Posted on 6/9/2020
“There’s no one-size-fits-all model of childrearing for all the world’s parents,” opines Alma Gottlieb, Professor Emerita of Anthropology at the University of Illinois. Gottlieb was quoted in an...
Read MorePosted on 4/21/2020
Q: My three-year-old son tends to react physically when he's mad at a preschool classmate instead of talking it out and letting the teachers intervene. We have encouraged him to use words when...
Read MorePosted on 2/25/2020
Q: Our daughter, our first and only, is just short of three-and-one-half. She has recently started coming into our room in the middle of the night and making a request of one sort or another. She...
Read MorePosted on 9/26/2018
Talking today’s mother through her first experience with toilet training is akin to talking someone off a ledge. Both situations involve massive anxiety, high drama and lots of yelling and...
Read MorePosted on 8/14/2018
“Potty training is a nightmare.” So begins advice from Meghan Leahy, advice columnist for The Washington Post. More accurately, potty training has, of late, BECOME a nightmare, thanks to advice of...
Read MorePosted on 7/10/2018
Strolling through my go-to grocery store the other day, I happened down the Baby Products aisle where I spied packages of toilet-training pants featuring pictures of happy children who looked at...
Read MorePosted on 12/19/2017
Q: My parents recently told me that my husband and I are letting our toddler run our family and that it’s becoming increasingly uncomfortable for them to visit or have us visit with them – they...
Read MorePosted on 8/2/2017
Q: Our twin girls will be three in a few months. Our pediatrician recommended that we start toilet training at 32 months, which we did. After several months and lots of gnashing of teeth, one of...
Read MorePosted on 4/12/2017
There is no good evidence that the artificial gains produced by so-called "jump-start" educational programs for toddlers, whether computer-driven or human-driven, are of lasting value....
Read MorePosted on 3/14/2017
Q: My 30-month-old has started throwing tantrums when I do not give her or do for her what she wants. During her fits, she cries, screams, tries to hit and even bite me, and then, if I prevent her...
Read MorePosted 6 days ago
My son is 18 months old and for the past 3 days I have been trying to potty train him. It has been a big fail so far. He doesn’t seem to know when he needs to go. He has a surprised look on his...
Read MorePosted 6 days ago
My son is 18 months old and for the past 3 days I have been trying to potty train him. It has been a big fail so far. He doesn’t seem to know when he needs to go. He has a surprised look on his...
Read MorePosted 1 week ago
For a few months now, my toddlers (both age 2.5) have stopped wanting to hang out with me. They're both pretty good at playing independently and occupying themselves, and they seem to enjoy it....
Read MorePosted 2 weeks ago
What is the best way to recover after making a mistake? For instance, if 3 children are very close in age, and you punish the wrong child for something you later find out their sibling had done.
Read MorePosted 3 weeks ago
I have read the toilet training book and have been trying N75 with my 2-year-old daughter. After 5 days she has had zero success going in the potty. Peeing on the floor and down her legs does not...
Read MorePosted 1 month ago
Are you familiar with the term 2e kids? Or twice exceptional? Our 10 year old son appears to fall into this category. He is at above average intelligence, but his emotional iq is lacking and a...
Read MorePosted on 6/13/2020
My 18 month old always gets a short time out when he hits or throws food. Consequently, he almost never hits or throws food any more. However, since we have been going out more, he is now testing...
Read MorePosted on 6/11/2020
My kids have too many toys, dolls and stuffed animals. They are ages 10, 7, 4, and 1. For the older three kids can I just get rid of things without their knowing, or do I need to talk to them...
Read MorePosted on 6/4/2020
Hi our son is about 2 years and 3 months old and he has decided that he doesn't like being strapped into his carseat. As soon as I pull out of the driveway (sometimes before), he will slip his...
Read MorePosted on 5/31/2020
I have a 6-year-old, and 2.5 year old. They are fighting A LOT. What’s the best way to discipline them? I try to let them work it out as much as I can, but it’s constant. Older child ripping toys...
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