Research show clearly that parents who have modeled nurturant, reassuring responses to infants' fears and distress by soothing wor...ds and stroking gentleness have toddlers who already can stroke a crying child's hair. Toddlers whose special adults model kindliness will even pick up a cookie dropped from a peer's high chair and return it to the crying peer rather than eat it themselves!LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »
The three-year-old who lies about taking a cookie isn't really a "liar" after all. He simply can't control his impulses. He then c...onvinces himself of a new truth and, eager for your approval, reports the version that he knows will make you happy.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »
The upbeat lawyer/negotiator of preadolescence has become a real pro by now--cynical, shrewd, a tough cookie. You're constantly em...broiled in a match of wits. You're exhausted.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »
Temperament is the natural, inborn style of behavior of each individual. It's the how of behavior, not the why.... The question is... not, "Why does he behave a certain way if he doesn't get a cookie?" but rather, "When he doesn't get a cookie, how does he express his displeasure...?" The environment--and your behavior as a parent--can influence temperament and interplay with it, but it is not the cause of temperamental characteristics.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »
Living by basic good-mothering guidelines enables a mom to blend the responsibilities of parenthood with its joys; to know when to... stand her ground and when to be flexible; and to absorb the lessons of the parenting gurus while also trusting her inner voice when it reasons that another cookie isn't worth fighting over, or that her child won't suffer irreparable trauma if, once in a while, Mom puts her own needs first.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »