We hear the warnings: too much screen time causes all kinds of problems for our kids. Obesity, low motivation, anti-social behaviour, reading lags, attention-type disorders or trouble, and addictions to the devices can happen when a young child becomes too attached to screens. Mobile devices can even be fodder for massive tantrums! We can’t blame [...]
I believe that clever, positive, neutral phrases can significantly improve toddler cooperation (I call “toddlers” children between one and four-years-old). One day I sat down to write the phrases I have discovered are really helpful for younger toddlers, and ended up with this list of thirty-three parenting gems: Stop Tantrums: 33 Phrases To Use With Toddlers. I [...]
I was looking through the book Baby Care Basics by Dr. Jeremy Friedman and Dr. Natasha Saunders who are pediatricians from The Hospital for Sick Children, and came across an important section entitled, “Interpreting Crying.” Not knowing what to do with a crying baby or child is one of the most stressful experiences a parent [...]
The trick to communicating successfully with three and four year-olds is to be clever, funny, clear, rested, and to have a method to calming yourself down as fast as possible. Children this age are often more aggressive and frustrated than they were as toddlers, so being aware of this and meeting their challenging behaviour with [...]
In our quest to attach properly, attune deeply, and respect thoroughly, many parents (me included!) have adopted the bad habit of saying, "OK?" when asking a child to do something. In our minds we are friendly and checking for approval to show our children how much we love and care for them. BUT, in our [...]
Most toddlers do some biting, and this behaviour is well within the normal, yet painful, things that toddlers do. Although a common phenomenon, it is still important to nip biting in the bud. There are four main reasons that toddlers bite. I will list those below with suggestions to help in each case. 1. It [...]
We hear the term “Positive Discipline” used frequently, but many parents are unsure exactly what this means, and why this form of discipline is the best for our kids. The word discipline has origins in the Latin word disciplina, which means, “to teach.” Adapting this concept to raising children, I believe positive discipline means guiding, [...]
Children, particularly toddlers, are more able to follow our instructions when we word them in a way they can easily interpret. In addition to the great tools “when/ then” and “either/ or,” a strategy I call the “Everyone with…” is a great way to increase toddler cooperation. Here is how to use the tool: Identify [...]
You, your partner, and other primary child-givers are going to be teaching your children how to talk. Here are some tips to promote clearer communication and to help you foster increased self-esteem, confidence and understanding through this process. Learn sign-language and start by 6 months of age. Consistently use these 7 main signs with babies: eat, [...]
While gathering information for articles about toddlers, I have discovered desperate posts like this on the Internet: "Two-year-old for sale. Cheap!" Raising little ones can be very hard! In order to parent children under 3, adults need to accept the challenging parts that come during this time (along with the super-cute parts). Toddlers will yell, [...]
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.
