Behavior & Transitions

School Refusal in Young Kids

If your child is glued to your leg at drop-off, sobbing like you are leaving them on a desert island, you are not alone. School refusal can look dramatic, especially in young kids, and it can make even the calmest parent feel panicky and stuck. As a pediatric nurse and a mom, here’s the...

Sibling Rivalry After a New Baby

If you are living in the strange new world where your toddler is suddenly hitting, whining, “You love the baby more,” or insisting they cannot possibly use the potty anymore, take a breath. This is one of the most common “after the baby arrives” plot twists, and it is usually a sign of...

Postpartum Anxiety: Racing Thoughts, Panic, and When to Get Help

There is a particular kind of “awake” that hits at 2:47 AM when you have a newborn. Your body is exhausted, but your brain is sprinting. You replay the day, you imagine a hundred terrible possibilities, you google one symptom and suddenly you are spiraling. If that sounds familiar, you might be...

When Toddlers Bolt in Public: Safety Plans for Runners

If you have a toddler who bolts, you already know this is not the same as a typical tantrum. A tantrum is loud and (usually) stationary. Bolting is quiet, fast, and terrifying. One second you are paying for groceries, the next second you are sprinting toward the automatic doors like you are...

Oppositional Defiant Disorder in Young Kids: Patterns vs Typical Tantrums

If you are here because you just got called to pick up your child early, or you have spent the last hour negotiating over socks like it is a high-stakes standoff, take a breath. A lot of intense behavior in young kids is developmentally normal, especially between ages 2 and 6. Oppositional Defiant...

Selective Mutism in Toddlers and Preschoolers

If your child is chatty at home but freezes at preschool drop-off or pickup, won’t answer the teacher, or whispers so quietly no one can hear, you are not alone. As a pediatric nurse and a mom, I’ve seen this exact scenario make kind, attentive parents feel panicked and confused. Here is the...

The Witching Hour: Why Newborns Cry Every Evening

If your baby turns into a tiny, furious gremlin around dinnertime, welcome. You have found the club no one warned you about. In the pediatric clinic where I worked triage, parents described the same pattern over and over: “All day they’re fine… then every evening it’s crying, feeding,...

Potty Training Boys: Tips, Timeline, and Common Challenges

If you are potty training a boy and wondering why this feels like trying to coach a tiny, opinionated linebacker through a new life skill, you are not alone. Some boys do train later than some girls on average, but plenty do not. The real driver is readiness and temperament, not a gender deadline....

How to Discipline a Toddler Without Yelling

If you've ever heard your own voice get louder and thought, “Yep. This is not who I want to be,” you're in very good company. Toddlers are tiny, loud scientists who test limits for a living. And when you're running on broken sleep and cold coffee, yelling can feel like the only button that...

Toddler Throwing Things: Why It Happens and What to Do

If your toddler is throwing toys, food, or whatever happens to be in their hand, you are not alone. In my years as a pediatric nurse and now as a mom of three, I have seen a lot of tiny arms launch a lot of surprising objects. It can feel chaotic, embarrassing in public, and honestly a little...

Teaching Your Toddler to Share: What to Expect by Age

If you have ever watched two toddlers lock eyes over one plastic truck like it is the last lifeboat on the Titanic, welcome. Sharing is one of the most common toddler issues parents ask about for a reason: it is stressful, it feels personal, and everyone has an opinion. Here is the calm truth from...

How to Stop Thumb Sucking in Toddlers

If you have a toddler who seems physically attached to their thumb, you are not alone. Thumb sucking is one of the most common self-soothing habits I see, both as a pediatric nurse and as a parent who has negotiated more than one bedtime with a tiny hand drifting toward a mouth. The tricky part is...

3-Day Potty Training Method

If you are reading this at an odd hour while your toddler is asleep (or pretending to be), I see you. The 3-day potty training method is popular because it is simple: you clear your schedule, commit to a few intense days, and give your child a lot of practice in a short window. It can work really...

Toddler Hitting and Pushing: Why It Happens and How to Respond

If your toddler has ever shoved a friend at the park or smacked you when you said “no,” you are in very good company. Working as a nurse in pediatric emergency and urgent care triage, I saw panicked parents come in thinking their child was “aggressive” or “mean.” Then I had my own...

Cold Turkey vs. Binky Fairy: Pacifier Weaning That Works

If you are reading this at an unreasonable hour while your toddler sleeps with a pacifier wedged in their mouth like it is their job, I see you. Pacifiers are magic until they are… not. At some point you start wondering: Is this messing with teeth? Speech? Sleep? And how do I take it away without...

Preparing Your Toddler for a New Baby

If you're pregnant (or about to bring home a newborn) and your toddler is acting extra clingy, wild, or suddenly “forgetting” how to do things they mastered months ago, take a deep breath. It isn't a sign you're failing. It's a sign your child is sensing a huge change coming. As a pediatric...

How to Calm a Toddler Tantrum in Public: 7 Evidence-Informed Tools

Public toddler tantrums are a special kind of parenting adrenaline. One minute you're comparing cereal prices, the next your child is on the floor like they've just been told you're moving to the moon. If you've ever felt your face go hot while strangers pretend not to stare, I want you to know two...

Potty Training Regression: Accidents After Progress

If your toddler was using the potty pretty reliably and now it feels like you are back to surprise puddles and panicked outfit changes, you are not alone. Potty training regression is a very common “Wait, we already did this” parenting moment I hear in clinic and in my own house. It can happen...

How to Stop Toddler Biting

If you are reading this after your toddler bit someone (again), take a breath. Biting is one of those behaviors that feels alarming and personal, but for many toddlers it is a short, intense phase with very solvable causes. You are not raising a “bad kid.” You are raising a tiny human with big...

10 Practical Tips to Ease Separation Anxiety at Daycare Drop-Off

If daycare drop-offs feel like a tiny heartbreak on repeat, you are not alone. Separation anxiety is a normal, healthy part of development. It can still be brutal at 8:05 AM when you are trying to get to work and your baby is clinging to you like a koala. As a pediatric nurse and a mom of three, I...