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: […]
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 […]
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, […]