How often do you get caught in the trigger trap reaction cycle? It’s so easy to do and hard to break out of! 

Reactions are live-time, high emotion, frustration point solutions. They're short lived, and you have to repeat them over and over and over. And, they often lead to punitive discipline, ...

Traveling as adults is stressful enough. But traveling with kids is a different beast.

The planning. The packing. How does a tiny little human require so much stuff? And, of course, the changing of routines, food options, and sleep.

The first time I took my kids on a plane they were seven an...

When parents find out I have a degree in Linguistics they ask me one of two questions:

How do I talk to my baby when they can’t talk back yet? 

or

How do I help my late-talking toddler manage their communication frustration?

And my answer is always the same. 

Talk to them as if they ca...

Toddlers cry. A lot. It’s their primary way of communicating, well – everything. 

How they feel. What they are thinking. Their opinions. And their preferences as their tiny-little belief systems develop. 

In fact, crying is a healthy sign of early development. Kids who never cry are likely not pro...

She did it. This is what my husband says. 

People say, “Oh my gosh, you have such amazing kids”, and he smiles, points his finger at me and says “She did it. It’s because of her” 

He’s right. I did the bulk of the childrearing, adopting the role of mother, safety officer, therapist, goal set...

 How many emotional triggers do you field in a day? Don’t answer that, because you likely can’t.

Your toddlers and preschoolers are master button pushers and trigger your conscious and subconscious reactions, often without even trying.

You want to sit inside a level of self awareness that allow...

School wasn’t going well for my Kindergartener. Most spring mornings it was a battle to get out the door, followed by massive, puddle-on-the-floor meltdowns when she got home at the end of the day.

I knew something had to change for 1st grade, but how? 

I worked. My husband worked. And in...

I raised a challenging child with big, loud, audacious behaviors. Think puddle on the floor, screaming meltdowns that often went on for 30 or 40 minutes until she expelled her dysregulated energy, then – then popped right back up and reengaged with me, like nothing ever happened.

Big feelings have ...

Today we’re talking about physical behavior with our kids, how they come at us physically and how we are going to manage that.  One of my clients who's a Transforming the Toddler, Toddler Years course graduate, still works with me and we work very deeply together monthly. Here’s what’s happening wit...

Why your baby often crawls backwards before forwards.

Dirty Dancing is one of my favorite movies of all time. Seriously, I was ten years old when the movie came out, and spent two years begging my parents to let me watch it, primarily because I loved dancing so much. 

And at the ripe old age of 12...

A conversation for context.

My husband: “What do you want for Christmas?”

Me: “Finish renovating my office?” 

Him: “Ok.” 

He's a contractor by trade so I trust him and he has This Old House type vision for our home updates so I trust him even more.

He also lives by this motto, “If you're going ...

You’ve heard this quip, right? It’s along the lines of, put your money where your mouth is and no pain - no gain.  

In plain speak, we tend to take action when we feel invested.