Hellobee

I used to love watching episodes of The Dog Whisperer, and even attended a book signing for Cesar Milan himself in New York many years ago. The three rules he constantly reiterated for happy and well-balanced dogs were exercise, discipline, and affection, in that order. When we had kids, we thought back to Cesar’s philosophy […]

When I worked as a child life specialist at a children’s hospital, I often thought about the choices I could offer to the children I interacted with. A hospitalized child has very limited choices, from being at the hospital to receiving medication, to allowing endless strangers (aka medical professionals) to enter the patient room. A […]

Lately I’ve been writing a lot about all of the upcoming changes that my family is going through—selling our house, planning for the arrival of baby #2, adjusting my freelance schedule so I can take some time off when the baby is born, and finding a new preschool for Little Cotton Candy. It’s a lot, […]

“Do you need a minute?” This simple question has saved us from a massive meltdown on more than one occasion and has also wrapped a tantrum up quicker than other tactics we’ve tried. I won’t claim that it’s a magic bullet that neutralizes any tantrum (or impending meltdown), but it has worked well enough for […]

One of the big joys — and challenges — of parenting is the same for me. The older M gets the more her personality shines, and it’s thrilling to see her emerge. It’s also terrifying. The kid who shows off her dance moves in the grocery store is the same kid who is so headstrong […]

I’m not exactly sure how we started using these tactics on Baby Pizza (who is no longer a baby), but we use these four methods daily and often to get her to listen to us. And while I’m not exactly sure what to think of it, Lil’ Pizza has caught on to some of our […]

Shortly after Big P turned 2, he started to hit. He didn’t do it very often and it seemed to come in random streaks – there would be 1-2 week stretches (sometimes longer) where he would impulsively hit when he was angry or overwhelmed, and then it would stop. I’ve never understood why he hits […]