Little Ones

My 4yo is having a really hard time with feeling rejection. How can I help them?

I have noticed that my 4yo daughter has a VERY hard time with the feeling of rejection. The times she has broken down the biggest is because of rejection, times where her fellow friends have said - “I don’t want to be your friend anymore” “I don’t want to play” “i don’t want to sit next to you”….it has happened at playdates and that's when I notice the breakdown and very hard recovery. Help! I’ve bought books and stuff, but nothing seems to work. What do you suggest?

My 5yo son doesn't want to go to martial arts class anymore. What is the right way to handle this?

My 5yo son participates 3 times a week in after school activities such as sports and martial arts . The rest of the week and weekend he does not have anything because I want him to have free time and be with us. When I first enrolled him in soccer he hated it and never wanted to go but I took him anyway and encouraged him to play and now he likes it very much. With martial arts, at the beginning he loved it but now he does not because he said he gets hurt.

My 5yo is repeating bad words. Help!

My 5yo has learned some bad words from older kids but the other day my husband got frustrated with a project he was doing and he said some bad words and my son and I who were downstairs were able to hear them all.
My son was laughing so I told him that his daddy was frustrated and was using words that are not proper to use because he forgot how to breath and calm himself ( I did not know what else to say). How do I handle this?

How should I react when I have not witnessed a fight between mu children?

I wanted to ask you how I should react when I am not in the room and one of my boys (4.5 and 7) comes to me (sometimes crying, not always) saying that his brother hurt him or did something to one of his toys? It feels tricky because I didn’t see exactly what happened, but if I don’t do or say the right thing then it is bound to happen again.

How do I handle one child feeling left out when I am with the other?

My kids are always comparing what we do for them. I try to be as fair as I can but given their ages (4 and 7) they will  never get the exact same things.  I have tried to explain that to them, but they probably can’t see that because they keep complaining/ comparing.  Any thoughts on how I should handle that? 

Our 3.5yo daughter pretends she's a cat or dog. Is this normal?

Our 3.5yo daughter pretends she's a cat or dog.
She gets on the floor and acts like a cat meowing or dog barking for a good amount of time. She will literally bark at me instead of speaking. She does it at home, activities, and school. I know pretend play is important but how do I know if it’s too much?

My 5yo sons coach yells at him and I am not comfortable with that. Should I say something?

I am concerned about my son's experience in his martial arts class. He is 5 years old and just recently joined the class but one of the teachers often yells at him which has caused my son to lose motivation. I do not want to sound like an overprotective mom but I do not feel comfortable with that teacher even if they tell me that all sports require teachers like that.

How can I best handle my son's push back and resistance?

My son is resisting so much. I think we are doing a good job of understanding that this is not him calculating this but it’s an override in his brain, and are working hard to offer an option for him so it feels less like a demand and more autonomous but we are still met with a kiddo that simply WILL NOT. He just can’t seem to redirect away from his idea even if I give options of now or in 5 minutes or similar. What to do? Let him play with dirty teeth in his PJ’s all day?

My 4yo son tends to create elaborate and detailed fictional accounts.  Is this normal?

My 4yo son tends to create detailed fictional accounts.  On the one hand I feel amazed with his creativity, but I also worry that he seems to get too immersed in these stories that I wonder if he distinguishes fact from fiction. What do you make of what he is doing and how should I react to it?

 Is there a challenging developmental transition that some kids go through around 3-4? 

s there a challenging developmental transition that some kids go through around 3-4?  My son, who is 4, has been a relatively easy child, but it seems that tantrums have picked up over the last few months.  I think by this age many kids are starting to move on from toddler tantrums, but it feels harder for us now. Interested in your thoughts and any pointers on how to navigate this period. 

My 21mo has trouble eating in one place. How can I guide her into healthy meal habits?

We've noticed that our 21mo has trouble staying in the same place for the duration of her meal. I know it's developmentally appropriate for her to want to get up and move around every few minutes. We've also really struggled with solids (she just started eating more than a couple of spoonfuls).
Should we let her eat her meals in different places?

My 5yo has zero impulse control and can be aggressive. How can I help them?

I would love to get your input regarding some behavior of my almost 5 year old boy. He can be very physically aggressive when playing and is showing no impulse control at all. The tantrums can be a lot. I need guidence.

How can I help my 5yo son make new friends?

I want to know how I can help my 5yo son make new friends without my help.
He is very social but he is very attached to his current friends so if he is in the park and there is no one he knows then he sits next to me and does not want to play at all.
How can I help him be more out going?

How do I help a son who gets bored and stuck and another who asks for help with things they know how to do?

My son has a hard time playing by himself and coming up with ways to entertain himself, he says he is bored, he says he doesn’t know what to do, I give him options and he doesn’t want any of them and just gets upset saying he doesn’t know what to do.
My other son has always been super independent and a “I do it myself!” type of kid since he was a baby, but for some time now he has been asking me to do things for him, dressing him, putting on his shoes, washing his teeth.. things he knows how to do himself but he says he WANTS me to do it.
How concerned should I be about this?
Should I stop helping him even if he gets upset?

Mornings are rough with my daughter. How do I help her?

My daughter has continued to struggle with big emotions!
Her mornings from the second she wakes up are full of anger. She is yelling, stomping, and just aggravated. I can’t figure out how to help. Have any ideas? Waking up to start the day like this is rough!

How can I teach my almost 5yo to tolerate frustration?

My almost 5 year-old boy got upset during dinner because I tried his food to see if it was hot and he was hungry and moody so he pushed the plate away and the plate fell on the ground and broke and I had food all around.
I did not know how to respond. What could have I done in that situation?

My 3.5yo's anger is big and she's hitting. How do I handle this?

My 3.5 yo daughter is a very determined, assertive leader. Very different from my son. Slowly I’m learning to channel that big girl energy. However, I get really annoyed (maybe even triggered) with her anger. She feels it in her whole body, makes faces, her body gets stiff, etc. Lately she has been hitting us with whatever object or her hand…hard.

My son refuses to practice his piano. How do I help him?

In yesterday's call one of the questions had to do with not wanting to do a piano recital. This also happened to my son recently. The difference here is that from the first time I asked him if he wanted to do the recital he said NO.
I asked why and it was because he felt scared to perform in front of so many people, that he would feel embarrassed.
Another thing that worries me is that he doesn’t like to practice. He just goes to class, which he enjoys, and seems to memorize and remember what they teach him in half an hour once a week without ever practicing.