Tag Archives: toddler

My Issues Do Not Have to Become Their Issues

As a parent, I often think about what I can do to help my boys avoid struggling with the same things that I have struggled with and continue to struggle with throughout my life. I have a good life, and I am grateful that it is as good as it is. However, no one is perfect and each of us has our own list of things that we struggle with. I have overcome some of the things that I had trouble with as a child. For example, I had some pretty intense sibling rivalry going on with my sister. As … Continue reading →

Winter With Toddlers

I have always enjoyed winter in New England. When I was a child, I enjoyed building snowmen in my parents’ back yard and going sledding on some really fun hills. As I got older, I learned to ski and then to snowboard. Sure, it can get cold here, but the snow is only around for a few months and there is plenty of fun to be had before it all melts away. When my first son was born, I knew that that winter would be a difficult one. It was November, so that meant that my baby would be rather … Continue reading →

Viewer Discretion is Advised

As the parent of a toddler, you might look forward to spending the occasional afternoon or evening snuggled up on the couch with your little one, watching a movie that you remember enjoying during your own childhood. That is not a bad thing, as even the most active toddlers occasionally enjoy a little down time. As you think about what movies you may want to watch with your toddler, it is helpful to take your toddler’s temperament into account. We do not watch a lot of television at our house, nor do we watch many movies. Interestingly enough, there are … Continue reading →

Major Product Recall – Please Check Your Child’s Pajama Drawer

Before you became a parent, you may have had little to no involvement with product recalls. I know that I never did, with the exception of a couple of notices that I received regarding repairs that had to be made to my car, at the manufacturer’s expense. Once you become a parent, you will likely learn rather quickly that products made for babies and children are frequently the subject of product recalls. A product recall is when the public is notified that a specific product is potentially dangerous. Recalled items may have to be removed from use, used differently, repaired … Continue reading →

Toddlers and Sensory Processing Disorder

One thing that parents of toddlers and other small children may be reading or hearing a lot about lately is Sensory Processing Disorder, or SPD. Sensory Processing Disorder is a neurological condition that affects the brain’s ability to process sensory information. For a person with SPD, things that most of us do not even notice, like the tag on the neck of our shirt or the crinkling of a potato chip bag across the room can trigger a reaction ranging from discomfort enough to cause complaining to complete overwhelm, including tantrums. When a child is a toddler, it can sometimes … Continue reading →

Help Your Toddler Avoid the Flu

Flu season is here, and this year it seems to be especially nasty. It is no fun to get the flu as an adult, and I cannot even imagine what it feels like to a toddler. Of course, parents want to do all that they can to help their little ones (and themselves) stay well during flu season. Here are a few things that you can do to increase your chances of getting through the season flu – free. Making sure that your toddler gets plenty of rest and eats a balanced diet are things that are important every day, … Continue reading →

Sometimes it is not the Kids Who Need an Attitude Adjustment

Sometimes, making a change in one area of your life can dramatically improve things in another. Over the past week, I have noticed a big change in my ability to regulate my emotions in general. That change seems to be connected with some major changes that I have made to my diet. The effects that these changes have had on my relationship with my boys are certainly worth mentioning, because I feel like a much better parent right now than I was a couple of weeks ago. A couple of weeks ago, I was certainly not a bad parent by … Continue reading →

Best Toy Ever

The other day, Dylan got a new toy. It isn’t actually a toy like you would find in a toy store. It is something much, much simpler. It was actually free, we paid nothing for it. The funny thing is that all of the money in the world could not buy a toy that has brought the amount of joy that this simple, free gift from Grandpa has brought to Dylan over the past couple of days. What is this magical item that has somehow inspired Dylan to focus on playing like never before? A box of scrap wood. It … Continue reading →

Learning to Walk

As your baby celebrates her first birthday and becomes a toddler, she may not be toddling yet. Most children learn to walk between nine and seventeen months of age. Each child has his or her own developmental timeline, and the ways in which babies and toddlers approach those first steps are as unique and varied as the children themselves. My oldest son Dylan was a very fast crawler. Crawling worked well for him and got him where he needed to go. He was standing and pulling up before his first birthday but he was not walking yet. He was, however, … Continue reading →

Today was a Great Day

Some days, I am so exhausted by the time that the boys go to bed that it is a wonder that I have any brain power left to write blog posts, do dishes, or do any of the other things that I do in between the time that they go to bed and my own bed time. Parenting small children requires a great deal of physical and mental energy, and some days require more than others. For the past few days it felt like it took enormous amounts of energy just to get through the day with everyone being fed, … Continue reading →