children

The Great Potty Debate

When a parent comes to me for advice about potty training, I always start the conversation the same way.  Let’s consider what it takes to pee on the potty.  A child has to be aware that they need to pee, let you know, hold the pee, get to the bathroom, adjust their clothing, sit on the Read More

A Problem Solving Activity

Next time you and your child are faced with a problem, try this out! Take out a large piece of paper and a marker and tell your child you are going to do some important work.  Children love to be involved with making lists and writing words.  It makes them feel very grown-up. Write down Read More

My Favorite Things: Homemade Play Dough

Next time there’s a snow day (or sick, rainy, “I’m bored” day), be prepared!  Keep the ingredients in your pantry and you’ll always have a project. Homemade Play Dough 1c Flour 1Tbsp Oil 1c Water 1/2c Salt 2Tbsp Cream of Tartar Food Coloring of Choice Mix all ingredients except food coloring in a pot. Nonstick Read More

9/11 and Children: Seize An Opportunity

Like most people, I have spent today reflecting.  I have been thinking about our world and where I was 10 years ago.  If you haven’t done so already, I would encourage you to take a moment now.  Talking to children about the events of 9/11/01 is a very personal choice.  Certainly, parents should consider their Read More

Guest Post: Dimity Kirwan, Founder of Beyond Teaching, LLC

What’s Educare? Find out this Weekend (for free)!   On Saturday, August 20th, Beyond Teaching and Mommy’s Links will be holding the first Educare Fair, sponsored by Jones New York. Beyond Teaching, which connects parents seeking qualified individuals to tutor or provide after-school/weekend care for their children, began using the term educare to describe the Read More

A Post About Bin Laden’s Death

Whether talking about his life or death, I struggle with giving this man more than his 15 minutes of fame.  To be sure, in my opinion, he didn’t even deserve that much.  Many people have strong feelings about last night’s events.  Many will be discussing them today and for days to come.  When doing so, Read More

5 Ways to Enrich Your Young Child’s Fine Motor Development (3-5 years old)

I thought about naming this post “big work for little hands” but decided to go with the title you see above.  That being said, my discarded title brings up an important point.  I believe strongly that typically developing children accomplish tasks when they are ready.  Developmentally, not all little hands are ready for big work.  The activities Read More

Spoiled, But Not Rotten

Here’s a wonderful tidbit from a recent parent workshop I conducted.  I was talking with a group of working parents about the guilt they were feeling.  The conversation progressed to purchasing items for children and whether or not that assuages some of the guilt.  The truth of the matter is that whether they are working Read More