Category: Raising Kids

Every parent wants their child to learn how to eat healthy foods. And the rule of thumb here is that parents choose what foods the child would eat, and the child would choose how much she eats. This is because each of us has internal signals from birth that tell us how much food we […]

Did you ever have that one time when your child insisted on wearing fleece pajamas on a hot summer night out rather than wearing a PJ short set? Or insists that a sandwich cut in a triangle tastes better than any other cut? These simple circumstances show what being strong-willed means.   The truth is that […]

Whether it’s saying “the park is closed” when you just want to go home or “out of cookies” when you know your child has had too many sweets, most parents know what it is like to lie to their kids. Sometimes parents may think lying to their kids is better than dealing with arguments or […]

Parents instinctively want to help their children when they struggle. A parent’s impulse is often to fix the problem by themselves. While this strategy makes perfect sense, especially when kids are very young, this might become counterproductive as they grow. Parents may provide a quick fix when rescuing children while denying them opportunities to practice […]

A first pet is an exciting and demanding challenge for a young child. Most children love animals, and the thought of them having their own pet can be very enticing. It’s important to remember that most children have never been responsible for something as demanding as a live pet. Even though they may promise to […]

“Why are you crying? It’s not that bad” or “You’re such a bad girl” are examples of shaming that we tell our kids, which we really don’t mean but say too much anyway. The problem is shaming our children like this never works in the long run. Yes, it gets their attention, but there could […]

Does your funny, intelligent, sweet toddler turn into a prizefighter on the playground whenever anyone threatens her turn on the slide? We’ve all been there: suddenly, the peace is cut short with plentiful screams, cries, and whines erupting.  While children, particularly toddlers, frequently hit each other during playtime, figuring out the best way to handle […]

“You have to finish what’s on your plate before you can have dessert.” It’s something we commonly hear as children and possibly have used with our own kids. Understandably, we want our children not to be wasteful or ungrateful with their food, yet, as it turns out, ultimatums like this may have some unintended and […]

What makes parenting so hard is that we don’t always see the consequences of what we do immediately. Getting it right can look as identical as getting it wrong, and other times it can masquerade as another. Along the way, we’ll make a lot of mistakes. We’ll talk when we should stay quiet; we remain […]