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The Twos: Terrible & Terrific

The Twos: Terrible & Terrific



The Twos: Terrible & Terrific

Toddlers exist on a seesaw, with dependent babyhood at one end and independent childhood at the other. Neither is just right, because he’s neither a baby or a child. As a parent of a two year old, you have to sit in the middle and keep the balance. Baby him, and he’ll fight for independence, push him on, and he’ll hang back and cling. But get the middle road just right for him, and he’s glorious.

The middle road means letting him try but cushioning his failures. He wants to choose his own clothing. You know he can’t, but he’ll reject the sweater you hand out. Put out two outfits and let him choose between them. If he picks brown trousers and a blue sweater, what does it matter? You’re on his side.

Listening to what he says is important, but don’t take him at his word. He says, “I promise” but sees the phrase as only as an agreement label. Don’t overwhelm him with your moral outrage, he doesn’t understand moral concepts like truth yet. He is growing up, though. He can share jokes and make them, invent songs and sing them, kiss your bad toe, and share his chocolate. He’ll take a small walk into a glorious adventure.

So okay, he’s pretty terrible some of the time, but when you can keep that seesaw in balance for him, he’s pretty terrific too.



Penelope Leach, Ph.D., is one of the world’s most respected (and best-loved) developmental child psychologists. She is most widely known for her best-selling books on child development and parenting. They include Babyhood, Children First: What Society Must Do — and Is Not Doing — for Our Children Today, the classic Your Baby & Child: From Birth to Age Five (now in a new edition for a new generation), and Your Growing Child: From Babyhood Through Adolescence.

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HOW IT WORKS

 

A Seal of Approval review involves a multi-step process conducted over an eight-week period.

Parents and children, experience and review submitted products and services either already released or coming to market.

Participants fill out questionnaires for each product or service they test. They score based on 13 levels of criteria including quality, appeal, design, price, packaging, directions, desirability, stimulation, replay factor and more. Results are based on both statistical averaging and comments received by testers.

There are three testing periods each year:

Report Period Testing Begins Submission Deadline Testing Ends Report Issued
SPRING ’23 February 15th March 10th April 24th May 10th
FALL ’23 June 1st June 23rd July 31st August 16th
HOLIDAY ’23 September 1st September 22nd October 30th November 15th

Each submission must be accompanied by a $295 product testing fee (we offer multiple submission discounts). This fee covers the cost of testing, nothing more. It is non-refundable and has no bearing on the result of the testing. Additionally, we require three samples of the product or access codes for online submissions.

FYI about the Seal of Approval

* Winners of the Seal will be announced in a media release which is distributed to over 4700 media outlets including Facebook, Mommy bloggers and TV station websites.

* The report is forwarded to buyers at over 350 major retail and on-line stores including Amazon, Walmart and Target. Amazon features Seal winners on product pages.

* Each report is featured at TNPC’s web site as well as TNPC’s Twitter & Instagram accounts and Facebook Page.

* Links to company websites and a license to utilize the trademarked Seal of Approval artwork on marketing, packaging and web design are available exclusively to Seal winners for additional fees.

* Submitting a product does not secure or guarantee being awarded a Seal of Approval

To submit a product click here.

HOW IT WORKS

A Seal of Approval review involves a multi-step process conducted over an eight-week period.

Parents and children, experience and review submitted products and services either already released or coming to market.

Participants fill out questionnaires for each product or service they test. They score based on 13 levels of criteria including quality, appeal, design, price, packaging, directions, desirability, stimulation, replay factor and more. Results are based on both statistical averaging and comments received by testers.

There are three testing periods each year:

Report Period

SPRING '24

FALL ‘24

HOLIDAY ‘24

Testing Begins

February 15th

June 1st

September 1st

Submission Deadline

March 13th

June 23rd

September 24th

Testing Ends

April 26th

July 31st

October 31st

Report Issued

May 14th

August 15th

November 15th

Each submission must be accompanied by a $295 product testing fee (we offer multiple submission discounts). This fee covers the cost of testing, nothing more. It is non-refundable and has no bearing on the result of the testing. Additionally, we require three samples of the product or access codes for online submissions.

FYI about the Seal of Approval

* Winners of the Seal will be announced in a media release which is distributed to over 4700 media outlets including Facebook, Mommy bloggers and TV station websites.

* The report is forwarded to buyers at over 350 major retail and on-line stores including Amazon, Walmart and Target. Amazon features Seal winners on product pages.

* Each report is featured at TNPC’s web site as well as TNPC’s Twitter & Instagram accounts and Facebook Page.

* Links to company websites and a license to utilize the trademarked Seal of Approval artwork on marketing, packaging and web design are available exclusively to Seal winners for additional fees.

* Submitting a product does not secure or guarantee being awarded a Seal of Approval

HOW IT WORKS

A Seal of Approval review involves a multi-step process conducted over an eight-week period.

Parents and children, experience and review submitted products and services either already released or coming to market.

Participants fill out questionnaires for each product or service they test. They score based on 13 levels of criteria including quality, appeal, design, price, packaging, directions, desirability, stimulation, replay factor and more. Results are based on both statistical averaging and comments received by testers.

There are three testing periods each year:

Report Period

SPRING '24

FALL ‘24

HOLIDAY ‘24

Testing Begins

February 15th

June 1st

September 1st

Submission Deadline

March 13th

June 23rd

September 24th

Testing Ends

April 26th

July 31st

October 31st

Report Issued

May 14th

August 15th

November 15th

Each submission must be accompanied by a $295 product testing fee (we offer multiple submission discounts). This fee covers the cost of testing, nothing more. It is non-refundable and has no bearing on the result of the testing. Additionally, we require three samples of the product or access codes for online submissions.

FYI about the Seal of Approval

* Winners of the Seal will be announced in a media release which is distributed to over 4700 media outlets including Facebook, Mommy bloggers and TV station websites.

* The report is forwarded to buyers at over 350 major retail and on-line stores including Amazon, Walmart and Target. Amazon features Seal winners on product pages.

* Each report is featured at TNPC’s web site as well as TNPC’s Twitter & Instagram accounts and Facebook Page.

* Links to company websites and a license to utilize the trademarked Seal of Approval artwork on marketing, packaging and web design are available exclusively to Seal winners for additional fees.

* Submitting a product does not secure or guarantee being awarded a Seal of Approval

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