All Questions
10
votes
7answers
314 views
What should I look for in educational iPad apps for children?
What qualities should I look for in educational iPad apps for children?
10
votes
3answers
3k views
Why is my baby suddenly screaming in the bath?
My baby has always loved bath-time, almost since he was born. He learned to splash when he was only a couple of months old and loves to play around with the water, and over the past few weeks I've ...
10
votes
4answers
134 views
How do you keep playtime stimulating for an older sibling?
This is actually the opposite of a previously asked question
I'm doing fairly well with the 4 1/2 year old and the 20 month old sharing. But there are times that the older child wants to do things ...
10
votes
1answer
164 views
How to handle different rules about video games at friend's house?
My 8-year old son, like many boys his age, is obsessed with video games. We try to have a rule at our house where he's allowed to play certain games that are appropriate to his age, for only a ...
9
votes
5answers
397 views
Is complimenting children where they can hear it good or bad?
TL;DR: Is there anything wrong with praising children to their parents while the children can hear it?
From R. Kipling's "The jungle book":
‘How beautiful are the noble children! How large are ...
9
votes
5answers
840 views
At what age should I expect my daughter to talk?
At what age should I expect my daughter to form words? When should I expect her to be capable of simple sentences?
9
votes
4answers
287 views
OK for parent to cry in front of kids?
Sometimes a parent may be feeling sad (for whatever reason) and needs to cry.
Is it harmful, or could it even be good, to cry sometimes in front of your children? What does research say?
9
votes
9answers
591 views
How can I get my toddler to eat as well for us as he does at daycare?
My son (currently 23 months old) attends an in-home daycare 5 days a week. The daycare provider cooks homemade meals for the kids, and provides snacks.
By every report she gives, our son gives her ...
9
votes
3answers
595 views
Punishment for stealing?
I'm in a situation where I'm really not sure what the best course of action is. Today I promised my younger sister that I would give her $100 if she worked up to running 3 miles. As proud as I was ...
9
votes
5answers
1k views
How often should my wife breastfeed our newborn?
Our newborn is one week old and a boy. When we were still in hospital, the nurse was giving formula milk to our newborn every 3 hours. But since we brought our baby home, we exclusively breastfeed our ...
9
votes
6answers
2k views
What should you do after you've raised your voice at your child?
We've all lost our cool at one point or another. We all know its terrible to raise your voice at your kids, but every once in a while we slip. I've occasionally raised my voice to my teenager and to ...
9
votes
7answers
667 views
What should we pack when going camping with an infant?
My family and I are going camping in a couple of weeks and were wondering if anyone had any tips or just precautions we should take. I have been camping only a couple of times in my life; however, my ...
9
votes
7answers
1k views
How can we make a long road trip pleasant for a toddler and the parents?
We're planning to drive to visit my family later this year. It is roughly a 10-11 hour drive if we go straight through (I'm planning on making fairly frequent stops, however, as I think it would be ...
9
votes
4answers
7k views
How can I prevent diaper leaks with my newborn?
My 2 week old son has at least 1 diaper leak per day. I am not 100% sure but the leak seems to always be along the top of the diaper, near the sides. Initial reading tells me that this is a common ...
9
votes
6answers
373 views
Is it better to send your child to school with lunch, or lunch money?
I remember my school cafeteria food as being, well, not what I'd consider "food".
At the same time, I know how hard it is to consistently pack lunch as an adult without getting bored with the same ...
9
votes
4answers
469 views
1 yr old boy prefers dad
I am the proud father of a little 1 yr old boy. My wife and I love him to pieces! A few months after his birth I suffered through a terrible bout of anxiety attacks. Turns out it was just my way of ...
9
votes
6answers
2k views
Is TV harmful to my infant's development?
My wife and I use our TV to watch shows and streaming movies. Our 2 month old daughter is sometimes drawn to the TV and will turn her head towards it and will 'focus' on it. I know that their eye ...
9
votes
4answers
287 views
Is it ever okay to tell a kid you disagree with their parents?
When I have a close connection to a child through family friend, mentoring, neighbor, etc., I usually back up parents (even if I don't agree with a particular parenting style sometimes) so as not to ...
9
votes
5answers
280 views
Should I encourage my 2½ year old to attempt to “read” his own stories?
My little boy is 2½ now, and has enjoyed being read to at bedtime since he was small.
But lately he's started refusing to be read to at all. Instead he says "No, I want to read it" and takes the ...
9
votes
5answers
1k views
What do we do if our children don't like the nanny?
So I just came back to work after a long discussion with our 4 year old. He complains (more to the effect, he had a meltdown) that he doesn't like our nanny, and would prefer to have our neighbour ...
9
votes
7answers
7k views
Why won't our infant stop crying when in the car seat?
We have a 2-month-old baby that will start crying as soon as we put her in the car seat and absolutely will not stop until she is out of it. She could be fed and asleep with a new diaper before the ...
9
votes
7answers
392 views
How do you wash a toddler's hands in a public restroom?
I find it quite hard to wash my toddler's hands in a public restroom which may have a very wet counter and otherwise be a bit dirty. It's hard to operate soap dispensers which require two hands to ...
9
votes
3answers
306 views
How can I pick my son up from daycare without a struggle?
My son is 26 months old, and goes to an in-home daycare with 5-6 other children.
He does very well there, and gets along with the other kids without serious problems (there are the conflicts over ...
9
votes
3answers
269 views
How can I handle a child that claims medical problems as a bad excuse?
I have 3 kids who seem to use medical reasons for excuses, most often to not go to bed. For instance, my 7 year old periodically "Can't move" at bed time to get to his bed, but when he gets in there, ...
9
votes
4answers
454 views
My toddler wants to watch the same shows over and over
My son (2 and a half) watches about 3-6 hours of television a week at home (usually closer to 3 than 6). However, most of that time is spent watching the same shows or movies time and time again.
We ...
9
votes
4answers
4k views
How can I deal with my 12-year old son's rebellious behaviour?
My son is a very loving child and fun to be with usually....ever since he turned 12 he is suddenly the resident expert in the house on anything from how to drive a car to how become president. You ...
9
votes
3answers
372 views
When to pull loose teeth
My 5 year old is starting to have some teeth become loose. Specifically her lower two front teeth. I just noticed today that one of them is really loose. However, I don't know how loose it should be ...
9
votes
6answers
424 views
How to direct my one-year old baby not to do bad things
I have a one-year old baby, she is smart and loves to try everything and anything, including putting her fingers in the electricity and tasting every possible thing she finds :)
How can I tell my ...
9
votes
4answers
318 views
How do I explain good sportsmanship to a 4 year old?
My 4 year old son and I enjoy playing games. However, whenever I win and he loses, he gets very upset and doesn't want to play anymore. I have tried explaining that he won't always win at ...
9
votes
3answers
396 views
How can I motivate my child who doesn't care about rewards?
My son is 8 and has always been argumentative and basically lazy with doing ANYTHING since he could talk.
If he has homework that takes ten minutes, he will take two hours due to just leaving the ...
9
votes
3answers
469 views
How can parents avoid their child becoming a “whiner”?
Inspired from my previous question, but distilled to be more specific:
What types of parenting would cause a child to become a "whiner?" By this, I mean that the child becomes someone who tends to ...
9
votes
4answers
578 views
At what age is a child able to brush his or her teeth unaided?
At what age is a child able to brush his or her teeth unaided?
I don't necessarily mean what age in years and months, rather the general development process.
I let my child brush his teeth on his ...
9
votes
3answers
4k views
How do you teach young kids to defend themselves?
How do you teach kids to defend themselves, without becoming bullies? I'm talking about younger kids (1.5 to 3yo) who are not mature enough (or old enough) to take self-defense classes.
My son is two ...
9
votes
5answers
8k views
When should you worry about a toddler's loss of appetite and weight?
My 2 year-old seems to have lost her appetite in the last 3 to 4 weeks: she eats very little at meal times (couple of mouthfuls) and definitely much less than she used to. She does not seem to be ill, ...
9
votes
4answers
283 views
How to teach a toddler how to treat a book?
My son is nearing 2½ years, and he's got a big stack of picture books. He loves to turn the pages but doesn't take any care in doing so. That means the books are often torn and the spine bent so far ...
9
votes
4answers
8k views
How can I help my kids to sleep comfortably (and safely) on an overnight drive?
Asking this one anonymously, I don't want the police coming round to arrest me!
In a few weeks, we've got a long drive to go on vacation. Because our youngest is pretty unbearable on long car ...
9
votes
3answers
3k views
Is it healthy for toddlers to play outside when it is cold?
Assuming the child is dressed properly and it isn't extremely cold (I'm thinking high 50ºF or 10ºC with wind). Their hands and face will be exposed and they may be sweaty from running around, but ...
9
votes
6answers
159 views
How do you choose a first pediatrician?
While it would be great to be able to just use the doctor we were raised with...
assuming that's not possible:
How does one not merely locate a good first pediatrician, but evaluate them? What are ...
9
votes
4answers
170 views
Pre-teen always sneaking junk food
My daughter is nine, and over the last few months has been frequently stealing sweets from the kitchen (fridge, pantry, or deep freezer) to eat them in her room at night. There are a variety of ...
9
votes
3answers
231 views
How to mitigate the impact of other people comparing my children to each other?
My husband and I have tried very hard to show both of our children that they are loved and cared for, and to encourage their own unique interests and to be proud of the individuals they are growing ...
9
votes
8answers
839 views
How can I motivate my 16 yo daughter to do something valuable with her life?
I have a 16 year old daughter who, whenever she has free time wastes it on things that I think are futile like Facebook, Tumblr, etc.
She's also performing poorly at school. I've talked to her about ...
9
votes
4answers
281 views
How to respond when your kid is being ridiculed by another kid when the other kid's parent(s) are present?
Yesterday, while trick or treating, several of my 5 year old's friends were making fun his name in an unpleasant manner. The mom of these other kids were there but they did not notice this behavior or ...
9
votes
9answers
674 views
What are some fun (no TV or computer) activities that a 2 year old and a 4 year old would enjoy together?
The only common activity I've found that works well so far is fort building. My 2 year old boy is very active, but my 4 year old daughter loves to have books read to her. However, when I'm alone with ...
9
votes
3answers
511 views
Explaining Teen Pregnancy to Young Child
So, my six-year-old daughter has understood that babies come from a "special kind of hug" done between the mommy and daddy. I should clarify that she has actually seen sex on a farm between animals ...
9
votes
4answers
1k views
How do you you encourage siblings to share their toys?
I have 1yo and 4yo boys and it's very usual that the elder child takes away toys or doesn't allow the youngest to play with the toys, arguing that all the toys belong to him. We tried to explain to ...
9
votes
3answers
160 views
Baby awake in the morning but quiet?
Our baby is nearly 6 months old, and generally when awake during the day (from 8-9 AM) he needs attention and care (at least periodically, otherwise he is pretty good at inventing occupation for ...
9
votes
4answers
162 views
How to promote individual play for a toddler?
Does anyone have any tips on how to promote independent play, so our son will learn to (or get used to) play by himself?
Our son is quite a demanding child who is constantly asking us to play with ...
9
votes
3answers
591 views
What are the pros and cons of adopted children taking their adoptive parents' name?
We are in the final stages of adopting kids ranging from ages 7-12. The question has come up a time or two about last names, namely if they should keep their last names, or if we should give them ...
9
votes
6answers
486 views
How can I make my preschool child brush his teeth, and similar mandatory tasks?
Most tasks and chores can be taught by letting the child experience consequences, because those consequences are mostly immediate and direct (e.g. not going to the playground if the child won't put on ...
9
votes
3answers
222 views
What are some good safety rules to have when you own a pool?
What are some fundamental rules that you should have when you own a house with a pool and have young children?
