Do You Want To Yell Less and Love More?

The past three days have been very peaceful around here. Not quite, mind you, but peaceful nonetheless. I think that I know why, too. You see, a few days ago, I came across a wonderful blog called The Orange Rhino Challenge. The blog is a chronicle of one mom’s commitment to “Yell less, love more”. Once I read about how not yelling has made a huge difference for both The Orange Rhino and her family, I decided that I, too, want to stop yelling at my kids. I do my best not to yell, but it happens. I have yet … Continue reading →

Playful Parenting in Action

A while ago, I mentioned that I have been reading (and rereading and rereading) the book “Playful Parenting”, by Lawrence J. Cohen. Not only have I been reading it quite a bit, I have been test – driving some of the material. I am becoming a more playful parent, and I like that a lot. The kids seem to like it, too, and we seem to be having a better overall experience now than we have in the past. Yesterday, I spent the day alternating between fun play sessions with the boys and bits of “Mommy Time” where I worked … Continue reading →

Praise for Playful Parenting

Yesterday, I mentioned that I have been reading a great parenting book. “Playful Parenting” by Lawrence J. Cohen has reminded me of how much my boys need me to play with them. They need me to play with them much more often than I have been playing with them. They need me to be involved directly with them much more than they need me to be spending a great deal of time concerning myself with household tasks like dishes, laundry, cooking and cleaning. Of course, the fact that my sons need me to play with them and focus exclusively on … Continue reading →

In Defense of Dirty Hands

Today I had an interesting experience at a local gas station convenience store. I was on the way home from a play date at the park with my boys, and the boys were thirsty. They had both had full cups of water when we went to the park, but they played hard and drank all of their water. When Dylan asked if we could stop and get a drink, I said that we could because there was a store on the way home. At the gas station, I got the boys out of the car and went inside. We took … Continue reading →

Have You Considered Homeschooling or Unschooling for Your Toddler’s Preschool Experience?

If you are a parent who is planning to home school or unschool your toddler instead of sending him to preschool after his third birthday, this post is for you. As your toddler grows and develops right before your eyes, you may from time to time find yourself wondering whether you will be able to provide enough of an enriching environment for him once you begin your homeschool or unschool “preschool” years. This sense of uneasiness may come from a couple of sources, namely the fact that many parents send their children to preschool and the questions and comments from often well … Continue reading →

Building a Strong Connection to Your Toddler

Last week, I wrote about how excited I was about the release of Dr. Laura Markham’s book, “Peaceful Parent, Happy Kids: How to Stop Yelling and Start Connecting”. Now that I actually have the book in my possession, thanks to Kindle for Android, I am even more excited about it. I am about halfway through reading the book, and I know that it is going to be a valuable reference that I turn to again and again. One of the wonderful things about this book is that Dr. Laura Markham does not stop at explaining why kids benefit from the … Continue reading →

Just Released: Peaceful Parent, Happy Kids by Dr. Laura Markham

November 28, 2012 was a great day for parents of toddlers. In fact, it was a great day for parents of all children. On November 28, 2012, Dr. Laura Markham’s first book, “Peaceful Parent, Happy Kids : How to Stop Yelling and Start Connecting” was released. If you are already familiar with Dr. Laura Markham through her web site, Aha Parenting, then you know just how wonderful this news is. I can not remember how I first came across the Aha Parenting web site, but I can say that I visit it regularly, especially when I am … Continue reading →

Toddler Toy Storage – I Am Doing it Wrong

Last night, a sort of light bulb went on in my head. I have been doing a lot of reading and research lately about home based preschool for Dylan, and for the past couple of days I have been looking at a lot of information about the Montessori method of schooling. In fact, I am beginning to get a very strong feeling that I am going to go that route with Dylan’s home based preschool experience. The light bulb went on when I realized that the environment in which Montessori education, whether at a school or in a home, takes … Continue reading →

Staying Present, Staying Calm

When you are the parent of a toddler, your mind might spend much of its time engaged in gymnastics. It leaps forwards, backwards, then stops briefly to notice something that your child is doing right now only to dart off again in another direction as you think about things you want or need to do or ponder things that you have already done. With all of those mental gymnastics going on, it’s no wonder that you are exhausted by the end of the day. Sometimes, I find myself so mentally exhausted by the time the boys go to bed that … Continue reading →

What Do Kids Do At Home Based Preschool?

One thing that is often on the mind of parents of toddlers is preschool. After all, once a toddler is no longer a toddler, he becomes part of the “preschoolers” age group whether or not he actually attends preschool. I am not sure why that is, and this morning when I was talking with my husband about it he agreed that it seems a bit odd to define an entire age group by something that not every child does. Perhaps the reason that it seems odd to us is that our soon – to – be preschooler is unlikely to … Continue reading →