Little humans are almost like pets. They get antsy when I coop them up too long under a roof. Moreso when visiting the grandparents’ house for the holidays because it is a new environment, they don’t have their comfort toys, and routine is thrown out the window during holiday vacations. I must take them on ...

Little ones seek independence. This desire is met with making decisions for themselves. Allowing children to choose instills a sense of control over their life and body. This is important inside the home as well as inside the hospital. The key is to determine what their choices can be. Choices at home At home, asking ...

Humans communicate using words, actions, body language, tone, inflection, and volume. Small people may not be receptive to all these nuances. To them, spoken word is the gold standard. They are unable to appreciate sarcasm, puns, and figures of speech. What we articulate to children is what they believe. Cross Signals Youngsters receive conflicting messages ...

Flying with little humans can be challenging. Delays, waits, lines, quiet voices, and nowhere to go, makes my patience grow wary. Traveling adults experience anxiety and tension with getting to the airline on time, progressing through security, and keeping track of baggage. Add bothersome kids to that mix and it is chaos. Being a military ...

The photo above is of my daughter sleeping. Yes, she is half on the couch, half standing, and fully snoozing. I have several pictures of my little ones in surprising slumber stations. When they are in bed and I check in on them later in the night, I giggle because kids can doze like contortionists. ...

“Five more minutes, kids,” I tell my four and six-year-old at the playground. “Aw, can we have an extra ten minutes?” asks the older sibling, Potato. “Sure,” I answer. “Ten is a lot of time,” Boobers, the younger one, exclaims excitedly. I let them continue to play for a while. Minutes tick away, and we ...

I grew up in a household with a lot of yelling. My dad shouted at me. My siblings and I screamed at each other. We were raised with loud words as our primary method of communication during conflict. Our family had no tools to maintain calm. This made us feel scared. We feared our dad ...

The start of the new school year is upon us. The long lazy, days of summer are ending. It is time to shift away from our night owl, vampire tendencies and become functioning members of society again. I have a confession. My house is not ready for this change, and it is going to be ...