When Toddlers Resist Absolutely Everything
When toddlers are in resistance mode, simple routines like bathing, bedtime, buckling into a car seat, or holding hands near traffic become...
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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 464 episodesChoose Not to Battle with Your Child (Here's How)
A single parent writes that she is frustrated and exhausted by her almost 3-year-old’s constant resistance. Every aspect of their lives is e...
Damage Control When We Feel Like We're Failing
A parent describes her past year as “brutal” and lists a series of traumatic life events. “I am not okay,” she admits. She says she doesn’t...
Everything Seems Impossible When Our Kids Won't Listen
When our kids won't go with the flow of the day and seem to push back on everything, it's often because they're sitting on feelings they can...
Mommy, Mommy, Mommy... Why? Why? Why? Getting Unstuck From Annoying Behaviors
What do we do when our kids seem stuck on repeat—like when they keep asking us the same question over and over or making the same demand? Ev...
Does This Stuff Actually Work? Parents Write Back
In this episode, Janet shares updates from parents whose concerns she has addressed in recent episodes — one about a preschooler’s escalatin...
Connecting with Kids Shouldn't Be a Performance
A parent writes that her mother is constantly asking her bright 17-month-old to perform and grows frustrated when he doesn’t oblige. The tru...
Don’t Let School Be the End of Play
When school starts, our children’s days can quickly fill with classes, activities, homework, and screens, crowding out opportunities that ar...
End of the Day Crazies With Kids
Many of us imagine late afternoons or evenings with our children as the perfect time to wind down and connect after a busy day. Unfortunatel...
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......
Handling 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...