True story: Holly was a tentative mom, someone who avoided setting limits. Holly told me she was having an impossible time getting three-year-old Eliza to sit in her car seat. Eliza screamed and refused to cooperate. I recommended to Holly that she say, “I know you don’t want to, but you must sit in your … Continued
How can we help our kids overcome their fears? Most of us have the instinct to provide comfort with messages like “don’t worry, you’re safe, it will be alright.” In this episode, Janet explains why our children often need more than our reassurance, even when their fears seem unreasonable or overblown. The key: validating and … Continued
In this episode: Janet responds to a pregnant mom in her first trimester trying to parent her active young son while suffering from nausea, headaches, and exhaustion. She writes that she often feels unmercifully tired, and she struggles “to offer the calm, respectful care I ought to provide.” She’s hoping Janet has suggestions how to … Continued
What do we do if we know our kids can practice a new skill, and yet they don’t or won’t? Three families reach out to Janet with concerns about their children’s developmental progress. In one case, a 12-month-old doesn’t seem interested in crawling, and the parent has been advised to try to make this happen. A second … Continued
Parenting is a tough job and, if you’re like many of us, navigating effective discipline is the most challenging part of it. We need clarity! For this reason, many have appreciated Janet’s recent episode: “Strict is Loving”. You’ve also had questions—lots of questions—in regard to walking (what can seem to be) the fine line between … Continued
A parent consults with Janet about her one-year-old who screams, cries, “loses it anytime he’s picked up and moved to do something else or is told he can’t go somewhere.” She’s concerned that it’s too early for this type of behavior, wonders how to respond and if she’s doing something wrong. Janet shares her perspective and … Continued
Self-directed play is a gift that keeps giving with profound benefits for every aspect of our children’s development. As an added bonus, nurturing our child’s ability to self-entertain affords us the occasional much-deserved break. So, cultivating independent play and establishing it as a habit is well worth the effort. Unfortunately, no matter how early we … Continued
Janet responds to several messages from parents who feel stumped as to how to respond effectively to their children’s behaviors. A 4-year-old has been lashing out at his mom and schoolmates. A kindergartner calls her brother “stupid.” Another kindergartner can’t pull herself together to get to school on time without her mother doing 95% of the … Continued
Janet’s guest is Dr. William Stixrud, a clinical neuropsychologist and co-author of The Self-Driven Child: The Science and Sense of Giving Your Kids More Control Over Their Lives. Bill Stixrud’s decades of experience counseling children and their parents have led to conclusions that complement and support Janet’s own parenting philosophy, especially topics such as encouraging self-confidence, … Continued
When scientist Anya Dunham was expecting her first baby, she decided to take a deep dive into the science behind various parenting techniques and philosophies. She was particularly drawn to the ideas Janet shares from the work of Magda Gerber and Emmi Pikler, because they complemented her own intuition. Anya joins Janet to discuss her … Continued
As parents and caregivers, most of us know that it’s a good idea to let our kids make choices. Offering choice is one of the ways we demonstrate respect for children as competent people. Making appropriate choices encourages them to be decision-makers and problem solvers, helps to foster a sense of autonomy, agency and healthy … Continued
We all have certain hopes and expectations of our children when it comes to their behavior in public settings, both organized and informal. We’re often disappointed. The reality is that in any given situation, not every young child will handle themselves with the kind of interest and attention we desire or expect, even when other … Continued
Our children’s impatience and low tolerance for frustration can… well, test our patience! In this week’s episode, Janet responds to a question from a listener about how to teach a toddler to be more patient. Janet considers what patience really means to a child, how it develops, and how our expectations as parents and caregivers … Continued
