Young children aged 2 to 6 are nothing like us, but this doesn’t stop us from expecting them to be behave better. Their unique personality is characteristically brazen, obsessive, impulsive, hysterical, aggressive, resistant, compulsive, and unpredictable. Fairness for the preschooler means getting what they want, and getting along is overrated. Sharing is not caring according [...]
Have you ever felt like saying, “I’ve tried everything and my child still won’t listen!”? There are several factors involved in a child’s willingness to cooperate. What you should know is that a child not doing what she is told is less about “not listening” and more about how able she feels to do what [...]
Every parent who has ever endured a toddler meltdown over miscommunication looks forward to the day that toddlers are able to articulate their needs and wants better. You, your partner, and other primary child-givers are going to be teaching your children how to talk. Here are 10 tips to teach your toddler to communicate better, [...]
Before having children, I didn’t realize that it was possible to cut toast the “wrong” way, or “break” the banana, prematurely stir the yogurt, or use the incorrect colour of plate. But parents of toddlers know that this is a THING—actually, quite a stressful thing. I remember the last time I mistakenly put butter on [...]
You may have heard of the parenting technique called when/ then. It's where you encourage cooperation by engaging the front-brain with calm, helpful instructions like this: "When I am finished drying these dishes, then I'll be able to help you with the puzzle." (Instead of "just a second!") There are many variations of the when/ then: [...]
Here is a parenting technique to try when your child’s body is taken over by his or her fight-or-flight reaction (I call that being run by the “back-brain”). Often when this happens, aggressiveness, shouting, and even violence occur. As with most techniques I suggest, it begins with our ability to stay calm and keep our [...]
I learn a lot about what is most helpful for parents by examining the posts that get shared more widely than others. This year was very interesting, as five of the top most read and most shared posts that I wrote were all about techniques! In particular, posts with tips and tricks to help raise [...]
It is easy to feel that our children are selfish or trying to hurt us when they are little. Young children can be quite rough! Did you know that two-year-olds are actually the most aggressive beings on earth? It is helpful to know that children aren’t throwing, hitting or shouting at us because they are [...]
My husband, a family doctor, and I have created this one-page parenting resource guide for paediatricians and other primary health care physicians. It would also be helpful for daycares and preschools. I wanted to post it here so you see which resources we recommend for the most common parenting concerns adults ask their physicians regarding: [...]
Did you know that the most violent beings on earth are two-year-old children? A parent of one is certainly not shocked to hear this! While gathering information for articles about toddlers, I have discovered desperate posts like this on the Internet, “Two-year-old for sale. Cheap!” In order to parent children under four, adults need to [...]
Andrea Loewen Nair is a counsellor, parenting educator and international media parenting expert based in London, Ontario, Canada. Her therapy background helps parents to understand at a deeper level what to do when kids drift away, behaviour goes wild, buttons are pushed and old negative self-talk gets too loud.
Her goal is to let parents know they are not alone in their struggles and to provide practical help that makes big positive changes. Parenting can be very hard—and Andrea wants to help.
