When my three boys were two, four and five, we played a game called “Secret Teddy.” Teddy was a small, ragged stuffed bear that “mysteriously appeared” on one son’s pillow each night with a little note describing how he had been especially caring that day. (Trying to be sneaky was always challenging). I only needed [...]
From the moment your baby bump starts to show, others are likely to provide unsolicited advice or comment on your parenting strategies. The motivation for unsolicited advice is interesting. Some people are genuinely concerned with helping, whereas others might be attempting to steal power from you by asserting a false parenting superiority. The comments I [...]
Young children aged 2 to 6 are nothing like us, but this doesn’t stop us from expecting them to be behave better. Their unique personality is characteristically brazen, obsessive, impulsive, hysterical, aggressive, resistant, compulsive, and unpredictable. Fairness for the preschooler means getting what they want, and getting along is overrated. Sharing is not caring according [...]
One of the most liked comments on my Facebook page was, "Wow. Three-year-olds can be crazy making." It can be very hard to be kind to a child who continually pushes our buttons. I know; I’ve been in the “parenting trenches.” I’ve spent hours trying to calm myself when my youngest son woke me up [...]
Have you ever felt like saying, “I’ve tried everything and my child still won’t listen!”? There are several factors involved in a child’s willingness to cooperate. What you should know is that a child not doing what she is told is less about “not listening” and more about how able she feels to do what [...]
We all have parenting moments we regret. The other day I was hard on my son and felt very badly about my behaviour. Even though we may have the tools to do so, calming down when our kids are melting down, sometimes for the most ridiculous reasons, can feel impossible to do. It is important to [...]
It can be incredibly hard to stay calm when our own children hit us. Both our instinctual physical defense system and intense emotions can get triggered in a flash! I remember the period when one of my children hit me almost every day; I became scared of him, trying to steer clear of where he [...]
When couples share their exciting news about having a baby, part of me cheers for them, and part of me sends them a quiet wish. This wish is to hang in there, because life after a baby is incredibly different than before. I see articles about how to increase your connection when babies arrive, or [...]
Frustrated kids can be hard to manage and hard on our sanity. I have had days where I did everything possible to reduce any frustrating experiences for my child, wincing at the first sign of an oncoming tantrum. It turns out that if we are trying to control our children's environment so they don't get [...]
Andrea Nair is a psychotherapist, parenting educator and international media parenting expert based in London, Ontario, Canada. Her therapy background helps parents to understand at a deeper level what to do when kids drift away, behaviour goes wild, buttons are pushed and old negative self-talk gets too loud.
Her goal is to let parents know they are not alone in their struggles and to provide practical help that makes big positive changes. Parenting can be very hard—and Andrea wants to help.
