Baby’s Day

Car Seat Tantrums – Handled With Respect

True story: Holly was a tentative mom, someone who avoided setting limits. She told me she was having an impossible time getting three-year-old Eliza to sit in her car seat. She screamed, threw a fit and flat out refused to cooperate. I recommended to Holly that she say, “I know you don’t want to, but you must sit in your car seat” and then physically place Eliza into the seat. Holly reported back to me that...

Loving Babies Without Wearing Them

If bloggers got year-end bonuses, this would be mine. In this note, a new mother shares her discovery of infant expert Magda Gerber’s child care approach and the profound effects it has had on her family… Dear Janet, I stumbled on your blog through the guest post on “tummy time” when my daughter, now six months, was about two months old.  I was totally captivated by the video of Baby Liv and then spent...

Helping Babies Sleep (With Empathy And Compassion) Guest Post by Eileen Henry

Hi Janet, My baby boy is 6 months old, and we do all we can to make sure he is happy and healthy. We realize how important good, uninterrupted, restorative sleep is – both night sleep and daytime naps – and I wonder how you might respond to the philosophy of Dr. Marc Weissbluth (“Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child”), who advocates letting a baby over 4 months cry up to one hour for naps and an unlimited time...

How To Stop Entertaining Your Baby

Hi Janet, I love your articles. I love the concept of letting your little ones just be alone sometimes. I feel I am constantly trying to entertain my little 5 month old girl, and I want her to be someone that likes her own company in the future and can be creative by herself. I don’t know if my LO is clingy (maybe I’m misunderstanding something) or just used to me being right next to her 24/7? For the last 2...

Would You Let Your Baby Do This?

There’s a certain ubiquitous playground apparatus that has always given me the willies. Luckily, my children never seemed drawn to it. My nervousness may well have made them wary. Even if we’ve trained ourselves to remain calm, just observe and spot, our children know. Their radar is that good.   So when a mom from one of my RIE Parent/Infant Guidance Classes (in which we strongly advise and encourage natural...

No Need For TV, Baby

According to dismaying statistics published recently by Common Sense Media, raising infants and toddlers without using TV as a babysitter has become a countercultural choice — the path less taken. Why are we so stuck on doing something we know is, at best, a waste of time for our babies? In A Creative Alternative To Baby TV Time, I speculated that parents desperately need breaks from the 24/7 job of baby care,...

10 Secrets To Raising Less Stressed Kids

A couple of years ago I was driving my daughter home from high school, and she shared something from her Human Development class that day.  The students were asked to draw an illustration of their emotional state. “And mom,” she said, “everyone drew pictures of stacks of books and things like that.  I think I’m the only one who’s not stressed. The only pressure I ever feel is the pressure I put on...

A Toddler’s Grief – A Gift Of Grace

“You’re okay,” is repeatedly told to a child who hurts himself and does not feel okay. I would much rather give the child permission to feel the way she feels and then wait it out. Again the magic “waiting” works, because emotions have their beginning and their end — even tantrums have a beginning and an end.”  Magda Gerber, Dear Parent: Caring for Infants With Respect Eva, the 15 month old toddler...