163
votes
Accepted
I'm losing it, with a talkative toddler, a colicky baby, chores, work, and lack of sleep
Ok. I'm going to take a shot at this. I semi-agree with Erica's comment that this could be seen as primarily opinion based but at the same time, it's not and there are methods out there that we ...
- 13.3k
114
votes
Accepted
Kid throwing ice cream cone back to the vendor
You already have received a fine answer to which I want to add a bit.
Kids that age pretty much wear their feelings on their sleeves, and while fake crying as manipulation isn't rare, the whole thing ...
- 66.9k
107
votes
Kid throwing ice cream cone back to the vendor
Maybe unpopular opinion: Tricking children, especially ones who are too young to understand and appreciate it as a joke, is at best unkind, and can be outright mean, regardless of intentions. For ...
75
votes
Accepted
What is the evidence on the danger of feeding whole blueberries and grapes to infants and toddlers?
Summary
Grapes are round and larger than a child's airway and may lead to occlusion.
Food with a smooth, deformable surface can form a tight seal.
Grapes are "the third most common cause of food-...
71
votes
What can I do to a 6-month-old child so she ends up smart and has a high IQ?
At six months old, the key is to talk a lot, and to give the baby lots of opportunities to explore their environment. One approach that worked well for us was to follow the Montessori approach to ...
- 58.3k
70
votes
I'm losing it, with a talkative toddler, a colicky baby, chores, work, and lack of sleep
Find help.
If you're not getting enough sleep and you start crying over dirty clothes, you are exhausted and breaking down. I don't think this is normal behavior (just my opinion, but we had a baby ...
- 8,605
54
votes
I think my 11 month old is afraid of his dad
You are in a tough situation. Having to share parenting with someone you hate is very difficult. And whenever anyone upsets your child, it's natural to want to prevent that. Let me make some ...
- 13.2k
52
votes
Bringing babies to bar?
There's a level of disagreement about whether children should be allowed in "adult settings," and you can get all sorts of opinions on what's appropriate (both for the sake of the child, and for the ...
- 22.5k
52
votes
I'm losing it, with a talkative toddler, a colicky baby, chores, work, and lack of sleep
I have a practical piece of advice: wear your baby in a sling/wrap.
My 10 month old has been worn by either me or dad ever since she was born, and we cannot begin to imagine how much harder our ...
- 1,733
48
votes
Can an infant choke on spit-up?
According to NICHD: No.
Myth: Babies who sleep on their backs will choke if they spit up or
vomit during sleep.
Fact: Babies automatically cough up or swallow fluid that they spit up
or ...
- 611
47
votes
Accepted
Baby fights to get out of arms, cries when I put him down
Babies are not good at figuring out what is bothering them -- simply that something is. Being tired, in particular, leads to a general crankiness that is difficult to alleviate. Since your son doesn't ...
- 22.5k
46
votes
Is it ok to let my 3 month old drop her head a few inches during 'tummy time'?
This is the result of a normal developmental stage, perhaps made more noticeable in your case by having a baby who started rolling earlier than average, and your baby isn't likely to get severely hurt ...
- 7,534
45
votes
Accepted
Do I keep my daughter's Russian vocabulary small or not?
is this approach going to help her build connection with a basic vocabulary
Yes
should I try to broaden it as much as I can and as soon as I can?
Yes. Progress the Russian and English vocabulary at ...
- 6,712
45
votes
Introducing new baby to your toddler
Our oldest was two when we had our second child. Anecdotal I know, but the way it played out for us, I think that was a perfect timing to get a sibling. Before too long, they won't remember the time ...
- 10.6k
44
votes
Accepted
What can we do about our 9-month-old putting fingers down his throat?
This weird stage is really common, and mostly developmental-- something that most babies will naturally outgrow. It's upsetting and gross, but not harmful. The baby won't actually choke or cause ...
- 7,534
42
votes
Bringing babies to bar?
I see no reason to think this inappropriate behavior.
Did you see any harm being done to the infant? There was no smoking in its presence. The baby was safely tucked into its bjorn carrier (already a ...
- 66.9k
41
votes
Accepted
Should I show my six month old educational videos?
Too many stimuli can be harmful to a baby. Here's a few articles 1, 2 - or just google overstimulation and check for yourself.
In general it is not recommended for children below 18 months to have any ...
- 9,971
41
votes
What can I do to a 6-month-old child so she ends up smart and has a high IQ?
Turn off the TV and interact with your child
If your IQs are so high, use that intelligence. You can't make a child more clever. That's built in, by nature. What you want are skills they can develop ...
- 2,649
39
votes
Accepted
Why do Heinz's Honey packets say not to give them to children under 12 months?
Honey is not recommended at all for babies under one year of age because of the risk of infant botulism. The risk isn't big, but if it happens, it can be life-threatening. Avoiding honey until the ...
- 1,391
32
votes
Accepted
7 month old can sit, but doesn't want to
Is sitting a mandatory part of development?
Yes, it is. And your child has passed it. You put it quite well:
Sitting apparently does nothing for him.
It's not that he can't do it, it's that he ...
- 66.9k
28
votes
Why do Heinz's Honey packets say not to give them to children under 12 months?
Botulism spores are one of the very few things that can survive in honey, and even then, they can only do it by becoming totally inactive. In an adult, stomach acid will destroy those spores, and ...
- 556
28
votes
I'm losing it, with a talkative toddler, a colicky baby, chores, work, and lack of sleep
Sorry to be pragmatic, but:
Get your 3 year old daughter in full time daycare
If money isn't an issue, spend the $1k/month to get her in a place to socialize with others. She needs to talk, that's ...
- 488
28
votes
Can an infant choke on spit-up?
I think CF13's answer is spot on. I just want to add a little bit of information to support/expand on it.
I assume by "choke", you mean a significant event, like death or aspiration pneumonia, not ...
- 66.9k
28
votes
My 9-month old baby only sleeps in our arms
I don't really agree with Ferber, but I think there are parts of the approach that can be adapted without as much of the "make your baby cry, and usually the parent also" portion. It's ...
- 58.3k
27
votes
Accepted
when to start reading books to a child and attempt teaching reading?
In our experience, the main reading-promoting activities at this early age were limited to reading aloud to children. We used good quality books with lots of pictures, often board books. Having the ...
- 5,066
26
votes
Kid throwing ice cream cone back to the vendor
I don't think there is much that needs to change here, you can't judge the way a child is raised by some isolated incident that happens to be caught on tape.
Getting the icecream for the child at ...
- 1,095
25
votes
Accepted
My 2 month old baby keeps looking into light
My 5 month old does this. This is perfectly normal for a new-born. When he was around 2 months old this happened a lot but as he has got older it doesn't seem happen so much unless it's new. Remember ...
- 2,089
23
votes
Is my wife an over-protective parent and how does this influence my child?
First things first:
No, not all mothers are as protective as your wife is and from what you write, her behaviour is far from normal. (But of course we have only your statement to go by.)
From what ...
- 17.6k
23
votes
Accepted
Baby proofing the space between fridge and wall
First off, to alleviate your fears - while the backside of a fridge is not usually meant to be touched, there should not be any serious danger from touching it. There are not hot elements to burn you, ...
- 2,678
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible