“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 […]
How to work on vocabulary with a 5-year-old? 1. Read a ton together. Books use a larger variety of words than we tend to use in conversation. As you’re reading, occasionally ask whether he understands. “What does the word ___ mean?” “Why did she just do that?” “What do you think might happen next?” “Remember that […]
There’s one single thing, I believe, that makes parenting a 3- or 4-year-old so incredibly tough. We are forced to come face to face with our own triggers stemming from our own childhoods. Suddenly we realize we don’t need to fix ourselves—we need to heal ourselves. Age 3 is the peak of defiance, as our kids’ drive for autonomy meets […]
Q: What do you think are some of the biggest pros and cons of media usage for kids? A: There aren’t any pros to media for kids younger than 2. That doesn’t mean you’re ruining your baby’s brain if she watches an inning of baseball on TV with you. It’s just that babies have so […]
This intriguing question came up on Quora. Here’s what popped into my head: We try, every day, to override our children’s body awareness, opinions, and feelings with our own. “You’re full? No, you didn’t eat much. Just take one more bite.” “You don’t want to wear that.” “Oh, you’re not hurt.” “Quit that crying.” “It’s not […]
It’s starting to be OK to be a dad. My husband noticed this during the NBA playoffs. The NBA ran a public-service ad where players talk up being parents, too. “I want to be a great player,” says Gordon Hayward of the Utah Jazz, “but I want to be an even better father.” “I lean in at home so […]