Last week, I happened upon what I believe to be the most underutilized strategy in my toddler discipline playbook. Okay, so I don’t really have a toddler discipline playbook. If I did, though, this strategy would be listed as a go to method for addressing tricky toddler behavioral challenges. I discovered it as I was trying to corral Dylan in the bathroom so that I could change his training pants. He was fooling around and trying to avoid going in the bathroom, and I was beginning to get frustrated. Earlier that day, I had made a commitment to myself that … Continue reading →

If you had asked me four months ago how Dylan was feeling about being a big brother, I would have told you that he was not at all happy about it. While he never went so far as to ask me to return Blake to the hospital from whence he came, he was not exactly excited about sharing me with another little person. In the beginning, it seemed like no matter how hard I tried to make sure that Dylan’s needs were taken care of, I still felt as if I were falling short of meeting them. At first, it … Continue reading →

Today had all of the potential makings of a terrible day. Last night, Dylan went to bed about three hours later than he usually does. This morning, he got up a little before his regular wake up time. Since he normally gets about twelve hours of sleep each night and does not nap most days, I was concerned to say the least. When Dylan is overtired, he does not act like himself. I am sure that most toddlers act at least slightly out of sorts when they are overtired. As we ate breakfast, I wondered to myself when the difficulties … Continue reading →

When I was little, the television in our home was often on. My parents were very good about ensuring that it was not the focus of my attention for much of the day, and I spent plenty of time playing outdoors, reading, and doing other things that kids do. What I do remember is that the television in the kitchen was generally on at breakfast and at dinner, because my parents like to watch the news. I don’t really watch the news any more. It’s not that I don’t care about what is going on in the world, because I … Continue reading →

Being a parent is challenging as well as rewarding. One of the reasons that it is so challenging is that our children can bring about opportunities for personal growth that seem more like problems instead of opportunities when they arise. Sometimes we can see the opportunity in the moment and follow it. Other times, though, we get stuck. Dr. Laura Markham of Aha! Parenting.com offers some helpful advice about why we become stuck in negative patterns with our children and what we can do about it. In this first part of a two – part discussion about this topic, let’s … Continue reading →

One common dilemma faced by the parents of toddlers is getting them to stop playing and exploring for long enough to refuel their bodies with nutritious foods. Exactly how to do that is up to you. What we eat at our house and how we eat it may be different than in your home. What is most important is that we as parents offer our toddlers plenty of opportunities to eat nutritious foods throughout their day. In the morning, Dylan wakes up hungry. We all wake up at about the same time, so we head out to the kitchen. He … Continue reading →

Kids like to eat foods that taste sweet. That is a simple truth, and my son is no exception. My husband and I would like to think that we can prevent him from eating candy, cookies, ice cream, and other sweets until he is a bit older and, even then, very infrequently. It is not easy, though, and sometimes I wonder whether we are being unrealistic or unfair and whether our efforts to keep him nearly sugar free will have a lasting impact on his health and on his food choices. As a general rule, we don’t keep sweets at … Continue reading →

If ten strangers were in a room with you and your toddler and your toddler happened to have a temper tantrum, you would probably get ten different pieces of advice on how to respond to your wailing, flailing child. Some of the advice you might hear would probably sound too harsh while other suggestions might seem too lenient. As with parenting advice about any topic, the best thing that you could do in such a situation would be to choose the approach that seems to best fit your family and your child. As a part of my never ending quest … Continue reading →

When I first brought Dylan’s baby brother Blake home from the hospital, I wondered what I had gotten myself into. I wondered, among other things, whether Dylan would ever come around to this new little person who was now a part of his life for better or for worse, for ever and ever. Blake is now almost three months old, and while the past few months have not been easy ones, things are getting better all the time. The other day, I realized that Dylan accepts his baby brother as part of the family. I think that the acceptance was … Continue reading →

Sometimes it can be difficult to discern whether your toddler’s bed time requests for things like a drink or a trip to the potty are legitimate or whether they are attempts to push bed time later into the evening. If the requests are for real, of course you do not want your child to go thirsty and of course you want to support him in the process of learning how to use the potty. On the other hand, if he is stalling, you want to send a clear message that such behavior is not appropriate. If you are anything like … Continue reading →