Dear BabyShrink: Is My Son Normal?

Dear Dr. Heather, My 3-year-old son gets upset with his penis gets erect. He says “mommy my pee pee go big.” It’s like a question/concern/fear all rolled into one statement. He then pulls down his pull-up or underweare (whatever he is wearing) and shows me…no matter who is around. I tell him it is ok more »

BabyShrink: What I Learned From My Baby’s Surgery Yesterday

Thanks to all of you who wrote your comments and emails of support over the past couple of weeks while I anxiously awaited our 2-year-old’s hernia surgery. He’s fine today; a little tender, walking around like an old man who put his back out. He’s covered in the dirty, gummy remnants of surgical tape, and more »

BabyShrink Handles the Grossest Problem Yet: Poop Smearing

BabyShrink readers Angie, Sharon and Stacy have emailed me over the past few weeks with the same horrified question: Why is my toddler suddenly smearing poop everywhere, and HOW CAN I GET THAT DISGUSTING BEHAVIOR TO STOP?! Although I tried to offer some suggestions, I had never experienced the same thing with my kids, so more »

BabyShrink’s Hubby Referees Playground Battles

Mr. Dr. BabyShrink, introduced here, is the playground expert. So I’m letting him handle the following question, sent in by reader Ben: Dear BabyShrink, I have a 3-year-old son who gets pushed around on the playground. He is active but friendly. At the playground, my wife gets involved and tries to work out the disagreements more »

Help — My Toddler Suddenly Hates the Bath!

Today, my sister in North Carolina called. I could barely hear her, with her 12-month-old screaming in the background. “We’re trying to give her a bath, like usual. But all of a sudden, she HATES it. What happened?” She remembered me telling her about one of our kids at that age. “It’s as if there’s more »

Getting a 2-Year-Old To Talk Nicely — Is It Possible?

I love 2-year-olds. I really do. It’s amazing to see how much they have learned in their very short time on this planet — and some of that includes finding exactly what bugs their parents. I mean, think of the cognition involved in this process. First, they have to be able to understand the complexities more »

BabyShrink’s Feelings About Pet Loss

Rusty-Puppy was a sweet, happy dog who spent her life at Evans World Headquarters. She would rest her warm head on your knee as you sat at the table, peering up at you with those trusting brown eyes. She joyfully bounded around the yard with the kids. She was everything you could ever hope for more »

BabyShrink’s Baby Needs Minor Surgery, and Dr. Heather Needs a Little Reassurance

First of all, I want to thank you all for hanging in there with me while I get the feed worked out for BabyShrink. Before I started this site, I thought “feed” was simply the activity in which I engaged, oh, 17 or 18 times a day. (My boys, especially, eat….a LOT.) But thanks to more »