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More Toddler Discipline Part II

It should have been no real surprise when using time outs to discipline my son became more or less ineffective. Even though I explained to him before and after each time out why he was in time out and what he needed to do to avoid time outs in the future, they were not getting the job done. Something had to change and it did. We transitioned to the concept of consequences for our actions. Bad behavior earned an undesirable consequence and good behavior reaped desirable consequences. He received the same kind of warnings for bad behavior but I also … Continue reading →

Stubborn or Strong-Willed?

I have written before about how all three of my children are pretty strong-willed and opinionated. Recently, while talking with another parent, he kept referring to his child as willfully stubborn; I realized that depending on how you view it, that tenacity can either be spun in a positive or a negative way… I think it helps to consider a child’s motivation and try to keep an eye on the big picture. A child who is strong-willed and able to stick up for himself, may have a leg-up in life as he gets older. It might be challenging for a … Continue reading →

Supernanny Methods Don’t Work for Better Behaved Toddlers

I have blogged a few times on my own experiences with strong willed toddlers and my take on disciplining young children. I could essentially sum up my view in three words: consistency, clarity of expectations and patience. I feel that often times parents own discipline issues stem from their lack of clearly communicating the expectations and then consistently reinforcing the expectations with tangible consequence that, preferably, fit the crime. And of course we all need to be patient–we are after all dealing with toddlers whose tendencies are to test and try boundaries. This is one reason I’m not a fan … Continue reading →

Baby Blog Week in Review: August 7 to August 11

We have had a busy week in the baby blog! If you haven’t had time to catch up on all your reading, here it is all in one place. Grab a cup of coffee and have a seat! August 7 Why Banning Formula Isn’t Awful This week the New York City Department of Health banned free formula in New York City public hospitals in an effort to promote breastfeeding. The internet has been abuzz about the ban both for and against it. Although I actively promote breastfeeding when possible, I actually think that banning formula is good economic sense. Read … Continue reading →

More Characteristics of Strong Willed Toddlers

This blog is part of a series on how to deal with the terrible twos when your child is strong willed. I tend to look at being strong willed like any other personality trait–as a gift. Strong willed toddlers will grow up to be leaders and in this their potential lies. However, getting through the terrible twos with a strong willed little one is not easy. My other ‘strong willed’ toddler articles are linked below if you have some catching up to do! With that said, here are a few more characteristics of strong willed toddlers: Very Needy It’s sounds … Continue reading →

Baby Blog Week in Review August 1 to August 4

We had a super busy week in the baby blog thanks to some guest bloggers. In fact, it was so busy, I had to divide the week in review in half. You can read the first half here. August 1 World Breastfeeding Week and That Critical First Hour The focus of World Breastfeeding Week this year is saving one million babies by getting more mothers to breastfeed within the first hour after birth. The World Health Organization estimates that if there were simply a moderate increase in breastfeeding, infant mortality would drop drastically! Your Baby the Liar Did you know … Continue reading →

Characteristics of Strong Willed Toddlers

Every parent that I’ve ever met who is going through the terrible twos with their child thinks that their child is strong willed. I hate to break it to all those moms that think they have their hands full, but being stubborn when you don’t get your way at the age of two is NOT an automatic sign of a strong willed child. Being stubborn when you don’t get your way is normal at the age of two. Throwing a temper tantrum is normal at that age as well. Continuing to do so past the ‘terrible two’ stage is not … Continue reading →

Why Being Strong Willed is a Gift (The Rest of the Meghan Story)

It is not easy as parents, to be at our wits end with a toddler who is being unreasonable. I mentioned in my first article that I used to think bratty toddlers were a reflection of their parents. After having one of my own very strong willed toddlers, I see things a little differently. Today my challenge is for we parents to learn to embrace those tantrums as part of our child’s unique temperament. They don’t need to be ’fixed’ as much as they need to be nurtured towards using their abilities appropriately. Meghan, as a toddler used to love … Continue reading →

The Strong Willed Toddler: My Experiences

I am the first to say that I try really, really hard not to judge people as parents based on my one-time observation of them and their child in public. I used to feel strongly that children whined and behaved and carried on in public because they were allowed to do so. Their parents got sick of the whining and gave in. I still think this is true and that it happens all the time. But gone are the days where I may look at a mother and think that her toddler is throwing a tantrum because he’s learned she’ll … Continue reading →

Your Cranky Baby Might Be Einstein

Okay not quite, but if you have a child that is cranky, with a little extra TLC he may just be at the top of his class when he gets to the 1st grade. I find this study interesting on several levels because I have had one of those cranky babies. But I’ll get to that in a minute. The study will be published tomorrow in the Journal of Child Development. Basically, they took approximately 1,300 families and followed the infants from 6 months of age through 1st grade. The hypothesis was that babies who were easy going would do … Continue reading →