Christmas for the little ones just isn’t complete without Santa Claus. This big, old man with the white long beard is pretty much THE symbol of Christmas for kids. Well, that and the presents under the tree, right?

I’ve noticed that a lot of children line up with their parents to sit on Santa’s lap, only to end up crying when they’re face to face with the big man. A bit of this is the parent’s fault. Imagine how scary it is to suddenly sit on a stranger’s lap and hear a loud “Ho! Ho! Ho!”

I saw this article on Yahoo! Shine and thought it would be helpful.

According to Ryan Johnson, there are three ways to introduce toddlers to Santa Claus: books, movies and TV and Dolls and figurines. Here’s an excerpt from Johnson’s article.

Books

As with everything else, there are countless books out there for kids at Christmas. We started reading them last week, and she’s already totally into them. They’re what she goes for now when it’s time to read, and she loves the reindeer, elves, and Christmas trees. There’s one in particular, Christmastime is Here with the LittlePeople, that has a huge photo of Santa on the front, and contains pages and pages of flaps to lift. When she picks up that book, she yells out “Ho Ho Ho!,” knowing that’s Santa’s mantra. She’s able to pick him out on every page, and she gives a big smile when she sees him. However, a one-dimensional picture of Santa that doesn’t make any noise in a book is quite different than the real thing, so we also turn to…

Movies and TV

Like many children out there, my daughter is quite taken with the Sesame Street gang. She’s particularly fond of Elmo and loves to see him on TV. My husband and I both have SesameStreet.org programmed into our favorites on our computers, so we can quickly pull up a short video to give her a quick fix every once in a while. You can find just about any video you’re looking for, whether you’re searching by character or by topic. Learning to count? No problem. Potty training? The Muppets of Sesame Street can help. So, after a quick search, I found a cute little video of Elmo visiting Santa Claus up at the North Pole. Not only is Elmo excited to see Santa, but it goes into the spirit of Christmas and there’s a song to boot. But again, seeing Santa on TV isn’t quite the same thing as when he’s right in front of you, so we’ve also brought out some…

Dolls and Figurines

Unfortunately, the dolls we have around our house have given me an inkling as to what we’re in for when we go see Santa. Last night, we put her to bed and hauled out all of the decorations. We thought it would be fun to get it all done while she was asleep, and then have her walk through the house with everything glowing this morning when she woke up. And it was fun! She loved it and continued through every room with a look of wonder on her face. Until, that is, she spotted the two Santa dolls we have with our respective school logos on their sweaters. These Santas are probably 12 inches tall and are too cute. She took one look at them, furrowed her little brow, and took off running as fast as her little legs would carry her. My hope is that she’ll get used to them the more she sees them. Only time will tell. In the meantime, wish us luck with our visit to Santa. And if we do have the all-too-common photo of a screaming toddler and an exasperated Santa, at least we’ll have a great story to tell for years to come that will embarrass her to no end.

Now, don’t stop at the three suggestions Ryan gave here. These may or may not work on your child, so trying other things will definitely help. If you have already successfully introduced Santa Claus to your child, how did you do it? I’m sure other parents would like to know.

You have to remember to respect your child. If you wait in the mall lineup for 45 minutes only to have your child completely refuse to sit on Santa’s lap – that’s his or her choice. You can’t force him to do it. In fact I suggest prepping your child ahead of time. Ask him if he wants to sit on Santa’s lap. If he says no, don’t push the issue. It may only be Santa, but do you really want your child growing up thinking that he has to go sit on a stranger’s lap when you tell him to?

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is an organization made up of 60,000 pediatricians committed to the attainment of optimal physical, mental and social health for all infants, children and adolescents.

The organization published a news release recently with the following title:

BABIES AND TODDLERS SHOULD LEARN FROM PLAY, NOT SCREENS

They argue that it’s not a great idea for parents to allow kids to spend so much time watching TV.

Here are some of the key findings from their study:

• Many video programs for infants and toddlers are marketed as “educational,” yet evidence does not support this. Quality programs are educational for children only if they understand the content and context of the video. Studies consistently find that children over 2 typically have this understanding.
• Unstructured play time is more valuable for the developing brain than electronic media. Children learn to think creatively, problem solve, and develop reasoning and motor skills at early ages through unstructured, unplugged play. Free play also teaches them how to entertain themselves.
• Young children learn best from—and need—interaction with humans, not screens.
• Parents who watch TV or videos with their child may add to the child’s understanding, but children learn more from live presentations than from televised ones.
• When parents are watching their own programs, this is “background media” for their children. It distracts the parent and decreases parent-child interaction. Its presence may also interfere with a young child’s learning from play and activities.
• Television viewing around bedtime can cause poor sleep habits and irregular sleep schedules, which can adversely affect mood, behavior and learning.
• Young children with heavy media use are at risk for delays in language development once they start school, but more research is needed as to the reasons.

The report recommends that parents and caregivers:

• Set media limits for their children before age 2, bearing in mind that the AAP discourages media use for this age group. Have a strategy for managing electronic media if they choose to engage their children with it;
• Instead of screens, opt for supervised independent play for infants and young children during times that a parent cannot sit down and actively engage in play with the child. For example, have the child play with nesting cups on the floor nearby while a parent prepares dinner;
• Avoid placing a television set in the child’s bedroom; and
• Recognize that their own media use can have a negative effect on children.

Part of this study says that over 90% of parents said their children (age under 2 years old) watch some form of electronic media. That’s not really much of a shocker. But they also stated how the average time in front of a screen is one to two hours per day. I definitely see this as a problem for the under-2 crowd. Let’s face it. Kids are going to learn a lot more by interacting with other people at this age.

With all the shows packaged for young kids such as Barney, Dora the Explorer and Thomas and Friends, just to name a few, it’s very easy to be swayed into letting our kids watch TV while we go about our daily routines.

Parents, I know how it’s sometimes more convenient to let the television do the babysitting for us, but it really isn’t in the best interests of your child, is it?For our children’s sake, let’s take a break and spend more time with them.

What do you think about the AAP study? Do you believe the numbers? Do you have a problem with the idea of putting a kid that young in front of a screen for up to 2 hours per day?

I was reading Parenting.com today, and when I came across a blog post written by the site’s celebrity blogger Kendra Wilkinson.

For those of you who don’t follow the celeb scene (I don’t, my wife does), Kendra Wilkinson is a star of the E! reality show The Girls Next Door. She’s also married to football player Hank Baskett and mom to toddler Hank Jr. I normally wouldn’t suggest taking parenting advice from a former Playmate, but in this case I think Kendra demonstrates an understanding of parenting that a lot of people don’t understand.

In this post, I Don’t Want to Smother Baby Hank, she says:

“My whole pregnancy I had ideas of what I thought I would be like, but just like my cravings, they changed daily. The one thing I knew for sure was that I was going to be protective—I just didn’t know what that would entail… Once he was born, everything kind of fell into place, and I knew almost immediately I wanted him to be able to go out there and learn on his own and experience life on his own. “

So that’s the setup. But here’s where she brings it home with a really simply story. She couldn’t have put it any better about parenting when she said:

“We can do our best as parents to teach him, but it is up to him to learn. For example, he used to love to play with water; he would sit there and turn the faucet on and off and get the biggest kick out of it. One time the water was pushed to the hot side—not all the way, but still on the hot side. I kept telling him “Hot, Hank, No, Hank, Ouchie.” But I DIDN’T turn it off. I told him why not to touch it. He looked up at me and said, “Hot!” and didn’t touch it. If I had turned the faucet off he probably would have burned his hand at some point because he wouldn’t have known better. I would have prevented the incident instead of teaching him to learn for next time.“

I couldn’t agree more with Kendra on this one. Nothing beats a parent’s love but if you’re truly concerned about your child, you need to let him learn things on his own. It’s a big world out there, and you have to teach your child to survive rather than to always protect him from it. After all, you know you can’t always be there.

Your child will fall down, get cut, get hurt, deal with social issues, and have disagreements with others. Our role is to teach him how to overcome the pain on his own, or learn form the mistakes on his own. We can coach our children, but not do everything for them.

Today is Halloween. There are lots of excited kids everywhere, naturally. I happened to hear 4-year old child ask her mom today, “Mommy can I wear my costume tomorrow?”

The mother replied, “No honey – it’s Halloween today. Tomorrow it’s over.”

But the best part was what happened next. This little girl looks right up at her mother and said, “But Mommy, you said I could wear my costume whenever I want!”

Hmmm – good point isn’t it?

I think the mother agreed. Because she started to back pedal. She said, “Yes, I did say that. I meant you can wear your costume at home whenever you want. You can play dressup with it after Halloween is over”.

This cute little girl seemed happy enough with that answer. But it reminded me that parents often say “No!” without thinking about it at all. Often, saying no to your child is an attempt to force your view of the world on the child.

Why we say “no”

If you are going to say “no” to your child for something, it should be for a valid reason. Feeling that the child might look silly is NOT a valid reason.

Let’s say that this little girl really did want to wear her costume to school the day after Halloween. It was an angel costume, BTW. A cute white dress with a halo headband and some elastic strap-on wings. Would you have a problem letting your child go to school wearing that costume? Personally, I wouldn’t. That doesn’t mean I’d sit back and do nothing – but it would be my child’s decision to make. I wouldn’t rob her of the experience to learn from her own decisions.

I feel that most of the time parents will try to talk their child out of doing something like this. It is the parents limiting belief that gets in the way. The parent believes the child will look silly, or the parent worries that the teachers (and other parents) will think he or she has bad parenting judgment.

So that’s the “pain” that the parent is trying to avoid.

But let’s look at the learning experience that the child misses out on when the parent gets in the way. The child may wake up the next morning and decide they really don’t want to wear their costume anymore. This, alone, helps the child learn how to make decisions.

Or the child might go to school and be the only one wearing a Halloween costume. Classmates might think it’s cool – teaching your child that it can be fun to stand out from the crowd. Or classmates might tease this costume-loving child. All kids will eventually get teased about something, so I think we may as well train our kids NOW – when they are young.

If I were faced with this situation I’d encourage the child to make up her own mind on what to wear. And if she wanted to wear the costume I’d point out to her that some kids might say nasty things because she’s dressing different. I’d ask her how she would respond to a mean comment by a classmate. I’d do this as a coach, not as someone trying to convince the child to make a different decision. Coaching a child is about helping her understand the potential outcomes, and how she’ll deal with each one. It’s not about making decisions FOR your child and taking away the learning that comes from dealing with your own problems.

Perhaps most important – I want to encourage you to raise a child who is comfortable trying something new. If you discourage your kid from wearing a certain item of clothing at the age of 4, imagine how much damage you are doing to that kid’s long term potential for thinking outside of the box.

Pretty spooky thought (and fitting for Halloween).

Have you ever heard the expression “helicopter parent”? I’m sure many of you have. But in case you haven’t heard the phrase, it was coined in a book called Parenting with Love and Logic by Foster. W. Cline M.D. and Jim Fay, back in 1990.

Helicopter parents are parents who hover continuously around their kids, whether the parent’s help is needed or not. I see this all the time at our local school playground. Most of the time parents don’t even realize they are doing it.

I hear helicopter parents saying things like, “Erin, don’t touch that. Your hands will get dirty. Erin, watch out for the boys playing ball. You don’t want to get in their way.” They usually say something at least every 20 seconds. They are almost never outside of arm’s reach of the child.

With a young toddler who is just learning to walk, this makes sense. You can’t have 18-month old Matthew wandering in front of the swings only to get kicked to the ground by some other innocent child. But when your child is not in harm’s way, it’s time to relax and let your child learn on his own.

Kids learn through social interaction. If we hover over them and keep trying to help them through every little difficulty in life, we are robbing them of their chance to learn. By the way, this goes for non-social situations also. Things like getting dressed, putting on shoes, pouring the milk in the cereal bowl … parents should encourage their children to learn these skills on their own. Learning is a gift, and nobody likes to have their presents stolen, right?

But that’s not why I wrote this article. I really wrote it to talk about Ostrich Parents. I came up with this phrase while I was at the park with my kids because I asked myself, “What’s the opposite of a helicopter?”

In the context of parenting, my answer is an ostrich.

Ostrich parents have their heads buried in the sand. And by “sand”, I really mean buried in their iPhone, BlackBerry, phone conversation, newspaper article, or whatever. The point is that ostrich parents don’t pay much attention to their kids.

I think ostrich parenting is equally problematic because it robs the child of the opportunity to be coached and encouraged by his parent(s).

Your biggest job as a parent is to coach your child. In fact, I’ll go further and say that every major adult relationship a child has should be about coaching. Teachers, sports teams, nannies, uncles and aunts, grandparents, etc.

My kids have wonderful teachers at school. Those teachers expect the kids to do their own work, and to make their own mistakes which they can learn from. But those teachers are not ostriches. They don’t have their head stuck in the sand. They are paying attention to the kids and giving them the gentle advice and help that is required to foster learning and development.

Parents need to do the same thing. If you find yourself too distracted from the job of parenting, then you’re just an adult who happens to be in the same room as your child, interrupting to drop a snack in front of them, or to change the DVD, or wipe their bum. That’s ostrich parenting.

My father was an engineer. He taught me to think in terms of extremes. Helicopter parenting is one extreme. Ostrich parenting is the other extreme. If neither extreme seems like a good idea, then the right answer lies somewhere in the middle of the two extremes.

In this case, I think the “coaching parent” is that middle point. Good coaches encourage, teach, support, and help out. But they also allow kids to have enough freedom to make mistakes and learn on their own. They also challenge kids to go beyond their comfort zones.

Be a coach parent.

Enjoy your children,
Chris Thompson

Parents should care about what they feed their kids. But they also want something that is easy to prepare. Breakfast is an important part of the day. Most parents feed their children too much junk food including processed flour and sugar. Here is a way to avoid that.

The name of the meal is “Muesli” and it’s made from yogurt and oats, mostly. It’s so simple to make, but tastes incredible. Feel free to change this recipe any number of ways to suit your family.

To get the best possible result, I suggest making it the night before. That way everything soaks together in the fridge. The recipe I’m giving you is for one portion, so just scale it up to make more portions. You’ll probably want to eat this too!

Start by adding 1/3 cup of oats into a bowl. Rolled oats don’t cost very much, but they are really healthy for you. Unlike many flours, they are not processed.

Now add about 1/3 cup of natural yogurt. Use plain (unsweetened) yogurt because flavored yogurt always has sugar in it. We want to avoid sugar. I prefer organic yogurt. It doesn’t cost that much more.

Now add in one tablespoon of natural honey. You can always use maple syrup if you prefer. Both of these sweeteners are totally natural and are much better than table sugar or brown sugar. Stay away from those alternatives.

Then pile in the fruit. I always like to choose fresh blueberries and finely chopped apple. If you are able to use organic fruit, all the better. Otherwise make sure to wash it well because most fruit is treated with pesticides. I like to use about 2/3 of a cup of fruit in total.

The next ingredient is Cinnamon. You decide on the quantity, but one teaspoon is a good starting point. I like to use a lot of it for the flavor. Cinnamon is known to help your body control blood sugar levels. This is important in a society of obesity and, increasingly, diabetes. Cinnamon is helpful and tasty.

Finally, before you put the whole thing in your fridge for the night, add some milk. About 1/3 of a cup is probably the right amount, but you decide based on the consistency you want to achieve. If you can use organic milk, I recommend you do.

Think of all the ways you can modify this recipe! What about adding pumpkin seeds, or unsweetened coconut slices? Maybe some finely ground flax seed? You can buy flax seeds in bulk and grind them up in a cheap coffee grinder.

Feeding your kids a healthy diet is important. Recipes like this can help you set a good example for them.

I don’t normally publish recipes on my blog. If you’re new here you might also be interested in checking out my Talking to Toddlers audio course. This course helps parents overcome the stress of dealing with difficult toddlers.

If you’ve got kids in your house then you probably feel like you are always cleaning. I know that my wife and I feel this way!

This morning I was cleaning the kitchen. I’ve lately become more critical of all the junk that people buy, which creates waste. With cleaning supplies, I really prefer to keep it simple and not buy products that are built for one purpose. I prefer vinegar to clean surfaces, floors, etc. I like to use baking soda to scrub sinks, and stuff like that.

But we still have disposable stuff like those oh-so-popular disinfectant wipes. With so many people worried about Swine Flu and other germs, I bet we’re in good company. My wife loves to buy these things to clean counter tops, etc. Then they get thrown away. I’ve included a picture here of the brand we buy from Costco.

After we finish using the wipe to disinfect a surface, I have started to re-use them for the nasty, dirty jobs around the house..

Today, for example, I grabbed the “used” wipe after my wife was finished cleaning the counter. It was still in perfect shape so I rinsed it and got to work.

Here’s what I cleaned using ONE single wipe (and plenty of rinsing). And here’s a picture of the wipe AFTER having done all that work. Notice it held up to a lot of punishment!

1. I scrubbed two kitchen sinks with baking soda
2. I cleaned the grime off our gas range
3. I cleaned off all the nasty dust and grime from the kick board under the cabinets
4. I removed the plastic grate from the bottom of the fridge and washed it off, including washing

If you buy disinfectant wipes, please don’t throw them away after a 5-second counter wipe-down. Rinse it off and find some other nasty cleaning job you can use it for THEN throw it away. You’d never want to use a dish cloth to clean dust and grime, and it is a hassle to keep a separate wash cloth just for the nasty stuff … so using disinfectant wipes is the perfect alternative.

This post is more personal, and not so much about parenting.  But since this is supposed to be a parenting blog, the topic fits into the category of setting a good example for your kids to follow.

I have established a short term goal of losing 7 pounds of body fat.

Let me give you some background here.  I’m not overweight, and most people who hear this goal tell me I don’t “need” to lose any weight.  I am 5 foot 10 inches tall, and when I step on the scale it says 167 lbs.  I fit into pants with a 32″ waist (but they are more snug now).  I’m much more active and fit than the average 35 year old male.

But I definitely don’t have the physique that I used to even 5 years ago.  This is because I’ve relaxed my own healthy habits.  It has nothing to do with my actual ability to regain that physical condition.

A few words about “need”

When people say “Chris, you don’t need to lose weight”, I reframe their comment so they understand where I’m coming from.  I focus on the word “need”.  I often say to them that I don’t “need” to get regular haircuts, and I don’t “need” to exercise.  I don’t “need” to eat healthy.  I don’t “need” to be productive each day.  Instead, I could just let my hair grow to the floor, never shave or bathe, eat garbage food, sit on the coach and expand my waist.

Start thinking about what you want rather than what you need.

My motto is to constantly be improving.  I like to push myself in a healthy and fun way.  The result of this, from a physical perspective, is that I feel proud when I look in the mirror.  My wife tells me I look great.  I feel better.  I feel energetic after running up the stairs.  It’s a nice feeling.  I still have that feeling today, but it’s not as strong as it was a few years ago.

Setting an example for the kids

It’s also important to set a great example of health for your kids.  So with that in mind, I felt like writing this post to describe how I plan to accomplish my goal of getting back to 160 lbs (and regaining the full six-pack), while involving my kids.

I’ll be eating more fruit and vegetables. My kids will see this and I’ll make sure to point out to them why I’m eating these things as snacks between meals, etc.  My plan is to consume 6 cups of fruit and vegetables (combined).

When I say “cup”, I mean approximately a serving.  So if I eat an apple, that’s a cup.  Same with a banana, a pear, a couple of kiwis, a couple slices of cantaloupe, or a handful of strawberries.  Fruit is a fantastic source of nutrients, fiber, and water.  I always feel refreshed after eating fruit.
I’ll be stretching and breathing every evening. This will happen after dinner, and before we put the kids to sleep.  I used to do this with my oldest daughter, before we had the second.  I’d like to re-introduce this habit into our lives.  The kids like to copy me, so I’ll simply have them copy me doing stretches and some deep breathing.  It’s very relaxing before bedtime.

I’ll start acting more like a kid. Isn’t it funny how kids are so thin, yet adults build up all that excess body fat?  Did you ever notice that kids actually move around more?  Gee, you think this might be connected?  I’ve fallen into the trap of sitting on my behind more often.  I sit on the couch and drink coffee on a Saturday morning.  I tell myself “I’m still tired”.  I use it as an excuse to stay seated.  No more.  I’m going to go back to being a kid.  That means playing with the kids, just like I’m one of them.  It’s way more fun and it’s much healthier.

Target:  4 weeks

These changes, and a slightly more rigorous workout routine, will probably result in my goal being achieved within about 4 weeks.  That’s October 20th or so.  When I hit my goal you can expect me to make another blog post about it, or to at least come back and comment under this post.

Stay healthy and enjoy your children,
Chris Thompson

I read a story dealing with the terrible twos this morning.  A study released back in 1996 apparently concluded that the terrible twos are caused by parents.  The article suggested that different “asset and liabilities” such as personality traits, economic status, social support and work-related stress were the biggest factors in determining if kids would go through the “terrible twos”.

In some ways I agree, but in other ways I disagree.  Let me explain.  First of all, I think that all kids go through a period of ‘testing the waters’.  They push boundaries.  They ask for things that they know they can’t have.  No matter *what* you do as a parent you are not going to stop a child from pushing the boundaries.  It is part of growth.  It is expected and healthy.  Yes, it is healthy.

But – how you *deal* with it as  a parent is totally within your control.  Unfortunately kids do not come with instruction manuals.  What I’ve discovered is that using language strategies can solve most of the daily problems that parents run into.  If you easily get frustrated with your child, or if you constantly tell your child “no” to things then you are literally asking for tantrums and other so-called “bad behavior”. On the other hand, if you learn how to apply distraction techniques, create the illusion of choice, manage your child’s emotional state, or reframe situations by changing their definition (among many other tools I teach), then you’ll end up avoiding these problems.  Your kids (and you) will smile more often and you’ll have less parenting stress.

Click on the link here to get a free audio lesson where I’ll teach you 3 simple techniques you can start using right now.

Lots of parents wonder how to get their kids to transition from a crib to a toddler bed. It usually happens around the age of two, but sometimes a bit later.

I’m going to provide a series of tips to help you get your toddler adjusted to a bed rather than a crib. But before I do, let’s talk about why your toddler might resist this transition. It’s pretty simple. People tend to resist change. Once we are comfortable with something the way it is, we don’t like to change it. Toddler behavior tends to align with this basic rule of life.

Change will be accepted by a person when:

1. The new action / behavior is clearly superior;
2. The old behavior / action is unavailable and the new one is the best available option;
3. Change is forced upon them until it becomes a new habit.

Obviously option #1 is the best approach to use with children because it creates no disruption. It’s like offering a child a chocolate cookie for dessert instead of a stick of celery. They will go for it instantly with no hesitation. To get a toddler into a toddler bed, your goal should be to associate lots of positive attributes to the bed.

In the case of switching to a toddler bed, Options 2 and 3 on the above list are essentially the same. You are taking away choice (i.e. you are taking away the crib) and the next best solution is the toddler bed. Specifically, you are taking away the crib without getting agreement from your child. This can cause your child to be upset, but eventually he or she will get over it and the toddler bed becomes a new pattern.

So how can parents get toddlers to willingly switch to a toddler bed? Here are a bunch of ideas for you to try out:

• Go shopping with your toddler. If you can get him to pick out his own bed, chances are that he will pick something he likes (people rarely pick stuff that they hate, right?). This will immediately boost your chances of getting your toddler to actually enjoy sleeping in the toddler bed.
• Setup the toddler bed in your child’s room. Leave it there for a week or more before you take away the crib. If space is an issue, maybe this isn’t something you can do, but if you put the bed there, the child will start to see it as normal. Just introduce it as another piece of furniture and perhaps don’t even mention that you’ll be taking the crib away. If you get huge resistance and are unable to get your child to willingly change to the new bed, you may just have to remove the crib by surprise.
• Play quiet games on the new bed with your toddler. Those toddler wooden puzzles and shape matching games are great things to do on the new bed together. Read books together. Snuggle together and tickle your toddler into laughter. This will ‘anchor’ positive feelings to the new bed very quickly. Anchoring is something I teach in my Talking to Toddlers Audio Course, which all parents should consider for dealing with difficult toddlers.
• Actually tell your toddler that they have a choice as to where they will sleep at night (or at nap time). Then make the bed appealing by offering a “big boy/girl pillow” for when they are in the new bed. Or simply create a reward scenario where the toddler gets stickers for having a nap in the new bed. At this point it should be offered as a choice, not a forced issue. You want to get your toddler to decide, on his or her own, to sleep in this new bed.

If these tricks still don’t work, then you have to resort to taking away the option of a crib altogether. But remember – you don’t need to rush this! You might bring on a screaming fit if your child suddenly finds his crib gone, and a toddler bed in its place. That’s why I think introducing the bed by the crib side makes for an easier transition.

When and if you have to take away the crib, I highly recommend the “it’s broken” excuse. With our first daughter, we were not only moving her into a big girl bed, but also into a new bedroom! We told her the crib was broken. We took the mattress out and put it on the floor of her new room beside her new bed. We let her choose where to sleep. She picked the mattress on the floor, but was curious about the new bed. We let her play on the new bed and lie down on it if she felt like it. We read books together on the new bed. Whenever she asked about her crib we told her it was broken. No arguments.

Within 2 weeks she was sleeping in her new bed. The clincher was this: we took her to the pet store and showed her all of the fish. We bought a small aquarium kit with some pretty (but cheap) tropical fish. We placed the aquarium on her dresser, which could only be seen if she lied in her new bed, not from the mattress on the floor. We cuddled on the new bed at night with the aquarium light on. She loved watching the fish as she fell asleep. It worked perfectly.

If you want to be able to understand how to solve these kinds of problems, check out the Talking To Toddlers Audio Course.

Enjoy your children,
Chris Thompson