If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!It is the middle of the night. You are suddenly woken up. Your child is poking you saying, “Can I sleep with you?” You are too tired to get up so you let your child squeeze into your bed. You toss and turn the rest of the night because you have a foot in your side and hand in your face. Getting children to stay in bed all night is a common bedtime problem, especially when children are insecure or lonely.  If this is the case for your child, you may be considering having a family bed.  Read the article “Is... (Read More ...)

 Your child was insecure at night. You started the habit of letting your child sleep in the family bed. Lately, you have been waking up in the middle of the night. Image: David Castillo Dominici / FreeDigitalPhotos.net You are unable to get back to sleep because you feel like you are hanging on the edge of the bed. Finally, you decide to get out of bed and go sleep on the couch. Now that your child has gotten bigger, you want to stop this habit.  Are you finding that as your child gets older there doesn’t seem to be enough room in the family bed for everyone to sleep comfortably?  Do you... (Read More ...)

 Your child starts out the night in his own bed, but usually gets up while you are still doing things on the household chore list.  Instead of finishing the chores, you go to his room and lay with him until he falls asleep.  You are up later to get everything done.   After you are asleep, your child comes into your bedroom sometime during the night. You are tired, so you just let him climb into the family bed.  However, not everyone sleeps well when this happens.  You or your spouse toss and turn or feel cramped.  Plus, you hear horror stories and expert warnings about the dangers of the... (Read More ...)

Can Child Development Stages Play A Part In Aggressive Behavior In Children? You finally got a chance to meet up with a friend at the park so you could chat while your children let off some steam at the playground. You’re constantly distracted by the nagging suspicion that you need to keep an eye on child, because he can get a too rambunctious at times.  You’ve seen your toddler biting, hitting and being aggressive to other children in the past, so you keep a watchful eye on him. As you are listening to your friend’s story, you see your son push another child because he wanted to go through... (Read More ...)

 How Do I Teach Children To Clean Up Their Messy Rooms?   You are cleaning up in the kitchen. You hear your children playing in the family room. You see them run upstairs. When you are done cleaning the kitchen, you go to sit down in the family room to take a break and watch T.V. Toys are strewn all over.  There is even a pile on the couch and you are unable to sit down without being poked by a toy. You are irritated! The room looks like a tornado hit it. Now you have to straighten up this room before you can sit down to relax. Messy rooms. Almost every parent can relate to this problem. In... (Read More ...)

 Messy Rooms: How Do I Teach Children To De-clutter & Donate Toys To Charity?  The December holidays are coming to a close. As you come to from your turkey-induced drowsiness and look around, you feel a spark of motivation to use your few days off work to tackle some household chores you’ve been meaning to get to. The end of the year is drawing near and you are getting into the New Year spirit of “out with the old, in with the new” — and there’s a lot of “new” around you. As you walk through the house, you see piles of gifts everywhere! You immediately feel overwhelmed... (Read More ...)

December Holidays: What “History of Santa Claus” are You Creating?Honest Fun or Snowy “White Lies”? As the December Holidays arrive, you and your spouse begin discussing whether or not to do Santa with your toddler. She is old enough now to understand presents. Your husband has great memories of Santa, the fun, the excitement, the anticipation of wondering what Santa brought, leaving cookies for him and carrots for the reindeer. It’s a fun practice he wants to do with your toddler. You, on the other hand, remember the fun of the Santa tradition, but also felt terribly betrayed when you... (Read More ...)

December Holidays:  How Can You Instill The Spirit Of Giving When Children Get the Holiday Gimmees? You’re at the toy store, picking out a gift  for your nephew.  Your son is with you.  You think this would be a great time to teach him about the spirit of giving, by having him help you pick out the toy. All through the store you hear: “Look!  I really want this.  Can we get this for me?” “Hey, will you get this for me today?  I want this really bad!” “I just have to have this!” “Hey, I want that!  Why do we have to give it to my cousin?” You understand your child’s... (Read More ...)

December Holidays:  Is it Okay to Use Threats About Santas Good Bad List For Child Discipline? You are busy getting ready for the holiday family gatherings that are quickly approaching. While out shopping at the mall, your children start clamoring for you to take them to see Santa so they can give them their wish list. You want to do this on a day when you can get them dressed for the photo opportunity, so you tell them to wait until you can plan that outing another day. They protest in unison, “We wanna see Santa! We wanna see Santa!” You tell them you want them to look nice for Santa. They... (Read More ...)

How Do You Teach Children To Have An Attitude Of Gratitude & Instill A Spirit Of Giving? Your son has just opened his 4th present.  Instead of showing gratitude, he throws it aside and says, “What’s next!?”  Your Daughter starts throwing a fit because she just counted the gifts and she has one less than her brother.  The vision you had of a holiday filled with the spirit of giving has diminished in the matter of minutes.   The November and December Holidays are often known to be the season of influenza, but it’s also a season when “affluenza” can be particularly contagious,... (Read More ...)