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- This Holiday Season, Before You Assume I’m a Bad Parent … (976 words): The mother of two high-maintenance children writes a letter to relatives who are as uptight as she used to be
“If this holiday get-together is a chance to showcase my children, to enter them in a competition for best all-around kid in the family, I forfeit.”
- Finding the Right Sitter for Your Special Needs Child (855 words): it’s easier than you think
“Once you’ve met the potty / food / bedtime requirement, anything else is extra. At our house, the extras are the best part.”
- At Your Service: The Best Way to Get Your Kids to Eat Nutritious Food(696 words): accept that your kids will snack, and provide snacks like a servant
“… my children’s tendency to turn into Lord and Lady Fauntleroy is so strong that I have harnessed it for my – and ultimately their – advantage.”
- How To Handle Picky Eating in the Long Term (678 words): an expert / mother’s everyday strategy
“If James uses a spoon and chews his Cheerios with his mouth closed, I’ll look the other way when he eats broccoli with his fingers.”
- An Exercise in Futility? 10 Reasons My Son Won’t Eat His Dinner (930 words): an expert/mother’s real life experience of picky eating
“When is it going to be okay for me to treat James like Charlie the dog? I want to put down a bowl of Oatmeal Squares three times a day and let him eat it with his hands. It would save all of us a lot of trouble.”
- This Year, Try Gambling With Kids’ Worries (635 words): a new, energetic way to respond to common worries
“Just as warnings aren’t enough for some kids, reassurances aren’t either. Gambling offers a middle ground between hovering and hands-off.”
- Surrender, Dorothy (662 words): about toilet training
“Instead of the benevolent coach, calmly putting my experience to good use, I’ve ended up the bewildered observer, cleaning up the mess just like everyone else.”
- The Hard Way (579 words): an uplifting essay about kids’ resilience
“It’s true, you sometimes have to get kids to do things against their will. Some kids more than others. I’ve always provided a spoonful of sugar to help the medicine go down. But this time Catina was in charge, not me.”
- Dr. Mom (711 words): about childhood fears
“One would think that a good year of focused intervention from a psychologist / mother would suffice. Not this time.”