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
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
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
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
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
It was a Saturday afternoon and my daughter (almost 10) and I were in the car on our way to meet with family for lunch. My daughter brought with her a CD we used to
My oldest son, Hunter, was having a very hard time when his father left for work in the morning. Each morning, he screamed, fought and threatened, trying to hold on to his dad, crying and pleading
I’ve done years of wrestling with my boy, so it’s a well worn connection groove for releasing tension and rebuilding connection between us. This day we were both in fine form. I think he started it by putting a handful of sand down my pants, so once I’d emptied it out, the chase was on.
Stella, my two-year-old daughter, was an early talker, unusually verbal, and a very happy, silly, open little girl. About four or five months ago, she came down with an extreme case of hives. She was
One warm day this past summer my whole family was enjoying a day in the sun in our backyard. My father and sister-in-law were with us, grilling dinner on the barbecue, and my two sons
Ever since Annie had been a little girl she’d had huge tantrums and long cries. Her mother was at the end of her rope. She didn’t understand why her daughter’s emotions were so big and she admittedly didn’t have a clue what to do.
A few weeks ago I noticed that every time I asked my almost six year old son, Gabriel, to do anything he said, “No.” Well, in actuality he said, “No way, José!” very loudly. Like
Hi Hand in Hand Parenting, My almost 3 1/2 year old is having an especially hard time right now with family coming to visit. He has always had an extremely high need for connection. He
Words don’t work well in setting limits with children of any age! Move in close, offer a tone of generosity and warmth, and gently but firmly stop the unworkable behavior.
You can’t pour honey on a fear, or dress it up, or talk a child out of it. A fear is a feeling, and no logic or trick can pry a feeling out of a child.