“Can I have this Frozen book? I really want it.” “But can I have it? It’s the only thing I want. I swear, it’s the only thing!” “Why can’t I get it? I really, really, really want it!” “I just want it.” “If I can have it, I’ll never get another Frozen thing again!” (Now […]
“If you wanted to create an education environment that was directly opposed to what the brain was good at doing, you probably would design something like a classroom.” Thus goes a line in the bestseller Brain Rules by John Medina. It’s a quote I can’t get out of my head lately. Many of us have spent the past few months thinking […]
My daughter and I baked gingerbread cookies today. She’d really been looking forward to this. And I kept kind of ruining it! Some of the things that popped out of my mouth: “That’s too much sugar to lick off your hands. No–hey– Don’t ask if you can’t handle the answer.” “Another cookie?” “OK, what greens […]
A parent wrote me with a delicate question: How to stop a toddler from rubbing herself between the legs at preschool, without making the act itself shameful? Here’s our exchange. My daughter’s nursery has informed me that in the last few days, she has taken to lying on her tummy and wiggling her hips and […]
Instead of an impersonal deal on Cyber Monday, how about a book signed with love? That’s my offer for you today: a SIGNED copy of Zero to Five. This hardcover coffee-table book would be a nice Christmas present, for yourself or a friend. Or a beautiful baby shower gift. Or, if you work with families professionally, a […]
“Should WE try that?” A friend had just come back unscathed from a road trip to Yellowstone with her 5-year-old, and we thought, “Huh.” We decided to do it. Of course the big unknown was how G would do on the 12-hour car ride from Seattle to Yellowstone. She’d be solo in the back seat, […]
“Hey, that’s my BOOK!” one mom said when she saw me at a baby-expo booth with Zero to Five. “That saves my LIFE!” (And you, dear mama, made my day.) She said her favorite tip was about including your baby in whatever you happen to be doing. A few days later, I got a question […]
In the midst of transitioning her baby to solid foods, a mama wrote to me with a challenging situation. At 6 months, her little boy started off eating pretty well. At 7 months, he wasn’t eating enough or was refusing to eat, to the point where he had fallen off the weight charts. She felt stuck trying to force calories into […]
“You’re full? But you didn’t eat very much.” “Just two more bites, OK?” “Finish everything on your plate and then you can have dessert.” Our intentions are good. But in bribing–or pleading, chasing, commenting, shaming, or hovering–the message we’re really sending is unintended: Ignore your body’s signals for hunger and fullness. Ignore your body’s natural ability to […]
“He said don’t tell.” The mother’s heart dropped. The night before, at bath time, they had talked about private parts being private and who to tell if someone tells you not to tell. Now they were on their way to school. “Don’t tell what?” The 4-year-old was quiet. The mother waited. The girl started humming. The […]