7 Reasons To Calm Down About Babies Crying

There are people who don’t mind hearing babies cry. They ignore a baby in distress, won’t pick the baby up ‘so as not to spoil him’, think nothing of leaving babies crying alone for hours in a dark room. I know these people exist because I read articles about them all time. But seriously, who are they? In my 18 ½ years as a mother, 16 years as a parent educator and 2 years blogging, I’ve never...

Parenting To Prevent Childhood Obesity (Guest Post by Kiyah Duffey)

Infant specialist Magda Gerber’s feeding recommendations made perfect sense to me and have “served” my children well. She encouraged parents to be observant and responsive to cues, pay undivided focused attention during breastfeeding, bottle feeding and all mealtimes, trust infants and toddlers to know their bodies and communicate their needs. As the result of these practices, my children not only continue to...

Gentle Discipline In Action (Seeing Is Believing)

Do toddlers like to learn rules and follow directions? Are they capable of restraint, making decisions, self-discipline, patience, even unsolicited acts of kindness? Seeing is believing. In this brief video, not just one, but five extraordinary 14 to 18 month old toddlers demonstrate these things and more… (No actors were hired!) This is the first few minutes of snack time (traditionally consisting of bananas and...

Toddler Eating Issues (or Stuff Your Worries, Not Your Toddler)

It’s upsetting when something’s amiss with our child’s behavior, especially when it concerns eating. However, as this family is discovering, acting out of fear at mealtime only makes matters worse. Hi Janet, We are writing to you as we find ourselves facing a very frustrating situation. Here it is: We are having trouble during our 20 month old daughter Angie’s mealtimes and that is having a bad effect...

Breastfeeding For Comfort (The All-Night Diner)

A discussion I had with Annie from “PHD In Parenting” a while back (Attachment Parenting Debate – For Crying Out Loud!) sparked some interesting commentary. A couple of days ago I received this new comment and question… I am beyond excited to have found your blog Janet, and this debate has been so revealing for me. My daughter is almost 1 year old and I have been practicing Attachment Parenting because it...

Dodging A Toddler Food Fight

Hi Janet, I’m hoping you can help me and my wife and give us some advice in regards to some recent food issues with our 18 1/2 month old daughter, Tessa. When we put Tessa on solids a little over a year ago, she took them with fervor. She ate up everything. My wife worked like crazy and made all of the baby food ground up from organic veggies. Tessa loved everything. As time went on, we added turkey meat,...

There’s A Person On Your Breast – Don’t Take The Intimacy Out Of Breastfeeding

Sometimes I read an opinion or sense a pervasive attitude that gives me a knot in my gut. If you’re a blogger (I’m learning), this is a signal that you need to share your thoughts. Of course, at first you tell yourself, “Hey, Self, forget about it – don’t ruffle feathers. Your point of view will be unpopular and may offend. Other parents may feel criticized and judged — which is the last thing in the...

Empowering Our Babies With Rituals

Bore that I am, I do the exact same thing every morning. Up before my family, I turn on the tea kettle and walk to the street with Dulce (our Ridgeback- Pitbull-whatever rescue dog) to collect the LA Times. (Yes, I still read hard copy sometimes.) Then I make a smoothie with vitamin powder, soy milk and frozen fruit while I steep green tea. Alternate sips of hot tea and cold smoothie miraculously transform the...