My 4-year-old often laughs when we are admonishing him for having hurt someone, with words or actions. This is really disturbing. We’re concerned he doesn’t have empathy, or worse, doesn’t feel bad about hurting people. How should we respond?
My husband and I hear our 18-month-old talking to herself in bed after we've put her down. I don't think she's dreaming. Is this normal?
My 9-month-old and I are in a Mommy & Me music class, but he's scared to participate. However, by the end of each class, he's engaged a little bit. Should I keep going?
My 3-year-old son is suddenly afraid of the dark. He wants us to leave the light on when he goes to sleep, and if we turn it off after he's nodded off, he awakens in the middle of the night screaming. What should I do?
We're planning to leave our 6-month-old with a babysitter for the first time while we attend an evening wedding. I'm worried because my daughter doesn't do very well with new people. How can we prepare her?
I try to explain to my 3-year-old the reason we have certain rules (like no touching the TV) or why we can't go to the park right now, and he will just throw a tantrum. Other times, he seems to really understand complicated ideas. When can I start using logic with my young child?
This morning I very calmly and gently explained to my 4-year-old that when he places a cup down on our glass coffee table he needs to be gentle. His response: “It’s not fragile! You are the dumbest mommy. I am not talking to you ever! I am going to double spit at you…” And this is not atypical—he explodes like this on a regular basis, whenever we need to correct him or set a limit, or when he can’t do something perfectly right away. When we try to reason with him he shuts down—he’ll often just cover his ears or run away. Help!