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Operation Donation Is Underway

Yesterday I talked about my grand plans for narrowing down Dylan’s toy collection in preparation for his birthday and Christmas. Today, I was able to set the plan in motion. This afternoon, after we returned home from going out to lunch with my dad, Dylan went into the playroom to play. I brought Blake in there with me and I explained my plan to Dylan. We have four large bins in the playroom, and I explained that we were going to sort the toys into the bins. Two bins would be filled with toys that we would keep in the … Continue reading →

Teaching Toddlers Empathy

One important skill that we as parents can help our children to learn is empathy. Empathy is the ability to understand and experience the feelings of others, and to respond in helpful ways. No child is too young to begin learning about empathy. In fact, you have probably been modeling empathy for your child since the moment that she was born by being sensitive to her feelings and responding to her needs. As your toddler grows, she can begin to build on the empathy that you have shown her by reaching out to others in a caring way. Of course, … Continue reading →

Happy Birthday Dylan

It’s nearly official. Dylan went to bed as a two year old, and when he awakens in the morning it will be his third birthday. Good night, toddler, good morning, preschooler. I’m not sure that I agree with all of those people who say that “it goes by so fast”, but that might be either because not enough time has passed and I’ll be saying it a few years from now or because I have been lucky enough to stay home with him and experience (nearly) every waking moment of his toddlerhood. There is no one word that sums up … Continue reading →

Staying Present, Staying Calm

When you are the parent of a toddler, your mind might spend much of its time engaged in gymnastics. It leaps forwards, backwards, then stops briefly to notice something that your child is doing right now only to dart off again in another direction as you think about things you want or need to do or ponder things that you have already done. With all of those mental gymnastics going on, it’s no wonder that you are exhausted by the end of the day. Sometimes, I find myself so mentally exhausted by the time the boys go to bed that … Continue reading →

Toddler Diaper Rash

One of the challenges that toddlers and their parents navigate as they grow is potty learning. A couple of months ago, Dylan decided that it was his time to graduate to big boy underwear. He did great for a few weeks, even on a six hour long car ride to Maine. For some reason, he then decided to abandon his undies and go back to diapers. When Dylan changed direction and went back to wearing diapers it confused me, so I did a little research on potty learning and regression. I learned that sometimes, toddlers will master using the potty, … Continue reading →

Connecting With Your Toddler

It has been said that a toddler who feels a strong connection with his or her parents is more likely to be happy. Fortunately for parents, there are many ways that you can strengthen the connection that you have with your toddler. Even better, there are not likely to be any adverse effects from nurturing that connection as frequently as you can. Perhaps the essence of building a connection with your toddler can be summed up in two easy to remember words, time and attention. If you are anything like me, you may feel that time and attention are two … Continue reading →