Dressing a toddler on the run is an acquired skill. Front fasteners will be easier for you child and for you in the period when you must dress a child in motion. Choose clothes with zippers rather than buttons to make dressing easier. Distract a toddler who’s old enough to resist diapering by performing the […]
Many kids do poorly in school because they have a hard time remembering the many different kinds of facts required for academic success. Here are some techniques you can encourage your child to use to help him develop a better memory for all the information he has to digest during the school day: • Suggest
When young children are angry, they scream or throw a tantrum. As they get older they say hurtful things like “I hate you!”. When they’re mad, they go right for the jugular. How should you respond? First, respect your child’s need to express angry feelings. Don’t take these exaggerated comments personally. You can reply, “Well,
If your child awakens before you do, you can be sure he’ll come and wake you up. He’s excited about the new day and he wants to share it with you. If you’d like to add a few precious minutes of sleep to your morning, here are some steps you can take: • First, be
Children should not be allowed to interrupt brief visits by your friends. After an initial greeting and some brief attention, your child should not be allowed to crawl on guests, or to interrupt the adult conversation. Your friends will appreciate your taking a stand about this. • First, clarify your expectation for your child. “Please
We need to teach our children not to hurt other children. Hitting, slapping, pinching, scratching, shoving, knocking down, hair pulling and biting are all unacceptable behaviors. Clarify for your child, “We don’t hit. We don’t hurt people. Disagreements are settled by talking, not hitting.” If children do fight, respond swiftly: • First, intervene at the
Children of all ages and most adults have some food dislikes. If this is the case in your home consider the following: • First, most complaints are about vegetables such as spinach or broccoli. Vegetables are over rated. There are no essential foods, just essential food groups. Since fruits and vegetables are in the same
More than 30% of toddlers are still sucking their thumbs. Fortunately, thumb sucking is harmless until your child’s permanent teeth have erupted about age of six. Your main response to thumbsucking in the meantime should be to ignore it, especially when your child is tired. If it occurs when your child is bored, try to
Some children drop whatever they’re doing as soon as their parent picks up the telephone. Avoid part of this problem by making most of your calls during naptime or after bedtime. However, that won’t help you with incoming calls. Try this approach. • First, have a rule,”Don’t interrupt me while I’m on the telephone” and
Your response to biting should leave no question but that you mean business. Make the rule absolutely clear, “Don’t bite. It hurts. We don’t bite people.” • First, give your child verbal disapproval in a sharp voice. Say, “No biting.” It’s fine to startle your child for this type of behavior. • Second, put him
