for example, that objective evidence...
Read MorePacifiers
Posted on 3/6/2001
A LITTLE COMMON SENSE YOU CAN FILE FOR LATER Good Ideas File: Responding to my recent article on pacifiers, a mother writes, "I have three children, ages 5, 7, and 9. When it came time for one...
Read MoreChild Older Than 18 Months Should Not Be Allowed to Suck on Pacifier
Posted on 2/6/2001
PARENTS, IT'S TIME TO GROW UP AND PASS ON THE PACIFIER Please bear with me while I rant and rave: What is this business of allowing children older than 6 months to walk/ride/be carried around...
Read More26-Month-Old Diagnosed with ADHD
Posted on 12/5/2000
DON'T MEDICATE A 2-YEAR-OLD FOR NORMAL RASCALITY A friend of mine participates in a national network of pediatricians who share information and advice with one another through the World Wide...
Read MoreDevelopmental Milestones for Social Behaviors
Posted on 10/17/2000
SOCIAL SKILLS HAVE THEIR MILESTONE AGES, TOO Almost everyone is familiar with the concept of milestones as they relate to a child's developmental "health." For example, the average age of...
Read MoreGuidelines for Teaching Toddlers to Share
Posted on 8/29/2000
STOP 'NONSHARING' WITH SWIFT ACTION Last week, after answering a question from the mother of a 5-year-old who was being abused by a 3-year-old playmate, I promised to follow up with guidelines...
Read More2-Year-Old Biting Others
Posted on 8/8/2000
2-YEAR-OLD'S BITING NEEDS TO BE PUT TO A STOP NOW Q. My brother and his wife have a big problem with their son, Axel, who recently turned 2. For the past 6 months or so, he has been biting...
Read MoreDay Care Issues
Posted on 7/11/2000
SCHLESSINGER TAKES OVERLY HARSH STAND ON DAY CARE It was, I suppose, inevitable that people, journalists included, would ask me what I think about the position on children and day care that...
Read MoreExperts Recommend Young Children Not Be Allowed on Computers
Posted on 6/27/2000
PEN, PAPER BETTER THAN COMPUTER AS LEARNING TOOL A growing number of experts are recommending that young children not be allowed on computers for any reason at all. These people are not...
Read MoreParents Leaving 18-Month-Old with Grandma for Trip
Posted on 5/23/2000
ENJOY YOUR TRIP - CHILD WILL WELCOME YOU BACK Q. My husband and I are about to take a four-day trip, during which we plan to leave our 18-month-old daughter with my in-laws. Grandma works, but...
Read More32-Month-Old Waking to go Potty During the Night
Posted on 5/16/2000
'THE DOCTOR' CAN HELP YOUR POTTY TRAINEE Q. Our 32-month-old daughter has been daytime toilet-trained since 26 months. At 29 months, she started getting up once a night to use the potty even...
Read More2-Year-Old Picking Up Toys
Posted on 5/2/2000
LIMIT THAT 2-YEAR-OLD TO ONE TOY AT A TIME Q. Is it too much to expect a 2-year-old to pick up his toys? Our little boy, when we tell him to pick up his toys, just stands there and looks at...
Read More30-Month-Old Potty Training
Posted on 4/18/2000
PARENTS TODAY EXAGGERATE PSYCHOLOGY OF TOILET TRAINING I came across an interesting question the other day while reading my e-mail. The mother of a 30-month-old was asking for some direction...
Read MoreParenting at its Well-Intentioned Worst
Posted on 3/21/2000
HEREIN LIES THE TALE OF 'PARENTING AT ITS WELL-INTENTIONED WORST' A few months ago, I told the story of how two friends of mine had handled an incident of flagrant disobedience on the part of...
Read MoreAppropriate Amount of Praise for 15-Month-Old
Posted on 3/14/2000
TODDLER WILL SOON BECOME DEPENDENT ON STEADY PRAISE Q. What is the appropriate amount of praise for a 15-month-old? I praise my toddler for specific accomplishments, but I don't make a...
Read More26-Month-Old Screams When Upset
Posted on 2/29/2000
PUT THE SCREAMER IN HIS PLACE, AND MAKE IT JUST FOR TANTRUMS Q. My youngest, a boy, is 26 months old. When we visited relatives recently, my nephew - three months older - was very aggressive...
Read MoreOptimal Time for Toilet Training lies between 18 and 30 Months
Posted on 1/18/2000
TOILET-TRAINING MAY HAVE A WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY, OPEN AT 18 MONTHS I have addressed the issue of toilet training in previous columns and books. My advice has been to time the initiation of...
Read MoreParents Want to Know of Unique Challenges of Having Kids Close Together in Age
Posted on 12/14/1999
MAKE THE MOST OF WHAT YOU KNOW, AND YOUR 3 KIDS WILL BE FINE Q. We have three children: 3 years, 22 months and 9 months. Are there any insights you can share regarding any unique challenges or...
Read MoreToo Many After-School Activities
Posted on 10/26/1999
ONE OUTSIDE ACTIVITY PER CHILD IS ENOUGH Q. We have three daughters, ages 8, 6 and 2. Our concern is whether we are scheduling too many extracurricular activities for the two older children....
Read More2-Year-Old Isn't Talking
Posted on 8/3/1999
YEAR-OLD WHO TRIES WILL TALK EVENTUALLY Q. Our 2-year-old isn't talking yet, and we're worried to death about it. He babbles, and it's obvious to us that he's trying to say words, but he...
Read More18-Month-Old Bangs Her Head in Crib
Posted on 8/3/1999
Q. When we put her in her crib at night, our 18-month-old daughter gets on all fours and rocks back and forth, banging her head against the headboard. It's a gentle but persistent banging...
Read MoreDisposable Training Pants Are Not Worth It
Posted on 5/18/1999
Q. My husband and I know you think children should be toilet-trained by no later than age 30 months, but we'd like to know what you think about the disposable training pants on the market. Do you...
Read MoreLate Toilet Training
Posted on 3/9/1999
DISPOSE OF IDEAS ON LATE TOILET TRAINING As some readers know, I have declared all-out war on the absurd, destructive notion - touted by the likes of America's favorite pediatrician, T. Berry...
Read MoreToilet Training
Posted on 12/15/1998
TOILET TRAINING BY AGE 2 SERVES CHILD BEST T. Berry Brazelton, who recently became the spokesperson for Pampers, and I are at odds over toilet training. We've gone point/counterpoint in...
Read MoreToilet Training Series - Part 3
Posted on 9/15/1998
EARLY TOILET TRAINING CALLS FOR VOICES OF EXPERIENCE Q. My mother tells me she and her siblings were completely toilet trained by age 18 months, but she doesn't know how. My mother is the...
Read MoreHere’s Naked Truth on $75 Potty Training
Posted on 9/1/1998
At the end of last week's column, after blasting away at the parenting experts who came up with what's called "child-oriented'' toilet training, I promised to follow up with a description of an...
Read MoreIt’s Parents’ Responsibility to Decide on Potty Training
Posted on 8/25/1998
Q. What are your feelings about the idea, as expressed by (a well-known parenting authority) that "only the child knows when he's ready to be toilet trained?'' A. Equating toilet training with...
Read MoreDay Care Update
Posted on 3/31/1998
UPDATE ON DAY CARE: IT'S STILL NOT AS HEALTHY AS ADVERTISED Five years ago, I wrote a series of columns in which I contended that group day care is disadvantageous for children under age 3....
Read MoreSingle Most Important Thing a Preschool Child Can Learn
Posted on 3/17/1998
ABOVE ALL, YOUR KINDERGARTNER SHOULD KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH TIME Many school systems across America send parents of upcoming kindergarten students a laundry list of things those children are...
Read More2-Year-Old is Aggressive with Babies
Posted on 3/3/1998
TODDLERS DON'T REALIZE YET THAT BABIES CAN BE HURT Q. Two days a week, my 2-year-old son attends a mother's morning out program that includes children as young as 8 months. At present, he is...
Read MoreChildren Should Be Accountable For Their Behavior
Posted on 12/16/1997
WHEN CHILD GETS TO AGE 2, PUSH HIM OUT OF PARADISE In Genesis 2 and 3, Adam and Eve - after being told not to do so - eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. When God discovers what...
Read MoreParents of 2-Year-Old Question If They Should Have More Children
Posted on 11/11/1997
WITH ONLY CHILD, GET OTHER KIDS' HELP Q. My husband and I have a 2-year-old boy. We question whether we want to have any more children. We'd like to know whether you have any particular...
Read MoreMust be Firm with 32-Month-Old
Posted on 10/28/1997
A LITTLE FIRMNESS GOES A LONG WAY Every so often, a parent is presented with an opportunity to create what I call a "defining moment.'' Such "moments'' set important precedents and resolve...
Read MoreQuick-and-Easy Potty Training
Posted on 9/30/1997
As promised in last week's column, today's column will reveal the secrets of quick-and-easy toilet training; but first, a brief recap: * The typical child is ready to be toilet trained between...
Read MoreCome What May’ Approach to Potty Training Is All Wet
Posted on 9/23/1997
Q. My son is 28 months old and not yet toilet-trained. My mother-in-law says he should no longer be wearing diapers, but on a recent talk show, a pediatrician said parents should be in no hurry...
Read MoreChild-Proof Home for Climbing 16-Month-Old
Posted on 7/8/1997
CHILD-PROOF YOUR HOME, SO YOUR TODDLER CAN ROAM Q. Our 16-month-old daughter has recently started climbing and getting into lots of things that are "off limits.'' We have tried popping her...
Read More3 Understandings That Parents Should Communicate to Children by Age 3
Posted on 6/3/1997
RULES FOR RAISING CHILDREN RESPONSIBLY COME IN SETS OF 3 One of the main themes of my sixth book, "A Family Of Value'' (Andrews and McMeel, 1996), concerns three fundamental understandings...
Read MoreGrandparents Indulge 2-Year-Old
Posted on 3/30/1997
GRANDPARENTS WHO INDULGE GRANDKIDS DO THEM NO HARM Q. We are grandparents to the world's most wonderful child, a boy who just turned 2. When his parents leave him with us, which happens at...
Read More2-Year-Old Asks "Why" All The Time
Posted on 1/9/1997
SON'S WHY?' NEEDS REPLY, BUT KEEP IT SIMPLE Q. Our 2-year-old son has started asking "Why?'' about almost everything. He'll ask a question like, "What's this?'' while pointing to something....
Read More2-Year-Old Bedtime and Sharing Issues
Posted on 9/12/1996
THIS MOM-IN-LAW MAY BE ADDING TO PARENTS' WOES Q. We have a 2-year-old and a 10-month-old, and three problems - all concerning the older one. First, he still wants a bottle when he's put to...
Read MoreTelling the Toddler "The Doctor Says" Isn't The Same As Lying
Posted on 3/21/1996
TELLING TODDLER THE DOCTOR SAYS' ISN'T SAME AS LYING Q. In a recent column, you advised communicating rules to older toddlers and 3-year-olds by telling them the rules are from their...
Read More2-Year-Old Bites Himself
Posted on 7/30/1993
PARENTS SHOULDN'T OVERREACT TO SELF-BITING Q. Our 2-year-old occasionally bites himself when he's angry, usually because he didn't get his way. Does this mean he's insecure or that something...
Read MoreHow to Move 2-Year-Old from Parents' Bed to His Own Bed
Posted on 7/9/1993
Q. What's the least disruptive way of moving my 2-year-old son, who's been sleeping with me since he was a baby, to his own bed? A. No doubt about it, a 2-year-old who's been sleeping with a...
Read MoreParent Care vs Day Care - Part 4
Posted on 7/2/1993
ONCE AGAIN, LISTEN UP: CARING FOR CHILD AT HOME IS BETTER THAN DAY CARE Jennifer Mitchell, a columnist for the Des Moines (Iowa) Register, recently took me to task for saying that at-home...
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