My teen was home from college for her first short visit and I wanted to connect with her in a close way. I knew she was in the process of learning to be independent, and I wanted to respect her freedom and the personal growth she had achieved. I had read about giving 100 kisses
My 3-year old son and his slightly younger friend had a play date at our house. There was a bowl with a snack roll in it made of grains and fruit. Frank picked a muesli roll, as he was hungry. My son wanted to follow his lead and picked what happened to be the last
There was a five-year-old boy in my Kindergarten group who had been giving little signs of distress for a few days, showing that he was not relaxed. He threw a few toys, hit a few children and showed misbehavior at circle time. He didn’t throw hard or hit hard, but I could feel he did
My husband was putting my daughter to sleep at bedtime when she realized she had left her lovey, “Twinkle Bug,” at her girlfriend’s house after a sleepover. She started to freak out, screaming, “I cannot go to sleep without her! I will never be able to sleep without Twinkle Bug!” My husband responded by offering
Last fall my husband had to go out of town for a few days for work. The day after he left, my two year-old son and I were sitting in the living room on the couch when it seemed to dawn on him all of a sudden that his dad was gone. He said, “I
~ From Certified Instructor Julie Johnson One evening my two year-old son seemed grouchy and irritable. From the time that we arrived home from school, nothing was right. He was unhappy with his snack, dinner was not what he wanted, and he was frustrated with his toys. I decided to try some playlistening with him
Does your child hit? Do you find yourself hoping “Well, maybe he won’t hit today” as you get ready for a playgroup or playdate? That’s natural, because most parents don’t know how to prevent the hitting — so all we can do is hope! Finally, here’s what you need: The No More Hitting Class from
Usually I do about ten minutes of special time with my three year-old son a couple of times a week. Although ten minutes of special time always seems like such a short amount of time to do special time with a child, when I’m actually doing it with my son, I find myself waiting eagerly
Create a peaceful home for your family. Inspiration, encouragement, validation, and empowerment, along with the tools to make a profound difference in our own lives and our children’s lives.
The time had come to wean my healthy toddler from night nursing. He was down to just a couple of times of nursing at night, but it was still disruptive for all of us. No one was sleeping well. I had napped during the day and had mentioned to my son what the plan was.
We picked the kids up from kindergarten and preschool one afternoon and drove straight to the airport. Our four-year-old daughter noticed that we were not driving home, so we made the happy announcement, “Surprise! We’re going to Lego Land.” Big mistake! Turns out, anything that has the element of surprise in it, was going to
One evening when my son was about three, we had a big dinner party. In all of the commotion a large vase broke. My son was very close to the vase when it broke and he was tremendously startled by the loud crashing sound. He screamed in shock and terror, and cried long and hard.
It’s funny how a little Special Time with your child can do wonders for both you and your child. One afternoon when I was feeling somewhat low-key with many pressing issues on my mind, my then 10-year-old preteen daughter asked me for some Special Time. She wanted to wrestle with me. I wasn’t quite ready