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...

Introducing Technology To A Toddler

Hi Janet, My partner and I wanted to get your knowledgeable advice… Our daughter Maggie, who just turned 3, has not watched a minute of TV in her life…no movies, no computers…nothing.  We don’t even have toys that make noises or do things….strictly RIE!  As a result, she is a polite, mature beyond-her-age, confident three year old who loves books (yay!!) and creative play.   However,...

10 Secrets To Raising Good Listeners

Listening skills are essential to learning. Children who listen well not only develop strong language abilities, they find gaining knowledge in any subject easier, less stressful and more successful. Since attentive listeners retain most of what they hear in the classroom, they don’t need to study as much (a big plus, especially in middle and high school). But listening is a growing problem for young children to...

Babies And Parenting – 10 Things I Learned In 2010

1) Babies are not only as present and aware as adults, they are more so. Recent brain studies show that babies can’t help but take in everything around them. They are big picture thinkers, unable to focus in on only one or a few aspects of their environment and exclude the rest. This “lantern-type” attention is what allows them to learn and develop more rapidly in infancy than they ever will again. 2) Babies...

Toddler Readiness – The Beauty Of Waiting

When my daughter was 2 ¾ she told me she wanted to ride a merry-go-round. I never figured out where she got the idea, but she loved books and must have seen a merry-go-round somewhere in one of them. We picked a day to visit the classic carousel on the Santa Monica Pier and talked about it for days ahead of time. We imagined the experience – choosing a horse, the music, fastening seatbelts, riding up and down,...

Toddler Testing – 3 Steps To End The Nightmare

Hi Janet, Could I ask your advice again? So Audrey is great (GREAT!) at independent play. She can spend quite a long time happily playing with her basic simple toys and babbling to herself. Except, in the mornings, when I am trying to get breakfast ready, lunches ready, dishes done, and stuff ready to get out the door, she is REALLY clingy. I don’t understand. If I am sitting still in the afternoon hanging out...

Show Biz Babies…Oy!

The other night I had a rare treat – dinner and a movie with my two teenage daughters. Since they are more than four years apart, and the 17-year-old’s non-stop social engagements materialize as spontaneously as text messages, we don’t all get together much. I’ve recently instated a policy for myself — if she ever wants to do anything with me I drop everything and say, “Yes!”  Dinner on the patio...