Karen is so annoyed.  Her 2-year old daughter, Tina, is constantly telling her “no!” or becomes defiant and refuses to cooperate with even small requests she typically went along with just last month.  Karen’s friend tells her, “Oh, this is normal for 2-year olds.  She’s just going through that terrible twos defiance stage.”   Even though her friend tells her it is normal, Karen wishes there was a way to nip this stage in her daughter’s life. She wants to enjoy her daughter’s cuteness, but is anxious wondering when the next toddler tantrum will arise.  If you are like most... (Read More ...)

Rhonda took her son in to the dentist for his annual exam and afterward the dentist brought her into the room to show her that her son was developing an overbite and asked Rhonda if her son was still using a pacifier. Rhonda replied, “Well, yes, but not all the time.” The dentist then suggested that her son should stop using his pacifier to prevent the overbite from getting worse. Rhonda knew her son, Adam, was getting “too big” to use a pacifier, but she was avoiding the huge blow up that occurred every time she tried to take the pacifier away. She wondered how she could get Adam to give... (Read More ...)

Each night it is the same thing — a bedtime battle with children, every step of your bedtime routines. First, your child refuses to put on pajamas, then doesn’t want to brush teeth. The more you remind and push, the firmer your child refuses to cooperate. You end up raising your voices at each other and feel like you are going in circles. Ultimately, you both go to bed angry. Like most parents, you’ve probably have a busy life.  You rush to pick up your child, then go home to make dinner. After taking care of the household chore list, your evening is full of many other activities.  By... (Read More ...)

Each night you plan to follow a bedtime routine, but are so busy, you often get started later than you intended. You spend special time with your child, including a fun activity so your child ends the day happy. Then, when it comes time to actually complete the bedtime tasks, your child falls apart and you find yourself handling bedtime tantrums. When a child “falls apart” during the bedtime routine, it is most likely due to over-stimulation.  Over-stimulation tantrums usually occur when young children are hungry, tired, or overwhelmed. They don’t know how to handle these physical changes... (Read More ...)