Sibling rivalries they start early and from my experience always exist in one way or another through childhood and sometimes into adult hood. When children are young and troubles and fights appear it always seems to be easier to “come to the rescue” of the children and immediately step in and “fix” things. During the toddler through early elementary school the little disputes usually involve sharing toys, jealousy, and there are always more arguments and fights when ch... Read Full Story

Wow- time flies! The kids seem to be growing so fast and we had so much going on over the holidays I found it hard to have time or energy to blog, but you will be seeing me around more often in the near future! Read Full Story

It’s not going to haunt you to let the two year old choose what story to read first or what direction to go when taking a walk around the neighborhood. You can let your four year old decide whats for dinner or what shoes to wear to school. The older the children get the bigger the decisions you allow them to make may become. If you’ve raised your child with making a choice between two or three different options they are given then once they are teens they may even be wise and resp... Read Full Story

“But Moommmm…” “I waaannnt it. Give it to meeee!” The majority of children will experiment with a phase in the department of “whining”. The question is- are you going to accept this behavior and irritating voice or would you like your child to know that they will get no where with whining. (Much the same that my kids know that crying gets them no where.) I usually try to make it clear when a child starts to whine that their plea won’t be heard u... Read Full Story

I’ve discovered that there are many moments during the day when I think, “Man, if only I had just one more hand…” I’ve discovered a solution, and I giggle everytime when the kids ask for my solution rather than my free hand. When I’m lugging a baby car seat, and holding the hand of the two year old, or for some reason one hand is tied to something other than a child I discovered having the child grab a pocket works wonders!! They love the idea, I’m n... Read Full Story

Just to update you all - I have offcially started looking for both nannies and families that are in search of work/help.. I am completely booked with different families, but continually have people call and ask if I am available. I feel bad in turning them down and decided to do something about it. I’ve started the “NannyU” nanny search and a search for families as well that would like one of the most elite and well certified nannies in their area to be the one that cares fo... Read Full Story

O is a big fan of crocs and keens: no laces. They are easy to get on and off and you can wear them almost year round in the south! He’s recently started wearing sneakers that require laces and “tongues”. While helping him put the shoes on and giving him a lesson in putting on shoes with laces and strings I explained the process like so… You have to loosen up the laces and then hold onto the tongue and slide your foot in like so… (demonstrating this as I explain)&... Read Full Story

What is the problem with children today? Why does it seem that so many children are so rambunctious, rowdy, loud, disobedient, defiant, and disturbing to the general public? Do the parents enjoy their children acting in such ways or are they  simply out of control? (whether or not the parent will admit this). Today, many well educated, middle and upper class parents face a dilemma. This is something that is new to their generation and hasn’t been seen before. This dilemma has caused the... Read Full Story

Nap time/bed time can be one of the more frustrating and draining times of the day when working with children. So often children use their best manipulation tactics to squeeze the extra 5 minutes or 25 minutes out of their mom or dad. At this point you feel guilty if you’re part of the working parents crowd, because you haven’t seen your child and now you’re putting them to bed. You haven’t spent “adequate” time with them and so you feel obligated to hand t... Read Full Story

The majority of toddlers and elementary school children will use their teeth for revenge or to get immediate attention/gratification at one point or another during their early years. Many parents and care givers are at a loss as of what to do when a toddler bites you or another child. What if this becomes a common occurrence in the household - how to you bring it to a halt? Kids will bite for all different kinds of reasons. They are mad, they want revenge, their sister pulled their hair so th... Read Full Story