Contributing Writer: Erica Trainor from the Lil' Iguana’s Children’s Safety Foundation

As parents of toddlers and preschoolers, we’ve all found ourselves saying “don’t” more times than we can count.

“Don’t touch that!”
“Don’t talk to strangers!”
“Don’t go near the water!”
“Don’t eat that!”

I believe that all kids are worthy of our respect, trust, honesty. 

Without having to earn it.

Yes, even two year olds.

This is the foundational principle in the Collaborative Parenting Methodology(TM) I used to raise my kids and teach my students. 

Nurturing human connection between adult...

Tantrums are all kinds of T's: Tricky, Terrible, Testing, Trying, and, in any given day, Too Many!  (and Too Loud!)

I know, I'm preaching to the toddler tribe choir here.

You know that my goal is to teach you about another set of alliterative T's: how to Turn Tantrums into Teachable Moments....

Meet Davey, a high-energy, fun spirited little boy who is ALWAYS in motion.

This is toddler Davey loving life way back in 2021.

He's now six years old and the hero in my story-of-the-week on the podcast. 

Why? 

Because he lied to me, and then told the truth to his teacher about lying to me.

A couple weeks ago I scooped up my Goddaughter and headed to the local library. 

Last summer they renovated their infant/toddler play space and it is truly AHmazing now! 

We touched everything, emptied and filled buckets, made stories with magnetic & felt walls, and squeezed countless stuffies for...

Meet Sylvie and her collaborative mama and daddy celebrating her 3rd birthday. Last Saturday, was her first “real kid” birthday party.  

The kind where you invite allll the kids from daycare, and hope for the best while expecting the worst!

Picture this: Lots of  littles  running around (ind...

Christmas 2011 - Also known as the year we hit the reset button on the holiday.

Christmas is the season of giving and receiving between friends, families, and coworkers, but from the perspective of a little one, it’s all about the ‘getting’.  

The way they give back to us, through their smiles,...

When my kids were one and three, the daily struggles were REAL and honestly, I thought it would never end.  

“Two and four have got to be better, right?” My daily prayer, mantra style. 

When I turned to my village for support they said loving, yet unhelpful, things.  

Don't blink and you...

“It's not very beautiful is it?” We were painting little plaster Halloween creatures and this little four year old’s was multi-colored and multi-layered, hues blending to create new and different shades. 

When I hesitated, he put down the paintbrush held it up to show me and said again, “Nanny C...

It was a quiet summer Saturday morning.  I was up early, a cup of hot coffee in my hand while momming mantras ran through my mind: I will stay calm today. I WILL stay calm today. I can do this. 

The day before with my 4 year old had been hard. The day before that, even harder. Honestly, it had j...

Parents & Early Educators ask me a short list of questions, on repeat. And this always makes the top three!

My job is to be honest with you. So here it is.

Consciousness is only HALF of the formula for raising and teaching well rounded, whole kids.

So why is conscious discipline so popul...

I duct-taped my 3 year old’s car seat buckle.

Yep, you read that right. 

The year was 2006  and we were on vacation in Cape Cod when Claire’s explosive behaviors began. It truly felt like an out of the blue, 180 degree change in our child. The crying, body flailing, and refusal to wear certa...