In normal, healthy babies, there's little correlation between talking, walking, potty training, etc. These skills can come at different times for different children, and the one to master one first may master the others last.

My kids are now 15 and 19. It seems that most of our friends are other parents we met through our kids. If you find regular activities for your kids, you'll find other kids and their parents, same time every week.

I can't stand mushy or runny or excessively wet eggs myself. Makes me gag.

Your instincts are likely to be good, and what you decide to to will vary depending on how sick, how long, when and what he's eaten, whether you expect him to go back to sleep soon after you wake him for food or medicine.

Never leave your child in a place you aren't welcome. Simply spend time in the classroom. If the preschool makes that difficult, you should find another preschool. Same with elementary school, middle school and high school.

I agree with this. At the start of each play session, it would be good to review the rules that you expect her to follow. You might also add something about TV or video games if that's something you watch at home. Both my daughters had to call and check before they were allowed to watch anything over PG until they actually turned 13. Never was a problem, we told the girls to blame us for being overprotective if it made it easier for them.

Well, the title gives us a big clue. It's a Newberry book, and it's hard to go wrong with one of those. Beyond that, of course a parent should look into any kid's book on difficult issues for themselves.

Staying calm is only easy when it's advice you're giving to other people. It's still good advice, though.

My daughter had similar problems, though not so severe. We think it stems from a trip to the ER to have stitches above her eye after a fall at about 18 months. They strapped her to a board to immobilize her so they could novacane and stitch, but the combination of fright, pain, strange people and being tied up left her unable to tolerate being restrained for several years.

Is there a "right time"? Sure. Can you know what time is the right time? No, you can't, so if it leads to failure and tears, you might want to pull back and try again in a month. Remember that there are three issues. The first is the physical ability to control those functions. The second is the desire to use the toilet over the diaper. The third is the mental ability to break away from the task at hand in time to make it to the toilet. If the you don't have the first, you have to wait.