I have been reading with great interest in the forums stories of moms everywhere whose children seem advanced. I have watched with great interest those parents on the Upper East Side who vie for that one coveted spot in the highly selective preschools. My husband and I are often bemused by the parents who sign their kids up for his “advanced” sports class because, after all, their child is really advanced. I hate to break it to all those moms out there whose toddlers are doing things earlier than other children–but your child is probably not gifted. She may do … Continue reading →

I admit it: my twins throw temper tantrums in public. Few parents I think escape the embarrassment of public temper tantrums. I actually don’t mind them that much. I try to look at it as an opportunity to show my girls that I love them, but that I am mom and what I say goes. It’s an important lesson that all children must learn. It is not a democracy but a monarchy. Soon my twins will learn what their older siblings figured out long ago: it is not my way or the high way. . .it is my way. Sometimes … Continue reading →

How you reward your toddler for pottying on the toilet and/or making an attempt to go in that direction is a key part of the pottying process. In fact, I was recently telling my husband that I believe one factor (among a few) for the reason the girls are taking longer to potty train is because I cannot always tell who went potty and so the praise for potty in the little potty is kind of generic. Sounds strange but put the scenario into your world for a minute. If you did a phenomenal job at something in the office … Continue reading →

I wrote this past week about how I do not let my twins, who are quite verbally capable for their age, talk back to me. I received many Pms and comments and so I decided to continue with a series on toddler discipline. My premise is that an inability to reign in (for lack of a better term) a defiant toddler will generally end up in an inability to reign in a defiant teen. Our toddlers are learning all the time what they can and cannot get away with. Their understanding is not limited to their vocabularies and they learn … Continue reading →

Question: I’ve heard you say a few times that you don’t allow your toddlers to talk back to you. At first, I thought you meant preschoolers but in one of your posts you even make mention of insisting that your 14 month old doesn’t say ‘no’ to you. How exactly do you accomplish this? I don’t mean to offend you, but you sound horribly strict. If you haven’t yet read the first blog answering this question, you might want to do so before reading this one. In it, I explain why I think it’s so important for toddlers to learn … Continue reading →

Question: I’ve heard you say a few times that you don’t allow your toddlers to talk back to you. At first, I thought you meant preschoolers but in one of your posts you even make mention of insisting that your 14 month old doesn’t say ‘no’ to you. How exactly do you accomplish this? I don’t mean to offend you, but you sound horribly strict. I am going to have to answer this in two parts. First, I’ll give you the ‘why’ of dealing with toddlers and then in another blog I’ll explain how exactly we gain their cooperation. Yes, … Continue reading →

Yesterday I wrote an article about how pull ups have played a role in our potty training. I actually hate pull ups. I still do and I would really encourage anyone not to buy them but rather let the babe run free and naked. It does mean more messes to clean up but it also means faster (and cheaper) potty training. However, as you all should know by now, I have twins and the nakedness thing sometimes doesn’t work when you’re wiping up two puddles (or other things. . .) all the time. I also have become acutely aware that … Continue reading →

I actually have to take back something I’ve said. Something I’ve advocated strongly in the past. . .I must now rescind. And what, might you ask have I advocated that I now have to take back? The Pull Up–but let me explain further. No doubt, when it comes to potty training, many of us experienced moms have tales of what would and would not work. Among the top of the list of things that doesn’t work is The Pull Up. “The Pull Up is a waste of money. . .” “It doesn’t really help them learn the feel of being … Continue reading →