My Third Kid Hates Kindergarten Too!

Remember this guy? This sweet, cuddly, awesome 4-year-old? Well, now he’s a big 5-year-old, and he’s been in kindergarten for about 7 weeks. He started out with an enthusiastic bang, but now we’re dealing with tears and major foot-dragging when it comes to going to school.   I know, I know — I shouldn’t be more »

“Cutoff” birthdays and kindergarten readiness: How to know

Dear Dr. Heather, My daughter turns 5 right before the “cutoff” age for kindergarten – so she’ll be able to attend, but I’m not sure she’s ready. Should we have her start this fall, or wait another year? Sam in Philly Dear Sam, All over the country, parents are going through the same dilemma. For more »

Exciting Work — BabyShrink’s Updates

Whew, I’ve been busy! Make sure to check me out all month on ParentsConnect.com, the Nick Jr parenting blog. You know, “We’re not perfect, we’re parents.” We had an awesome connection over my “Good Enough” parenting posts, and it’s exciting to interact with so many of their families. It was all made possible by the more »

Ready for Kindergarten?

I started BabyShrink when this cute guy had just turned 2. And now look at him — he’s the “big boy” in his pre-kindergarten class.  It was easy to decide that he’ll start this fall — he’s a January-born guy, so he’s already 5. And as the third child of four he’s been waiting to more »

Sudden Fears in 12 to 15-Month-Old Babies

Let me tell you about a cool conversation I had the other day with my Infant Research/Rock Star Guru, Professor Joseph Campos (at UC Berkeley).  He helped me understand more about a funky phenomenon I’ve written about here before: The Weird, Wacky, Sudden Fears of the 12 — 15-month old. You know: Crazy fears of more »

1st and 2nd Graders — When It’s NOT Bullying

Recently, a parent stopped me, worried about a 6-year-old “bully”. The child in question — in my opinion — wasn’t a bully, but rather a fairly typical little girl, testing out her pretty advanced verbal skills in more complex ways. Did she hurt her friends’ feelings? Probably. And did the friend reciprocate by saying something more »

Parenting Strategies When Bad Things Happen — Talking To Preschoolers About Tragedies

The news was on, and our preschooler came into the room. Before we could turn off the TV, he saw a good stretch of footage he shouldn’t have: Shootings. A deranged killer. Sobbing parents. A child murdered. “Why is that lady crying, mommy?” Every ounce of our parenting instinct wants to wish this moment away more »

How To Play With Your Young Toddler (12 — 18 months)

Those of you long-time BabyShrink readers know that my Baby #4 is now officially a toddler. She’s toddling, lurching, and careening around the house like she owns the joint. And now that she’s officially past her “baby” days, her brain is going through a big burst that allows her to tackle more organized and complicated more »

The Holidays with Young Children: Keeping It Simple

Preserving the meaning of the holidays is tricky with so much pressure — pressure to BUY, pressure to TRAVEL, and pressure to JUGGLE HOLIDAY EVENTS. The obligations start to pile up, and pretty soon we can’t wait until it’s all over. Here in Hawaii, we’ve learned something about simplicity: Simple is better. Not always easier more »

BabyShrink’s Thinking Points for Parents

Lately I’ve been getting a lot of requests for expert comments on baby stuff: parenting mags who want info for their stories. I’ve got a love-hate relationship with those magazines. They recycle the same old stuff,  and aren’t in-depth enough to get down into the heart of the issue. So parents are left with a more »

When and How To Get Rid Of Your Toddler’s “Lovey” — AKA “The Comfort Thingie”

The “Comfort Thingie” — your toddler’s thumb, binkie, blanket or other “lovey” — is a vexing problem to most parents. Usually yucky, stinky, shredded and gross, we’d love to chuck it, but Toddler would FREAK. HOW to get rid of it? WHEN is it OK to get rid of it? And WHY does she need more »

Building Good Financial Values in Young Children

There’s lots of talk (and worry) about money these days, and we’re all thinking about our families’ budgets. My friend and colleague Dr. Brad Klontz talks about financial well-being, and how it doesn’t “just happen”. Like part of any healthy lifestyle, there are skills to be learned, bad habits to be eliminated, and good attitudes more »

How the Economic Downturn Makes Us Better Parents

Families have been hit hard by the recession — I see it every day in my practice. But you’d think that wealthier parents would be having an easier time than they are. Instead, they’re scrambling. Because parents who relied on money to raise good kids had their priorities messed up, and now they’re getting their more »

Enter to Win Free Parent Coaching, BabyShrink Style!

Got a baby, toddler, or preschooler — and a dilemma? Want some feedback — geared towards your hopes, needs and family style? I’ve helped thousands of families, and by popular demand, I’m opening Parent Coaching up to my BabyShrink audience. To kick it off, I’m launching a contest. Sign up by commenting below — tell more »

Kindergarten Haters And Dumb Potty Training Rules in Preschool

We bloggers check our blog traffic to see how many “hits” we’re getting. My software also tells me how you got to me — what you entered into the search or URL line to get to BabyShrink — and this is where it gets interesting. This time of year, I get a lot of searches more »

“Perfectionism” in A 2-Year Old?

Longtime reader Katie has asked me about her baby before. But now that her daughter is an honest-to-goodness toddler, there are new questions about perfectionism. Babies don’t care about “the rules” — toddlers do. And so a new struggle with “doing it right — by myself” begins: Dear Dr. Heather, For the past few nights more »

Why Your 9-Month-Old Baby Is So Difficult All Of A Sudden

I had an amazing conversation with one of the world’s foremost infant researchers last week, Dr. Joseph Campos. He’s at Berkeley, where he’s churned out tons of scientifically rigorous studies about the developmental changes in infancy. He’s come up with some transformative ideas about babies, the upshot of one being that crawling causes your baby more »

When Baby Prefers One Parent: What To Do?

Dear Dr. Heather, Our 25-month-old granddaughter has an unusually strong attachment to her mother. Her parents have been very responsive to her since her birth. Our toddler is easy with other people including her regular caregiver, grand-parents, other extended family and just about everyone else. The problem is that when her mother is around she more »

Dr. Heather in Parents Magazine, August Issue

Thanks to Parents Magazine and Sharlene Johnson for giving me the opportunity to be the “Q and A” expert on a topic we’re all familiar with…The Dawdling Toddler. Pick up a copy anywhere magazines are sold, and let us know YOUR suggestions for getting your toddler out the door in the morning. Aloha, Dr. Heather more »

A Granddaughter’s Stress about a New House and a New Baby

Dear Dr. Heather, My 2-year-old granddaughter is stressed about her new house. Her parents moved a couple of weeks ago, and then her mother had a new baby. Emma seems to “love” her new brother, so I can’t imagine that he is upsetting her. But I am concerned that her mother is not giving Emma more »

Next Page »