Q: One morning this week, we were on a walk and my toddler took off running down the sidewalk. I was wearing his 3-week-old brother in a baby carrier, which limited my ability to chase him. I called several times for him (with increasing intensity) to stop and wait for momma. (Also tried saying “Red: […]
When PBS NewsHour ran a column headlined “Why you should never use time-outs on your kids,” parents had furious reactions. Part of the reason is confusion over the terms punishment and discipline. The words are often used interchangeably. But there is a difference, and we owe it to our children to know it. Punishment is to make kids suffer to […]
“Why you should never use time-outs on your kids” was the recent PBS News Hour headline. The story argued that certain time-outs are punishments, punishments are harmful to kids, and parents should use alternatives. That sparked some exasperated comments: “Punishments teach our kids that there are consequences for their actions.” “Since all punishments are bad, […]
Raise your hand if you can relate to this question from K.G.! Oh, everyone? Excellent. Q. I made grilled chicken breasts and cut it up for my nearly 3-year-old — who then had a fit because he wanted a big piece. And this trivial little thing made me really uncertain about what to do. Do I refuse to […]
It’s the worst feeling: your kid hits another kid (or bites or embeds fingernails in or otherwise mauls another kid) during a play date. You make sure the other kid is OK, and now you turn to yours. The pressure’s on: the kid’s parent is looking at you, or pretending not to look at you. You […]
My preschooler came out of her room and stomped once. I carried her back to bed. As I turned to leave, she called out: “When we were camping, C wanted to be alone and I kept at him, and he hurt me. He hit me first. I hit him second. Next time we go camping, I’m […]
Have more parenting questions than I can answer once per week? Of course you do! So do I. Luckily for us, a new 21-day parenting summit is starting up this week: Be The Best Parent You Can Be Live – 2015 Online Event It’ll feature 21 leading experts in child development, education, nutrition, sleep, child […]
“Time for bed,” my husband says. He’s not talking to our 3-year-old. He’s talking to me, because I’ve been going to bed waaaay too late, and I’ve asked him to help me out. Even so, whenever he tells me what to do, I balk. “OK,” I say noncommittally, and I stay up even later. Think about […]
Sunday was one of those days. Everybody was off their rhythm. Everybody was short on sleep. Everybody was cranky. If you have a 3-year-old, you know what that means: violence. By them. Toward you. I set us up for this mess Saturday night by lingering at a party and getting our toddler to bed late, then running out […]
This poor mom. She was juggling two kids on a plane, solo, and she was–as any of us would be–agitated. I couldn’t help noticing, though, that she was making things harder on herself than necessary. When we were still half an hour from landing, her little boy started taking off his shoes. “No, don’t take off your shoes! […]