Monthly Archives: January 2017

3 Ways New Parents Can Slay the Sleep Monster

I believe the most important role of a parents is to keep their child healthy and safe. We are their Health and Safety Czars!! The two best ways to ensure good health for your child is to provide healthy nutrition … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

10 Beliefs That May Change Your Parenting

Added together, I have spent more than two straight years in Montessori training (0-12 plus Catechesis of the Good Shepherd). I am trained to be a Bradley Childbirth instructed and I completed the RIE Foudations Course in Los Angeles. I … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

How to “Open the Door Slowly”

We have a saying in 0-3 Montessori called “open the door slowly.” This refers to allowing a child to slowly acclimate according to his developing sensory system. First a child develops a nursing relationship with his mother first (which Dad … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

10 Rules in our House

Consistency is the key to good parenting. I once found that my family doctor wrote on my child’s chart “mother has unrealistic expectations of what toddlers can do.” The way I spoke to my children differed from what his own … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

When We Want Nothing, We Get Everything

Babies and children need a safe space. This means a “no-free zone” where they come to predict what will be there and what they will do. Security, not novelty, is what they really need. They also need cognitively challenging (appropriate … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

The Ultimate Guide to Attachment

Babies need safe, reliable attachment. Babies and their carers co-determine their attachment in each moment they are together throughout the day. Babies communicate to us. Sometimes we think we know what babies need but how do we know? By observing! … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Crying is Language & Babies Deserve Freedom of Expression Too

When a child cries and we try to distract him or, even worse, “plug” him with a pacifier, bottle or breast, we are telling him “Don’t feel uncomfortable. Your real feelings will not be acknowledged but will be suppressed or … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

10 Places for Parents to Shop

American Lie-Down Car Seat European Car Seat for Laying Baby Flat English Style Pram Buggy Wool Diaper Covers Michael Olaf – Montessori materials & Philosophy Giant Construction Kits (for Open Cubes) Plan Toys Viking Toys International Playthings Rhino Toys

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

What’s Good for Me is Good for You, No?

In the old days, before children, I used to love taking classes at the Newberry Library in Chicago (okay let’s face it, there aren’t many places I don’t like taking classes at). There is one class there I will never … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

How to Turn Passive Parenting into Respectful Discipline

A great article from blogger Janet Lansbury which can be found here: http://www.janetlansbury.com/2012/09/respectful-parenting-is-not-passive-parenting/ There are two extreme approaches to discipline that do not serve a toddler’s needs. One is overly strict, punitive and non-empathetic. It involves maintaining control of the … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment