The Counterintuitive Fix for Meltdowns at Drop-Off (and Other Hard Feelings)
A four-year-old melting down at school drop-off... A 21-month-old who's started pulling her own hair when she's frustrated or overwhelmed......
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Respectful Parenting: Janet Lansbury Unruffled
Each episode addresses a reader's parenting issue through the lens of Janet's respectful parenting philosophy. Janet is a respected parenting adviser, author, and guest lecturer whose websit...
Episodes
20 of 455 episodesHandling Our Kids' Explosive Anger (with Loryn Brantz)
What do we do when our child erupts into a full-blown tantrum—suddenly becoming what author Loryn Brantz calls a "spicy nugget"? The award-w...
My Toddler Is Scared of Everything
A two-and-a-half-year-old has become increasingly anxious and fearful. She often becomes overwhelmed but can't explain what's wrong beyond s...
Your Toddler Isn’t Listening. Here’s Why.
How frustrating is it when our kids won't listen! A parent describes her exhausting visit to a relative's house that wasn't baby-proofed. He...
The Scary Things Kids Need to Tell Us
A parent is shaken when her five-year-old begins talking about death and saying she wants to die. Is this a warning sign? Shouldn't she be a...
Painfully Shy in Public, Spirited at Home (What's Up with That?)
A parent describes her 3.5-year-old as fun, loud, and opinionated at home, but "painfully shy in every other social setting," even with rela...
Can We Overcome Our Upbringing?
A mother fears she's repeating the negative patterns that shaped her childhood and wonders if it's already too late to change. She writes th...
A Child's Rocky Transition (Why It Means She's Doing Her Job)
A two-year-old's adjustment to a small in-home childcare setting isn't going well. She cries through much of day, flits from activity to act...
Gentle Parenting is Failing Parents. Here's Why.
What if the parenting approach that's supposed to make family life easier is actually making it harder? Many parents are discovering that wh...
Being Authentic When It Feels Mean
Can we be authentic with our kids without making them feel rejected? Is it wrong to find their behavior so annoying at times? A parent worri...
When Daily Tasks Turn Into Daily Battles: Transitions, Conflict, and Real Connection
A parent writes that her 5-year-old consistently resists getting dressed, brushing her hair, bathing, or brushing her teeth. "What starts as...
Peer Play. Using Our Power to Help Kids Thrive Socially
A 4-year-old struggles when friends won't follow her rules of play. A 3-year-old is reserved around other people. Another preschooler is rou...
How to Stop Kids from Interrupting
A parent wonders if it’s respectful—or even reasonable—to expect to sometimes have an adult conversation with her partner over dinner when t...
The Answer to Hitting
A parent writes that she's struggling with her nearly 2.5-year old's hitting. Her toddler also talks a lot about pushing and hitting her fri...
Dealing with Judgmental Comments About Our Parenting
A parent is concerned about the negative, judgmental comments her parents and in-laws make about her children’s behavior and their parenting...
Potty Learning: How and Why to Let Children Lead the Way
While every child will eventually and inevitably learn to use the potty, the process can be stressful, frustrating, and often counterproduct...
How to Truly Connect When You Correct
A mother has questions about her three-year-old son's impulsive, dysregulated behavior and the differences in the way she and her husband ar...
How to Survive an Upset Child
When your child melts down, do you freeze, give in, or reach for a distraction trick? Janet explains why trying to stop the storm only makes...
We Can't Make Them Share
A parent describes a deceptively simple disagreement with her father about her 2.5-year-old son's unwillingness to share a bowl of blueberri...
3 Reasons Your Toddler Rejects You for Their Other Parent
When a toddler plays favorites, it stings. One parent writes: "It feels as if I'm being rejected when I'm the one who's with her all day, pu...