Pre-Preschool (3 Year Old)

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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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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If Bedtime Routine Invites Trouble, Shorten It

Posted on 7/12/2022

Q: We have a 3.5-year-old and each night we have a routine that we go through with her--bath, pajamas, brush, choose two books and read them, sing a couple of songs, and pray before lights out....

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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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Patience With Young Daughter’s Questions Will Pay Off

Posted on 3/1/2022

Q: I’m concerned that my 3-year-old – she’s nearly 4 – daughter has some sort of language issue. For example, even though my brother’s family moved away nearly two years ago, whenever we drive by...

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In Defense of ‘Because I Said So'

Posted on 2/1/2022

Q: Concerning chores, another expert recommends giving a child a certain number of chips, like poker chips, every month and if he or she fails to do a chore or doesn’t do it properly, you take a...

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Avoid Telling Young Kids About Existential Threats

Posted on 1/18/2022

Q: My 3-year-old is fearful of trying anything new, including things that other kids his age love to do such as swinging on a swing, sliding down a slide, and splashing in a pool. I feel like I...

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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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Is This Battle Worth It?

Posted on 12/29/2021

Q: I have six-month- and thirty-two-month-old boys. The older one—well-mannered, easy going, very affectionate—attends a preschool program three mornings a week. This is his second year there. ...

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Recent Questions

Mass Confusion Has Taken Over!

Posted 6 days ago

I need a reset with our boys, ages 11, 9, 6 & 5. After a season of intense caring for our baby and 2-year-old daughter, things have become a disaster. The top misbehaviors in the house are...

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3 YO SWATS THE AIR INSTEAD OF HITTING

Posted 2 weeks ago

My 3.5-year-old son has always been a strong-willed child. About 6 months ago, we started using your discipline methods which have been great. Before that, we relied heavily on spanking but it...

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Nap-Time Struggles

Posted 3 weeks ago

We are struggling with nap-time. My 3 yr girl and 2 yr boy always take a nap in the afternoon. If they are at their grandparents’s house and are in separate rooms they go to sleep quickly. But if...

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Be a Confident Leader

Posted on 8/19/2024

When using the tickets system with children (3-6 years old), how long should you give them to obey an instruction before a ticket is taken? Should you give them a minute or so grace period after...

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Toddler guidance and independence

Posted on 7/11/2024

We recently found out that Baby #3 is on the way. We are trying to conquer the terrible twos with our son and conquer some issues with our 3 yr daughter. She has had a sneaky, disrespectful...

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Recognizing the Value of Childhood Chores

Posted on 7/5/2024

Hi there! I am wanting to know what chores I should expect from my three daughters, 3.5yo twins and 6.5yo. They help out here and there, but Dad and I are tired of doing all the clean up and no...

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Post Vacay Reset

Posted on 5/5/2024

We recently went on a trip that was 13 days long. There was lots of drive time as we went to see different friends, family, and attended a wedding. Before the trip I could see that our two kids (3...

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Never spar with a picky eater.

Posted on 5/4/2024

My daughter (3 yrs.) has become a picky eater. Before she would occasionally be picky but most of the time did pretty decent with what we gave her. But she has recently been a very picky eater. I...

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Time to get their attention

Posted on 4/20/2024

Hi I wrote in 10 days ago and never heard back. We’re struggling with bedtime. We have 2 girls, ages 5 and 3. We moved them into the same bedroom about a month ago. We read another response to...

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The Doctor Comes to Call

Posted on 1/24/2024

I have twin three-year-old girls (& a 6yo girl). For many reasons I have co-slept with the twins (husband’s 48-hour shift work, breastfeeding, etc.). I have slowly worked up to the point where we...

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