Toddlers

Music. It colors our lives with happiness (and sometimes sadness), and it makes us sing and dance and sometimes laugh. Songs can take us back to places and people from our past. The familiar first notes of my favorite...

I was on the tail-end of a long day. It was a bad day. My 4-year-old had been mouthy and disrespectful all day and the baby, almost 16 months, behaved like a Stage 5 Clinger for all of her...

Yes, I have made mistakes -- and I am still making them -- but my recovery time from those mistakes has improved. I am more confident in my parenting decisions and also more laid back on the little stuff. And as for play, I do play -- it just looks different these days. I have been promoted from playmate to director.

Although I wistfully dream of my children playing outdoors for hours, then coming inside and happily doing crafts at the table while I bake homemade bread . . . But most days, by 3:00 in the afternoon, we're just counting...

Lower yourself below the child’s height, just like how a lifeguard might have to go underwater to then come up behind a drowning victim. Positioning yourself below your toddler’s height can allow your toddler to better hear you and for you to better hear your toddler. 

We all do things as parents that we swore we'd never do. We venture into parenthood with high hopes and concrete ideals, but, little by little, we learn to choose our battles, to do what works, to do what...

It's nearly potty training time (again) at our house. Thus far, there is nothing I loathe more in life (maybe a bit of an exaggeration . . . maybe) than teaching my wee one to wet the potty and...