Re-Establishing Your Child’s Routine After Vacation
Many families take advantage of school and child-care center breaks and closures as opportunities to spend time bonding, relaxing, vacationing, and taking trips to visit extended family. During these times, family routines may change, house rules could ease, and unstructured activities may become the norm. After days or weeks of excitement (or complaints of boredom) …
Why Can’t We All Just Get Along? Helping your Child Understand and Navigate Complicated Relationships
Peer conflict is a normal part of human interaction, and children often begin to experience this type of conflict during childhood. These conflicts can occur for several reasons and may be verbal (i.e., spoken or written) or physical confrontations. As a parent, understanding some of the reasons for childhood peer conflict can help you better …
Road Trips with Young Children
Family road trips can be a happy and memorable experience for children. They offer opportunities for families to spend quality time together, make memories, take in new and different sights, and have fun with each other. In addition, road trips may be preferred over traveling on planes, buses, and trains for a young child as …
Holidays with a Blended Family: 10 Tips for Parents and Stepparents
The holiday season has arrived! For blended families, this can be a time of additional stress as parents and stepparents attempt to maintain special traditions and create memories with their new or still-adjusting family members. Below are some tips that can help you create a positive holiday experience for everyone in your blended family. Plan …
Bed-sharing Among Toddlers and Preschoolers
Bed-sharing is the habit or custom of parents and infants sharing the same bed. It is practiced in many different cultures to build family closeness, and, sometimes, bed-sharing is practiced out of economic necessity. However, in the United States bed-sharing is not recommended by pediatricians and other healthcare professionals. While the American Academy of Pediatrics …
Taking Care of You
Welcoming a new baby into the home can be an exciting time that is probably filled with novel experiences, but it can also be a time that is filled with challenges, like adjusting to a new schedule and a parenting lifestyle. As you embark on your new parenting journey, remember to allow yourself time to …
Planning and Preparing Meals with Your Preschooler
Cooking with your preschooler can be a healthy, educational, and fun activity. Involving your child in cooking and other aspects of meal preparation helps them learn about food and nutrition and many life skills, like basic math skills and decision-making. You may be hesitant to bring your child into the kitchen due to some potential …
Compassion: A Strategy for Caring for Yourself and Your Children
Humans are primed to react to a threat with a stress response. In modern society, we may no longer find ourselves facing tigers in the wild; however, our bodies may react with similar biological, fight-flight responses when we feel intense stress. The demands of parenting can be a source of stress, and, often, the stress …
