A Not So Funny Thing Happened Today

As difficult as being a stay at home mom to a toddler and an infant can be, I would not trade it for any other set of circumstances in the world. On days where things are not going so well, it is easy to day dream about what my life might be like if I were working and the boys were at day care. Today, something happened that made it absolutely clear to me that home with my boys is really where my heart is. We were in the car, going home from the grocery store. Dylan was munching on … Continue reading

Last Minute Costume Ideas For Toddlers

Did you just look at the calendar and have a minor meltdown because Halloween is a week away? Parents of toddlers are busy, and sometimes things like buying or making Halloween costumes fall by the wayside as we try to take care of the necessities each day before we run out of time and energy. Fortunately, there are a few quick and inexpensive costumes that you can whip up in no time so that your little monsters won’t miss any Halloween fun. If your child has a rain coat and rain boots, you are on your way to making a … Continue reading

One Strategy For Addressing Defiant Toddler Behavior

When you are the parent of a toddler, you quickly realize that sometimes things that seem to make no sense actually do make sense upon further examination. That is how I felt when I recently learned about a new approach to addressing defiant toddler behavior. I’m a big fan of Dr. Laura Markham and her web site, Aha! Parenting. I enjoy reading the articles on the site, which advocates a gentle and peaceful style of parenting that I try very hard to emulate, albeit while gritting my teeth at times. The other day I was reading some of the articles, … Continue reading

Toddler Friendly No – Carve Pumpkin Decorating Ideas

If your toddler is anything like my toddler, the very thought of carving a pumpkin this year probably has you rather frightened. Of course, picking out pumpkins with toddlers is a lot of fun so there is bound to be at least one pumpkin at your house. Here are a few no – carve pumpkin decorating ideas for you and your little ones so you can add some festive fall fun to your home without having to try in vain to explain the details of why Mommy can use a knife to cut a pumpkin and Junior can’t as Junior … Continue reading

Praise And Your Toddler

It’s tough work, being a parent. It seems like every other day, I read something that lets me know that I am doing something incorrectly as far as how I have been parenting my little boy. That’s okay, though, I am open to new ideas and to learning which things make sense for me and my family and which ideas are best left to other people and their own families. Today, I read some interesting information about how praising children can do them more harm than good. Until about an hour ago, I was generously doling out praise to Dylan … Continue reading

Time To Get Ready For Indoor Fun

It has been getting rather chilly in the mornings and in the evenings around here. I have been trying to ignore it, and on the sunny days that is fairly easy to do because by about eleven in the morning it is usually warm enough for a short sleeved shirt. Today, calling in a heating oil delivery was on my to – do list so for a brief period of time I had to acknowledge that these sunny, warm days are soon going to give way to the damp chill of late fall and the bitter cold and snow of … Continue reading

Toddlers And Television

As with any topic related to parenting toddlers, the topic of television is one where families vary greatly in their approaches. Some families avoid any and all television. Some have multiple televisions which are on much of the time. Most of us fall somewhere in the middle of the television spectrum. Personally, we only have one television in our home. It is in our bedroom. It is not hooked up to cable, satellite, or any other television service. We have a DVD player, and that is what we use the television for. As far as what kind of programming and … Continue reading

Does Your Toddler Test Your Patience?

Today was a particularly trying day for me. It seemed as if each time I asked Dylan not to do something, he look right at me and did it anyways. Also, he had a couple of tantrums over things that I could do nothing about. For example, he wanted to play with Play Doh and I could not find any in the house. For about forty five minutes he let me know how upset he was that I did not have the Play Doh that he needed. The whole day seemed to flow from one limit testing scenario to another … Continue reading

Toddler Fun In The Fall

There is a certain crispness in the air at night these days. In fact, it has been for a few weeks now but not many people have been talking about it. It is understandable that not many people want to admit that summer is coming to a close. There are probably a lot of things that you and your toddler have enjoyed this summer that you will miss doing once summer is over. The good news is that fall brings with it a whole new array of fun things that you can enjoy with your toddler. If you live somewhere … Continue reading

Unrealistic Expectations Are No Fun For Anyone

Today, I realized that one of the most frustrating things about being the parent of a toddler has nothing to do with the toddler at all. Nor does it have anything to do with his two month old baby brother. Nope, the source of my frustration is none other than – myself. You see, I have been setting unrealistic expectations for myself and then getting mad at myself for falling short of them. Examples are helpful, so let’s take a minute to compare what I had hoped to accomplish today with what I actually did accomplish. Keep in mind that … Continue reading