It is so hard sometimes to lay down the law and be consistent. I hear the words so tempting in my head, “Just this one time.” But it doesn’t work that way, you have to have one really really bad afternoon in exchange for a lot of great afternoons. Here’s how it works: You […]
The thing I love most about working with parents, families and children is discipline, but nutrition comes in a very close second. I was a super picky eater. Super picky. I ate potatoes, pizza, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and cereal growing up. I have two boys. They shared the same food in my uterus […]
I have found myself having this conversation a lot lately and noticing that there are different ideas and descriptions of whether a parent is “strict” or not. Are you a strict parent? In the past, the term “strict” generally referred to parents who used such parenting techniques as spanking, isolation, yelling and punitive punishment. Because of […]
Life is tough. Many days, I wish that someone would come and take away some of my challenges, but it never seems to happen. So why then, do we so often remove challenges from children’s lives? As a teacher, I was often in team situations where other teachers would remove challenges from their classroom, In fact, it […]
Children misbehave because they don’t feel secure. Children don’t feel secure for two reasons: 1) They don’t know what is expected of them 2) There is a big change in their life I know I’m simplifying a lot, but with all of the information out there, sometimes it is helpful to simplify. But I also […]
One of the most important tools that you can use to help your children with sleeping, eating, behavior, etc. is setting up a routine. I know that schedules aren’t for everyone and if it doesn’t work for your family then it just doesn’t work. But if you are on the fence about making a routine […]
So, things don’t always go as planned. And that can really stress me out, especially with two toddlers in tow so now when I do something that I’m not so proud of, I just let everyone know that I put on my “Bad Idea Jeans” . During Christmas break, I decided that the whole family should go […]
It’s not really. Taking turns and sharing are two different things but in the world of toddlers and parenthood, we need to put the focus on taking turns and take the pressure off of sharing. Let’s look at this from an adult point of view: Taking turns is: I’m using the computer right now and […]
This is a quote from Annie Dillard and it really speaks to me on the first day of the new year. Are our days rushed, stressed and unfulfilled? Or are we able to breathe and enjoy our days? The negative moments in our lives are just a moment, but strung together, they are our lives. There […]
With Christmas just behind us and the onslaught of new gadgets overwhelming us, let me tell you about another great little trick. You may have heard about the idea to put a lot of the new Christmas toys away and slowly bring them out as each month goes by. I love that idea and I want you […]