It’s All Anxiety!

Tina Feigal    Copyright © 2012

Maybe you’ve heard the word “anxiety” bantered about in the media or among friends lately, and wondered whether it’s a hidden driver behind all the conflict in your home or classroom.

So how does one tell if your child is being disrespectful, mean, or just feeling anxious? And what do you do about it?

Here’s the story of a successful mom who realized, “It’s all anxiety,” and from there, could help her son overcome it.  And guess what?  Some of the anxiety was hers to overcome, too.

In early February, “Heidi” came into my office saying she was completely at her wits’ end with her 11-year-old son, “Matthew.”  She described him as very intense and creative, and as a kid who doesn’t handle it well when he doesn’t get his way.  He was also very hard on himself, overreacting to being late to the dinner table by saying, “I’m late aren’t I? and throwing a book, storming around the room, and finally plunking himself down in his chair.  He was seething while pinching the  salad tongs on his finger. His dad “Tony” asked him to put the tongs down and instead,  he threw them at his dad.  Needless to say, this brought a big reaction.

When Heidi talked to Matthew later, he denied throwing the tongs.  Heidi wonders if she is raising an aggressive liar, and her own anxiety about her parenting is at an all-time high.

Matthew’s other characteristics include “absent-minded professor”, very sensitive, and disorganized around time.  He’s also bright enough that he refuses to do some assignments in school, as he knows he doesn’t “need” to do them.  He’s probably right.  Matthew hounds his 7-year-old sister, “Anna”, saying her name over and over. When he’s upset, he gets physical with her, and is very intent on having her understand him.

Evenings are a nightmare, with Heidi hounding Matthew to do his homework, take a shower, brush his teeth, put on his pajamas, and get to bed by 8:30.

On the plus side, Matthew has a lot of great friends who are also smart, dramatic, and intense.  He always finds someone to play baseball and he’s easy-going in groups. He’s fine alone, too, if no one’s available to play.  If only his home life matched his friend life!

We talked about how Matthew’s behavior at home didn’t fit his mom’s idea of how a kid should be.  She felt judged by others that he was so out of control.  Her own guilt and anxiety were driving her crazy, and she was starting to notice that Matthew was acting out of the same emotions.  To get to the solution, she had the habit of asking him, “How are you feeling?”  She felt she really needed to know his feelings in order to do a good job as a mom, but it only made the situation worse.  Heidi was losing sleep over how Matthew was responding to everything, and her life felt out of control. I encouraged her to see him for who he was, and to reduce the volume on the judge voice in her head.  Connecting with Matthew was the only way out of this situation, and Heidi understood.  I suggested she let go of insisting on hearing his feelings, so he could “bubble to the surface” with them himself, on his timing.

At the second appointment, Heidi reported that she’d “had a cow” over Matthew’s lack of time management.  Then she decided to take a different tack: she joined him.  She said, “You’re like me.  We don’t really feel the passage of time.”  She also apologized for being on his every move between dinner and bedtime.  She asked him to list what needed to be done and then handed him the responsibility for his own routine.  “It’s up to you,” she said, letting go of her own anxiety about his possible lack of sleep and crankiness the next day.  “OK,” was Matthew’s reply.

Fast forward to the next appointment: I’d suggested the family have a meeting where they engaged in a caring conversation.  Heidi made a heart on a piece of paper, and everyone in the family wrote ways in which they showed they cared for one another.  The ideas just flowed from the kids, and they even read them aloud the following week.  Anna made copies of their heart for her grandparents.  Matthew’s contribution was, “We tell each other our emotions.”

At the fourth appointment, Heidi’s immediate report was that things were going really well.  Matthew’s bedtimes were no longer an issue. Heidi decided to let this be a template for dealing with many of the parenting issues with Matthew.  “He’ll work all these things out,” she said, letting go of yet another layer of anxiety.

Now Matthew is feeling free to share his real emotions with his mom when he needs to, instead of angrily defending himself against her insistence that he bare his soul on her timing.  He’s an avid reader, and was enjoying a novel series, until some of the topics got pretty scary, with bad things happening to the good people.  He popped into her room at 9 p.m. one night and instead of worrying that he was staying up too late, she asked, “Would you like me to lie with you?”  “Yes,” came the reply. Heidi regarded it a huge victory when she was able to just be there, and not dig for all of his emotions.  The more she controlled her own anxiety, the less anxious Matthew became, and the more willing he was to be vulnerable and seek her comfort.  A true victory indeed!

If you’re thinking about ways to bring about a better home life for yourself and your family, parent coaching can help in just the way it did for Heidi.  Don’t hesitate to take the first step toward bringing peace where there was defensiveness, and harmony where there was aggression.  You want to build a bridge to your child.  We’re right here to hand you the tools.  Click here for more information.

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Kindergartener Faces a Bully and Teaches Mom a Lesson

By Erin Jauert © 2012

It was a typical Thursday morning.  Everyone had slept a little later than they should have.  Someone had put the peanut butter jar back on the shelf even though it was empty, and a clean pair of matching socks seemed to be as elusive as ever.  As I was double-checking my kindergartener’s backpack and stashing his snack into the front zippered pouch, he looked up at me with his sweet, dimpled face and said, “Mama, there’s something I forgot to tell you last night.”  “Oh yeah?” I said, only half listening as my mind raced through a list of the day’s events.  “There’s a boy on the bus who’s been punching me in the stomach.”

And just like that, my mind went blank.  I felt like I had been punched in the stomach. Suddenly, nothing else mattered.  This was, after all, what I’d feared most since that crisp fall morning 5 months ago when I’d sent him off to his first day of school.  “What do you mean?” I asked, “Has it happened more than once?”  “Yes,” he said, “It happened yesterday and the day before that … and one time last week.”  Doing my best to maintain my composure, I calmly asked, “Do you think you could sit in a different seat where you wouldn’t be near him?”  Without hesitation, my sweet boy insisted, “No, he’s not supposed to, but he climbs all over the bus while it’s moving … no matter where I go, I know he’ll find me.”   My breath caught in the back of my throat and I started to think about how I’d love to teach that little bully a thing or two about messing with my baby.  Little did I know that I was the one about to get schooled.

My 6-year-old continued, “I mean, I know his bucket is empty and that’s why he’s doing it … it’s just that I don’t know how to fill it, Mama.”

It’s hard to say if I was more proud of my son for remembering the lesson his dad and I had thoughtfully weaved into so many prior conversations or more embarrassed that in that moment my kindergartener had to be the one to remind me of it.  Either way, I felt an instant calm sweep over me.  Just as my son had known all along, this wasn’t about him at all.  It was about another child, someone else’s baby, who was lacking something, needing something, wanting something.  I explained to my son that he was exactly right, that in most cases when someone treats another person badly, it’s because they’re feeling bad about themselves.   We brainstormed ideas for ways to fill this little boy’s bucket.  “You could give him a compliment,” I said.  “Maybe I could take him a treat,” my son suggested.  In the end, we agreed that just like everyone else, more than anything, he probably just needed a friend.

Later that morning I watched the clock, noting the kids were probably just getting settled on the bus for the ride home.   Even though he seemed confident with the plan we had devised, I couldn’t shake the nerves as I thought about my baby getting punched in the stomach yet again.  Thirty minutes later the bus pulled up, slowed to a stop and I watched as my kindergartener bounced down the steps.  He didn’t look like a child who had just been punched in the stomach, but I had to hear it for myself.  “So … anything happen with the bully on the bus today?”  I asked.  “Yeah, something happened alright,” he said.  “As soon as we got on, I asked him if he wanted to play with me.  We played Lion King the whole way home … it was awesome!”

While this experience has come and gone in my son’s mind, it’s something I keep revisiting in my own.  I’m sorry that he got punched in the stomach, but grateful that he felt comfortable telling me about it.  I’m ashamed of my initial reaction, but amazed by the way my 6-year-old was able to redirect me to the heart of the issue.  Above all, this experience serves as an important reminder about how important it is as parents that we talk to our children about things that are happening and about things that aren’t happening, but could.  You never know when your kids will encounter a situation where your words will help guide them.   Thanks to many prior conversations about this issue, both directly and indirectly, my kindergartener was armed with the confidence he needed to face a bully on the school bus with both courage and compassion

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Introducing the New Baby to Your Toddler

Tina Feigal © 2012

To bring a baby into a toddler’s life is a crisis for the former king or queen of the house.  To leap over his or her feelings and just try to introduce a baby, expecting harmony, is not realistic or wise.  Imagine your husband or wife saying, “I’m going to get a new spouse.  It’s going to come soon, will be helpless, and a lot cuter than you, because she’s smaller.  Other people will greet the little new spouse with joy and delight, and sort of give you a passing glance.  Or worse, they’ll ask you if you like the new spouse, and fully expect you to show how happy you are that this intruder has arrived to take up your parents’ time and energy, so there’s less for you.”

See what I mean?  It’s a huge thing for many children to have a sibling enter their world. And it’s also very good.  They learn that they do share their parents with someone else, which is a very helpful lesson for the future.

To introduce the baby to a toddler, include the toddler in your talk about the baby, encouraging touch of mommy’s belly, talking to the baby (yes, he or she will find that little voice familiar and pleasant after the birth), and read picture books about the new baby.  Show the toddler where the baby will sleep, what clothes the baby will wear, and how he can help.  Making a helper out of your toddler goes a LONG way toward helping him adjust.  Whenever anyone, even an adult, feels fearful, the best way to overcome it is to have a role to play to protect others.  It’s the same for toddlers.  If you say, “Your baby will need your help when he comes.  I’ll have to ask you to grab a diaper or get me the pacifier.  I am going to love having your help, because when you were a baby, I didn’t have a big brother or sister to help out.  When the baby gets older, you’ll be teaching him everything you already know.  You will always be the oldest kid, so you’ll have a lot to teach!”

Your toddler is VERY curious about every aspect of your new baby, in the same way that she’s curious about everything else. Encourage the curiosity, rather than forbid exploring the baby.  Saying, “Don’t get too close,” sends the wrong message.  Saying, “You love seeing her fingers and toes, don’t you? Let’s count them!” sends the message that you have a positive view of your older child’s perspective, which prevents and/or softens rivalry. If the touching is invasive or too rough, teach gentle touch directly, saying, “This is how we do it gently.  Thank you for being so gentle.  The baby loves that!”

For young toddlers, when you hold the baby, also hold the toddler.  That’s why parents have two arms and two legs, a lap big enough for everyone.  Invite the toddler for holding even when he doesn’t ask for it.  This says, “You are still very important in my world, and I want you near me.” If you give the opposite message, “You need to grow up now because my attention has to be on the baby,” you are in for rivalry.

Have definite conversations, saying, “It might seem that since we have a new baby, I only love her, and not you. (Concrete concepts for concrete thinkers, which toddlers are.)  But of course I still love you as much as I ever did!  Love gets bigger when a new child comes, and now the love in our family is bigger than the whole world!

If the older child is melting down, don’t make it about the baby.  It’s just his or her internal need to have something he or she can’t have, which would be happening regardless.  Also, EXPECT a bit more melting down than usual when the new baby arrives, and you won’t be surprised by it.  React with calm and reassuring words, and the meltdowns will subside.  If you overreact, you reward them, and they stay a lot longer.  If there’s a long tantrum, simply whisper, “Would you like to calm down now, or would you like to keep crying?”  Whispering is highly effective, as the child has to stop to hear what you’re saying.  Giving this in the form of a question puts the disempowered child in a place of decision-making and appropriate power.  The more appropriate power he or she has, the less inappropriate power he or she will seek.

Follow your toddler’s lead on interacting with the baby and don’t push “love” on him.  The love will likely bubble to the surface on its own, and then you can react to it with heartfelt appreciation.  Make it normal and delightful that your older child loves the younger one.  Don’t expect perfection, and you will have a happy experience introducing the new baby to your toddler.

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What to Give Your Child for the Holidays

by Tina Feigal © 2011

This holiday season, I’m encouraging you to give your child a different kind of gift than the one you visualized when you read this article’s title.

Each year, kids are excited about the gifts they will receive.  Visions of XBOX 360s, Wii’s, iPhones, skis, dolls, trucks, stuffed animals, Legos, and a variety of other gifts float through their heads.  After the holiday, the gifts often lose some of their allure, and kids are back to saying, “I’m bored.” So let’s focus instead on a gift that keeps on giving.

I’m going to suggest that you give your child a sense of himself as a needed person for a gift this year.  It’s something that doesn’t come to most adults during the annual holiday buying frenzy, but it’s a gift that will keep on giving for a lifetime.  So stop for a few minutes and think of ways you can set your child up for feeling really valued, cared for, and yes, generous, during this holiday season.  After all, isn’t that what we all want?  Kids with a strong sense of their place in the world as contributors?  You have the power in this special time of year to create a kid with a true sense of purpose, something he or she will remember for years to come.

To create a success around being needed, take your child into your confidence around a gift you are thinking of giving his sibling.  Ask, “Do you think she’d like the red sweater or this cute skirt better?”  Then take your child’s advice.  It’s more important to build a giving spirit than to get the perfect gift.

Ask what he thinks he’d like to give his sister, and then offer to help him get it if he’s too young to have his own money. Give him heartfelt appreciation when he makes a selection, and talk up his gift before it’s opened.  Say, “I love how thoughtfully you chose this for Samantha. I think she’s gonna love it.”

Let your kids see you giving to people outside the family who may be in need.  If you are donating toys, don’t just take care of it when they kids are in school, but include them in the selection and the dropping off at the collection site.  This way they feel part of something bigger than the immediate family, and remember how fortunate they are.  Or if there’s a needy family in your faith community, be sure your kids contribute some of their allowance to participate in the family’s giving efforts. If you want grateful, generous kids, put more of your effort into fostering their gratitude and generosity than into trying to please them.

Giving doesn’t have to be material.  If you see an opportunity for your child to push the ottoman closer to grandpa’s chair, give him the gift of quietly suggesting he do so.  If you see him spontaneously sharing his time with a younger cousin, be sure he hears how much you admire that.  If she works hard to maintain a good mood when in a crowd of people, give her positive feedback so she sees what you see, a child who makes an effort for others.

The chances to give your child kudos abound at holiday time.  Plan now to tap the present moment to focus on them, and watch him “glow” with a strong sense of his own strength as a giving person.  The benefits are immeasurable, and everyone receives them!

For parent coaching on what to give your child for the holidays or any other topic, contact Tina Feigal at 651-453-0123 or email tina@parentingmojo.com.

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Tantrums in Public: Every Parent’s Nightmare

by Tina Feigal Copyright © 2011

We have all been there, or at least those of us who are lucky enough to have fire-cracker kids. We take a quick trip to the store for just a few items, and are sidelined by our child’s complete melt-down in the marshmallow aisle. Other adults are displaying looks that say, “Why can’t she control her child?” or “Look at how he acts when he doesn’t get his way! Must be pretty spoiled at home!” The embarrassment is beyond what we bargained for, and the judgment makes us plain angry.

Here are some tips for avoiding tantrums in public:
1. Take note of whether your child is tired or has low blood sugar. Do not take him out if he is tired, and give him a snack if he’s hungry. To expose a tired or hungry child to a crowd of people, coupled with a great deal of visual stimulation, is just asking for a tantrum.
2. If you are already out with a tired child, simply, unemotionally, go home. There is no substitute for rest when a child needs it, so avoid getting into, “I think she can make it through one more errand” mentality. I don’t need to tell you that this is when things typically fall apart and tantrums result.
3. Rehearse the desired behavior with your child in advance. Role play “going to the grocery store” when it’s not time to go. Your child has a much better chance of complying if you do.
4. Give heartfelt appreciation for every good behavior on the way to the store. “Wow, you got into the car so nicely. I love that!”
5. When your child shows interest in an item in the store, or an activity in the park, avoid saying “no”. Instead, listen deeply to the child’s desire for the item or activity. Say, “Wow, you have a great eye for special dollhouses! It is a wonderful one.” You have just acknowledged and affirmed the child’s desire, but not given in to the urge to take it home. The child needs to be heard deeply, but not indulged with every item she wants.

With these five tips, you have taken the child’s fatigue level into account to avoid a disaster, rehearsed desired behavior to assure success, grown good behavior with heartfelt appreciation, and listened deeply to your child. Tantrums are not necessarily inevitable. With your concentrated attention, many can be averted before they ever happen. Need parent coaching?  Click here.  You can make trips away from home happy, successful, and free of tantrums.

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MOM’S NIGHT OUT

WHEN:  A night of your choosing

WHERE:  Your living room

WHO:  You and your girlfriends

WHAT:  Good food, delightful company and lively conversation about what it takes
to be successful at the most important job in the world – being a mom

WHY:  Because every mom can use some tips, encouragement and support when it comes to raising their kids

Spend an evening with friends swapping stories, sharing challenges and learning strategies that really work. 

  $20 per person includes 2 hours with a certified parent coach, individualized Q&A and dessert!

  Interested in hosting a night out for you and your friends?  Email erin@parentingmojo.com or call 651.453.0123.

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I’m Actually Afraid of This Kid

Parents have occasionally, with understandable reluctance, shared with me that they are afraid of their own kid.  Teachers have also confessed that they struggle with fear of certain children.  What’s happening when adults are frightened in the presence of children whose behavior has that scary aspect, even when it’s not Halloween?  Scary children have lost a great deal of their self-efficacy (the feeling of power over their own world)  and developed scary behaviors as a defense.  In other words, scary kids are scared.

Here are three ways in which we can replace our own fear with compassion, communicate gentleness instead of fear, and improve the relationship between adult and child.

First, kids who adapt to their world by scaring others have learned that it’s a scary world, either because of maltreatment or because of their own internal sensitivity.  Extra-sensitive kids, who are taking the world in through their senses much more “loudly” than the average child, have to defend themselves against the sensory onslaught they are experiencing.  Becoming scary feels like a good defense against the unpredictable overload of sight, sound, smell, taste, tactile or interpersonal input (or sometimes many of these at once.)  To help these kids, develop a sensitivity in yourself for what they are experiencing, and address the overload, rather than the behavior.  Say, “It seems like this place is too loud for you, so let’s get out of here.”  Being seen this way heals the heart of the child, eliminating the need for his defense against the world, i.e. less scariness and more cooperation.

Another way of helping the child who is overloaded by sensory input is to seek the help of an occupational therapist, who can build up the child’s ability to integrate what his senses are telling him.  When he can integrate the messages, he has less need to defend himself against them.

If the source of the scary behavior is maltreatment of the child, do everything you can to remove the child from the situation where the maltreatment occurs.  That could be actually moving the child, or it could mean teaching the abusive adult how to interact in a healthy way. Parent coaching can accomplish this.  Don’t wait another day, as each experience of emotional or physical abuse takes its toll on the child, no matter what age.

Second, work extra hard to control your own emotions in the presence of your child.  Kids only see what they see, a yelling, ordering, impatient adult.  They have no idea that you are merely mirroring the methods of your parents because you don’t have another way of dealing with them.  Or if your behavior is due to stress, realize that the kids don’t have the perspective to empathize with you.  If you need empathy and compassion to calm yourself down, find it through a close friend or counselor.  Do not expect kids to understand that you are having a hard time.  Empathy doesn’t develop until later in life, so please don’t expect it from your child.  Be the adult, take care of yourself, and don’t blame the scary child.  Remember, if he’s scary, he’s scared.

Third, comfort your scared child by seeing past the behavior and getting to the root of his fear.  He may be intelligent beyond his years, and taking in way more information than he can handle.  Focus in the present moment on what might be frightening your child by asking what the fear might be:  “Could it be that you are afraid of the other kids on the bus? If so, I can talk to the school and get that resolved.”  “Could it be that you are afraid that your dad or I might die because you see grandpa suffering with cancer?  I sure understand that, and please know that I’m doing everything I can to keep myself healthy for you.”  “Could it be that you’re worried that I’ll get in an accident when I go to the store?  How about if I call you when I arrive, so you know I’m safe?” “Could it be that you are afraid of the change in school?  I will call the teacher and we’ll make a plan to help you feel safe.”

If a child feels secure, has some sense of control of his world, and is assured about the future, there’s no need to defend himself with scary behavior.  As his adult guide, focus on what he needs to reach the state of calm, and the positive behavior will naturally follow.

If you “feel afraid of this kid”, and would like help with reducing the fear in your home or classroom, call or write to Tina Feigal at 651-453-0123 or tina@parentingmojo.com.

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Don’t Solve the Behavior Problem.

Solve the Real Problem.

Tina Feigal, M.S., Ed.
Copyright © 2011 Tina Feigal

Every day parents call me about their children’s behavior: “He bit the teacher at daycare.” “She won’t go to bed without manipulating every possible angle to stay up.” “He’s trying to get me to buy a cell phone and I think he’s too young. But wow, does he know how to wear me down!”

Of course, this is what I hear … I am, after all, a parent coach! I actually WANT people to tell me what’s happening with their kids, so I can help them resolve it.

But what I find interesting is that we as adults focus on the behavior, not the underlying cause. The behavior is always just the tip of the proverbial ice berg, just an indicator of something big going on underneath. When parents and teachers focus on the ice berg tip, they feel as if they have good reasons: “He’s being so disrespectful and it has to stop.” “I can’t let him just get away with talking to me (or hitting me or biting someone) like that.” The desire to stop the behavior, and stop it now for once and for all, seems overwhelmingly urgent because parents and teachers feel judged if the child in their care misbehaves. They want to get along, not fight with their kids. And they feel responsible for fixing it immediately.

Here’s where we get into trouble: we cannot make someone stop their behavior … a harsh reality, but it’s really true. From the smallest child to the oldest adult, the internal urge to behave, however badly, usually overrides the desire of someone else who wants them to stop it. So the only answer is to dig underneath to the huge slab of ice below the water and see what’s causing the tip.

It takes some time and development of skills to “read” a child to determine what underlying causes of behavior are being expressed. Mostly we’re in too much of a hurry to take this time, but when the pain gets bad enough, I find parents are very willing to spend it on finding true solutions. I am always impressed by how willing they are!

Here are a few tips on figuring out the underlying cause of behavior, so you can resolve it instead of the behavior itself:

1. “He bit the teacher.” This is a child who does not respond well to being touched when the teacher wants him “over here.” She inadvertently sparks a big response when she takes his shoulders to reposition him. Ice berg tip: He bit the teacher. Underlying cause: extreme sensitivity to touch by people who are not well-known to the child. Solution: respect his need to be told verbally what’s expected, and refrain from moving him physically. End of “bad behavior.”

2. “She won’t go to bed without manipulating every possible angle to stay up.” Ice berg tip: She delays bedtime so late that she’s missing sleep and frustrating the whole family. Underlying cause: originally, it was fear of scary things in the dark created by her very active imagination. Now it’s more of a game to see how much energy match her brain can get from her parents (although this is unconscious, it’s true. She shouldn’t be blamed, just redirected.) Solution: engage her in a conversation when it’s not bedtime, so she can hear you. Have her create a chart of the bedtime routine made of photos of herself doing each task. Rehearse bedtime so she gets a map in her brain for how it can look to go to bed without delays, arguments, nagging, and tears. Break the habit of the brain’s energy match by refusing to give emotional energy to her bedtime. Have her consult her chart, complete the tasks, and express how you are looking forward to reading a book when she’s all ready.

3. “He’s trying to get me to buy a cell phone and I think he’s too young. But wow, does he know how to wear me down!” Talk about this at a family meeting, not when your child is begging for a phone (no energy match for arguing about having one.) Give your child the benefit of trust and ask his good reasons for wanting a phone. Listen completely. Say, “Thank you for telling me those good points! Now, if you will allow me a bit to talk about it, I’d like to share how I feel.” After being respectfully heard, he’s willing to listen to you, too. Talk about the responsibility of having a phone: you pay money, you use it at appropriate times, you make sure people you don’t know have no access to your number, and you use it appropriately (repeated for emphasis.) That means you only call close friends and family, you only use it until 8 p.m., you never use it at school, you keep track of it so it doesn’t get lost, and you keep your calls to 15 minutes or less. No gabbing for hours, as each minute costs money. Ask, “Are you able to pay for the phone at this time?” And then go through each point, asking respectful questions. At the end of the discussion, if he’s not able to fulfill the requirements, assure your child that when he is old enough to pay for and manage the phone, he can certainly have one.

All of this takes thoughtful consideration on the part of parents, which means time and effort. It’s time SO well spent, as your certainty about limits and respectful approach pay off in lack of melt-downs and upset in the future. If you’d like help, let me know. Phone, Skype and In-person coaching are all options for learning these ways of approaching kids’ “ice berg tips” that are creating chaos in your home or school. To learn more about coaching, click here.

Parenting Mojo - Help for Difficult Child Behavior - Help for difficult child behavior, from toddler tantrums to teen behavior problems

To read Trae Bodge’s article where she interviewed

Tina Feigal on Technology-free Play, click here.

Parenting Mojo - Help for Difficult Child Behavior - Help for difficult child behavior, from toddler tantrums to teen behavior problems

To read the article to which I contributed on eHow

Parenting on “How to Have a Nightmare-Free

Halloween”, click here!

Parenting Mojo - Help for Difficult Child Behavior - Help for difficult child behavior, from toddler tantrums to teen behavior problems