Toddler (18MOS-3 years)

John's Most Recent Articles

Why Hanna Sleeps With Us

Posted on 5/9/2023

My wife, Willie (nee Wilma), and I are the happy caretakers of a happy seventeen-month-old pure white toy schnauzer, Hanna. Hanna occupies the center of our attention. If you spent a day in our...

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Don't Turn Little Issues Into Big Problems

Posted on 4/11/2023

Q: My almost-3-year-old, when I begin to do something, will yell, “I WILL DO IT!” When it’s something he can do, fine, but if it’s not, then I just say, “No, Mommy will do it” and that’s the end...

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Is It Okay for a Toddler to Play With His Food?

Posted on 3/28/2023

Q: Our 22-month-old son has developed a bad habit of spitting out bites of food. The first time it happened, I had set a cup on his tray while he was still chewing a bite of food. He...

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Father Feels Rejected by 18-Month-Old Son

Posted on 3/14/2023

“What have I done to cause my 18-month-old son to reject me?” asks a new dad. Whenever he tries to hold his son, feed, dress, or change him, the child puts up great resistance and screams...

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Toddler Q&A

Posted on 2/14/2023

Q: When we reprimand our 34-month-old daughter for something, anything, she begins to wail like we’re beating her. Whether we firmly redirect or simply say, "No,” she begins to wail like...

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Starting Toilet Training Early Pays Off

Posted on 12/27/2022

Q: My grandmother maintains that her children – my mother and her two siblings, all born in the 1950s – were completely toilet trained at 18 months. Her terse explanation: “I just gave...

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Playing Well With Toddlers

Posted on 11/8/2022

Q: I have two boys, 18 and 33 months. How much time each day should I spend involved in activities with them? Also, they chase one another around the house and other sorts of...

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The Problem With Pull-Ups

Posted on 11/1/2022

I finally tracked down the fellow who invented the so-called “pull-up.” His name is Lucapher (Big Lou) Saytan. Reputedly, Mr. Saytan lives in an underground bunker from which he develops and...

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On Chores, Discipline, Potty-Training

Posted on 3/29/2022

Q: When I give my 5-year-old daughter a chore, she does it, but all the while she is muttering under her breath, huffing and puffing, and so on. Do I discipline that behavior or just let her...

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The Keys to Relatively Quick, Painless Toilet Training

Posted on 1/12/2022

Q: I recently tried toilet training my 32-month-old, but after a few days of no success, I decided to stop. A friend tells me to hang in there, but my pediatrician says my son isn’t ready. She...

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Recent Questions

Stay The Course

Posted 1 week ago

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...

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Wrong Place? Wrong Time?

Posted 2 weeks ago

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...

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When will sharing 'click'

Posted 2 weeks ago

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...

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2YO's Fascination with Fido's Bowl

Posted 2 weeks ago

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...

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DISCIPLINE WITH A TODDLER

Posted 3 weeks ago

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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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Video

Toilet Training Made Stress Free (Webinar Recording)

Posted on 5/16/2023

In 1955, Harvard University determined that nearly 9 out of 10 children were completely toilet trained to the point of being accident-free by 23 months of age. In the 1960s, pediatricians began...

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