They say “choose your battles wisely,” and getting teeth brushed in most houses is one many of us struggle with. But with up to 530 million children with poor dental health worldwide, according to the World Health Organization, this is one fight that we can’t ignore. Getting teeth clean doesn’t have to mean daily yelling,
Our son is nearly three years old. He still goes through some separation anxiety when he’s without his mom. We usually put him to bed together, but the other night, my wife needed a break. So our routine began. I read him a book, tucked him in and said goodnight. The minute the lights went
We all know that food and drink are essential for humans to survive. Connection is less thought about. But humans are wired for connection. When your child comes off the slide with a bump, what is the first thing he does, even before he cries? He looks to his parent. He looks for his safe
We all want our kids to come home from school chattering happily about their day, but that doesn’t happen too often. Separation can feel very different and very real for children, especially at the start of a school year, and when they are taking on so many new challenges. Among the list of things that
In his fantastic book, The Opposite of Worry, Lawrence Cohen introduces us to what anxiety in children looks like, and what we can do to help. He covers a great deal of current theory in a clear, accessible, and practical way, linking it to ideas you can use immediately. He also touches on how we can
Yesterday my 8-year-old daughter had a friend playing at our house all day. There were lots of arguments and power struggles over their play. It wasn’t going well. The other girl said that she wanted to go home a few times and both of them didn’t look like they were enjoying themselves. I was trying
It’s the beginning of fall and as surely as leaves will drop, so will the homework. Pages and pages of it. Sometimes whole binders worth. Homework can be the source of many arguments, and I wanted to take a look at why and what we can do about it. In order to really understand what’s going
We’ve all had those mornings. The one that begins like nothing will ever be right again: “I do not want to get dressed. I want breakfast.” “I don’t want cereal. I want oatmeal.” “I wanted toast cut in triangles, not squares.” “No. I am not brushing my teeth.” Behavior like this can be the
“Mom! He’s being mean to me.” “She’s weird. I don’t want to play with her.” “They never give me a turn.” “He won’t let us climb the tree.” “She always gets to go first! Just because she’s the oldest…” You might hear words like these when your child talks about brothers, sisters or friends. All
Do you know that expression “I used to be a perfect parent, then I had kids?” I think that perfectly describes how sure I was that my children would not play with weapons. After all, what better way to keep children safe than to simply ban all toy weapons and weapon play? Until I had
We know that play is a child’s work.The best play provides opportunities for fun, and also chances to build intelligence. Because good play has the power to help children laugh through fears and address their issues, and get connected to the people around them, g rough-housing games and physical play, imaginary play and roleplaying are
This morning I led a workshop about helping children heal from separation anxiety. It felt a little ironic to me since lately I’ve been the one experiencing separation anxiety. After using the Hand In Hand tools many times to help my now 8-year-old daughter heal from her own separation fears, she hardly ever experiences it
A Guest Post from Anca Deaconu and Megha Mawandia In part one of this series on Parenting As a Team Anca and Megha talked about how to become more confident in making parenting decisions. Today they focus on an unexpected tool for diffusing tension: Play Often when we make decisions about parenting, others are not in agreement. They might
A Guest Post from Anca Deaconu and Megha Mawandia You may have heard the proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child.” No doubt, it is a beautiful thing for a child to be able to spend time with different people, whether that is your spouse, your family, or people in the community. And when you have
We leave the children happily playing while we go stir a pot on the stove, and two minutes later they are busting into the kitchen, screaming and pointing fingers! We’ve all been there. Sibling rivalry comes with the territory when you have more than one child, and even the most harmonious siblings grate on one another
Parenting can be all encompassing. It can seem to take us an age to figure out what we can accept and what our boundaries are at home, and then bam! We have to leave the house. What happens when your strategy for sharing between your siblings is working beautifully, but then you go to
Dear Hand in Hand, My child is having serious aggression issues at school. She’s been acting out a lot. Her teachers tell me she throws tantrums and she cries loudly when she gets told off. I’m not sure how to respond – to the teachers or my daughter! I want a good school experience
What happens to you when your child announces “I’m bored?” Despite research telling us that boredom is actually good for children – it can help foster creativity and independence – most of us try to rush into a solution when we hear those words. Boredom strikes when children become unstuck in their play. Perhaps they are