If I wanted a special doll, and I begged my mother for it, she would give me a speech about how I had three dolls at home and I di...dn't need another one, and remind me of how fortunate I was compared to all the poor little girls all over the world who didn't have dolls. And when she finished telling me why I shouldn't want what I wanted, I still wanted it just as badly--only I felt ashamed of myself for wanting it.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »
I tell parents ... when they are the recipients of public humiliation inflicted by their irrational toddlers or preschoolers, and ...they are being stared at by clucking strangers, to repeat this mantra: "I do not know these people. They are not my friends. I will never see them again."LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »
It is easy after a day full of hassles to experience a child as being just one more hassle, one more person who wants to sap our s...trength. We feel emotionally fragile and put upon. We long to have someone take care of us and soothe our emotions. Instead, we are required to take care of a child who might be exhausted and needy as well, and who is acting unreasonable.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »
It isn't easy to see the formerly loving child who once curled up in our laps turn into a surly stranger who cannot spare us a kin...d word. One mother ... was taken aback when she called, as her daughter was going out the door, "Have a good time," and her daughter angrily replied, "Stop telling me what to do!"LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »
It is normal for children to test our limits--both in words and actions. Establishing independence from adult authority is a healt...hy way for children to find their own styles. The question is how can parents walk the tricky line between allowing their children to express their feelings while still asserting their authority as parents, and setting necessary limits.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »
When we acknowledge our children's right to want things, as well as their right to be upset when they can't have what they want, i...t can go a long way toward defusing their anger and the tantrums that occur as a result.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »
It's a fact of life: Children will naturally seek to gain the upper hand in a family, often at the expense of a younger or more vu...lnerable sibling. They will observe one another closely and take advantage of any edge they can achieve.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »
We often treat our children as though they are the first children in history to exhibit such terrible behavior. In our anger, we c...ommunicate to them that "good" children don't behave in those ways when in fact good children do. Instead of acknowledging that this is appropriate developmental behavior, we think our children are doing things deliberately to drive us crazy.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »