The phrase sleep training often brings cringing thoughts of sobs and tears to parents, and many simply can’t imagine letting their baby cry on his own to fall asleep. Of course, rocking him or nursing him to sleep every night for the next three years isn’t such a great option either. So where does that leave parents who realize babies should learn to sleep on their own, but don’t want to make baby cry?

Books dealing with exactly these sorts of sleep methods are extremely popular. This means many parents are looking to find an alternative route to helping their child sleep through the night without constant feedings and comfort sessions. While most of the published plans differ slightly, they have common elements. These elements include:

Starting early.
A newborn baby is much more likely to fall asleep without a fuss than a toddler, so instead of rocking him into sleepy oblivion every time, lay him down when drowsy and let him fall asleep himself. Stay consistent and your baby will be way ahead of the game. You might not even need to do anything else!

Rock and repeat.
The basic problem with babies that don’t fall asleep on their own is they would rather you do the hard work for them. After all, wouldn’t you like to be snuggled to sleep every two hours when you woke slightly? Many babies also don’t realize they can fall asleep without assistance, so you simply have to show them.

Comfort your baby to the point that he’s drifting off, and then get up and put him in the crib. He might nod off on his own, but more likely he’ll spring up and call out for you. Pick him up again with no words or eye contact. Rock and repeat. Eventually you’ll wear him down to the point that he’s too relaxed and worn out to argue and he’ll just fall asleep. The first time might take hours, but each session will get dramatically shorter until he realized what role he’s supposed to play in the “fall asleep” game.

If you have an independent child, you know how frustrating it can be to try and carry, hold, or help your baby with anything. Even if he can’t yet do it himself, he will try and forcefully shun any and all assistance. Handling an independent child is tricky at times, but you can make it easier on yourself:

Use the Power of the Distraction
If you’re trying to get a child dressed and he wants very much to climb off the bed, use distraction. Keep a favorite toy for just this occasion so that he has something else to focus on. Free him from the confinement as quickly as possible and keep the toy for next time – that will help it stay special.

Bribery
Once your child is old enough to understand, there is nothing more powerful than a good bribe (or threat, but we like to be positive.) If he wants to go for a ride in the car, he has to hold still and get his shoes on. If he wants to stay up and watch a show, he has to let you help him get dressed, etc…

Patience
If all else fails, add time to your day to deal with independent spurts. It might take an extra ten or fifteen minutes to get out the door, but you’ll go out with a satisfied, albeit unusually dressed, child.

If it’s too hot for outside play and the same old toys are looking rather boring, break out the craft box.

Finger Painting
Finger painting is fun all the time, but if you finger paint with something like chocolate syrup and strawberry syrup the fun is ever so much more delicious (and messy.) Or you can use shaving cream to create fabulous designs on wax or parchment paper.

Modeling Clay
Introduce your child to modeling clay along with some handy cookie cutters. Help him roll out the dough and then cut out shapes. He can use the dough again and again and when he finds a shape he likes, let it dry into an ornament for his room.

Macaroni Necklaces
Grab a box of very large penne or rigatoni noodles and some plastic string. (Use plastic because it doesn’t fray like yarn does.) Tie one of the noodles to the end of the yarn to keep the rest of the noodles in line and then let your child practice fine motor skills by stringing the rest of the necklace. You can even paint the noodles before or after stringing them if you’d like.

Watching a toddler eat can turn even the hardest stomach. Young toddlers use their fists and fingers to smash all kinds of food into their little mouths, and older toddlers are often not much better. But the mess young children make while eating is not a sign that they shun table manners. In fact, quite the opposite is true. Most children want to learn to eat properly, but they also want to eat quickly. Learning to use utensils is a long process that starts in infancy and won’t be perfected for years.

Early Self-Feeding

The earliest self feeding is often a cracker held in a tiny fist. But your child might also try to grab your spoon and feed himself during meals. Offer your child a spoon to keep him off yours, but also to let him practice getting the spoon into his mouth properly. This is the first step in the long process of using utensils.

Learning to Use Utensils

Often a toddler will know how to use utensils properly well before he actually can use them correctly on a daily basis. Scooping food neatly with a spoon and getting it into your mouth is hard work, and most toddlers decide their fingers are the better option. Like all things toddler, pushing a child too hard can cause more harm than good. Rather than forcing your child to use a fork or spoon before he’s ready, simply provide the utensils at every meal and praise him lavishly when he does stab meat with the fork or scoop yogurt with the spoon.

Remind your child that the utensils are available for his use, but don’t force the issue. If you’re ready to see finger foods disappear, make it a point to serve foods that must be eaten with a spoon such as yogurt, soups and puddings. Your child will have to use utensils to eat his favorite treats, and perhaps he’ll grow more accustomed to the feel of a fork and spoon in his hand. Expect your toddler to use utensils sparingly at first and then with increasing accuracy as he grows. Some children are using utensils consistently by two and a half or three; others prefer finger foods until closer to four.

Tips for Using Utensils

To help your child use utensils, make it as simple as possible for him to practice. When you want him to use a spoon, offer him a sticky pudding or yogurt and show him how to dip the spoon in and pull it back out leaving the food stuck to the spoon without bothering to scoop. Once the dip action is learned, move on to scooping stews and ice creams, but leave peas and thin soups to more experienced eaters.

You may find that the fork is the easier utensil for your child to learn to use. A fork requires a stabbing motion which is simple for most children. Provide your child with food chunks that are easy to stab but won’t fall off the fork such as cheese cubes or hot dog pieces. Be sure to cut the pieces large enough that the fork handler can get one when he’s trying.

It’s truly an amazing phenomenon. Even before many parents begin trying for a second baby, they begin worrying about the impact of that unconceived child on their oldest child. After all, the first born has been smothered with attention his entire life, how could he possibly understand (or tolerate) losing that esteemed position?

The worry continues throughout the pregnancy, but at least conscientious parents can use that energy in a productive way - they can prepare their toddler as much as possible.

Encourage Independence

As your toddler ages, he should be getting increasingly independent in his play, eating, and daily routines. Naturally he will prefer to play with you, and you should spend as much time as is reasonable playing with your child. But be sure to let him play independently, too. Find him interesting, developmentally appropriate toys and keep an eye on him while washing the dishes or taking care of a few things around the house. That independence will come in handy when you’re simply unable to feed an infant and amuse a toddler at the same time.

Play-Up Being a Big Kid

Your toddler may still seem like a baby to you, but take that word out of your vocabulary. He’s a Big Boy now, and Big Boys get to do all kinds of things that babies can’t. Help him eat his food like a Big Boy and show him how interesting the Big Boy toys are. Take him places only Big Boys can go.

Keep up this Big Boy training after the baby comes. He’ll likely want to play with the baby items when they start showing up around the house, and that’s okay. Let him play, but be sure that the Big Boy novelties are much more exciting, and he’ll be more content to leave the baby things to the baby.

Make Special Connections

You most likely already have some, but find even more ways to develop a special connection with your toddler. Sing a special song together. Invent a rhyme that is especially his. Sing His Song when you’re driving in the car or putting him to bed. Then, when the baby arrives, you might be changing a diaper, but you can sing your toddler’s special song together while you do it. This helps keep the attention on him as much as possible, and the baby simply enjoys the singing.

Years ago education began in kindergarten. Now, most children are enrolled in some sort of preschool prior to kindergarten in order to adequately prepare them for the current level of expected academics. There are many kinds of preschool programs, but preparing your child for any of them has more to do with life skills than learning shapes or colors.

To prepare your child adequately for preschool, enjoy teaching them the alphabet or counting, but don’t forget other important skills. The social and developmental skills are much more critical to preschool success than anything else.

Potty Training

The most fundamental thing many preschools require is that your child be out of diapers. Some children are ready for underpants around age two but many others aren’t ready until closer to three or four. If your desired preschool requires fully potty trained students, you might have a bit of work to do – if your child is willing to learn.

Following Instructions

Preschools are more about learning basic methods of behavior such as following a schedule and minding instructions. To prepare your child for this, be sure you have guidelines at home. Children with few or no limits at home have a very hard time adjusting to a more structured setting.

Patience

Young children are not born with patience. Waiting for attention is a learned skill that many toddlers don’t possess, but it is especially important in a school setting where a single teacher might be dealing with eight or more children. Teach patience at home to help ease the transition.

Playing Nice

Basic social skills and manners must also be taught. Sharing does not come naturally to children or to many adults. Children used to having their own way or with limited social skills may struggle when they are suddenly expected to share with five other children. Play dates and Mommy and Me classes as well as lessons in manners and politeness help establish these foundations.

Preparing to Learn

Finally, a preschool is a setting where children learn how to learn. They may “graduate” reading simple sentences or counting to twenty, but more importantly they will know how to sit at a table, listen to a story and will have basic alphanumeric concepts. To give them an even better head start, encourage quiet time and structured activities at home in addition to basic and fun playtime.

A toddler is constantly in motion. She must move at all times in order to fully explore the world that is now available to her. Not only does she want to see and experience all that is available to her inside, she needs to know all that there is to know about the rest of the world, too. Summer is the ideal time to take your toddler out exploring and have fun together in the process.

Outside Summer Fun

The weather is warm, and it’s the perfect time to head out of doors and enjoy fresh air and sunshine. Load your toddler into the stroller, or let her walk if you’re not in a hurry, and head to the park. The wonderful thing about toddlers is often the trip is as exciting as the destination.

Plants, flowers and creatures along the way can mesmerize your little one. Upon reaching the park, let her safely explore to her heart’s content. She may have more fun sending pebbles down the slide than sliding down it herself. Sit back and enjoy this time of discovery.

When your little one is ready to wind down and enjoy some quiet time outside, pull out your OutMat and a snack or favorite toy, and enjoy relaxed fun together. Have a picnic or share an ice cream cone. At this age, everything is wonderfully new and exciting.

Inside Summer Fun

When the sun is too much to bear, enjoy time together inside. Fun summer art projects and new toys can brighten her days. Come in from the backyard and help her unwind for naptime by working on puzzles or stacking blocks.

Rainy summer days don’t mean you can’t have fun in the water. Fill the tub and let her “swim” with her tub toys as long as she wants. Toddlers love water, so throw in a few cups and bowls and she might entertain herself for hours pouring water from one container to another. The same toys can move back to the pool when the rain stops, of course.

The best part of summer is the long, lazy days. Even if your toddler isn’t at all lazy, and what toddler is, enjoy the relaxed feeling of the summer months together. Day trips, projects with paint or dirt, and simply spending time in the park or backyard with you can fulfill a toddler’s fantasy more so than anything else you might be able to dream up.

Toddlers are tricky business. Just when you think you’ve got them figured out, something changes. He will only eat carrots on Monday, but by Tuesday seem to think carrots are lethal. She is willing to let you pick out an adorable outfit, but must pair it with rain boots and a tiara. These quirks are small in the grand scheme of toddlerhood. Some things present far greater challenges and can cause tremendous amounts of strain in a household. Potty training is high on the list, but the number one fear factor of toddler parents is bringing home a new family member.

Bringing Home Baby

From the moment a mother discovers she is expecting a second bundle of joy, her thoughts spend a great deal of time dwelling on the dreaded sibling rivalry. How will her precious first born ever adapt to the intrusion? Will there ever be love in and amongst the squabbles? Will the young family survive? While some form of sibling rivalry is to be expected with the arrival of a second baby, there are ways to help your toddler adjust with little or no damage.

Make the Toddler Special

The moment the new baby arrives, as hard as we try, the toddler in the family seems to suddenly be shoved out of the spotlight. If we are able to let the light shine awhile longer, little boys and girls will be less likely to throw tantrums or accidentally hit their new brother. Every time the new baby gets a gift, offer a gift to your toddler.

The gifts can be fun, yet practical such as a Minimink Fur Hat or B/G Merino Wool blankets by ducduc. Another solution would be to offer something truly special, such as a toy piano. These gifts not only intrigue the older child, but can offer some welcome distraction from the overwhelming amount of baby admiring going on in the house these days.

Build Up a Toddler Reputation

Being a big brother or sister is a very important role. It is crucial to play this up for your reluctant young hero. Big boys and girls get to do so much more than babies. Babies just lie around all day; they certainly can’t do fun things with Mom like make cookies or build a fort. Baby jewelry, such as the “Big Sis” and “Lil Sis” bracelets make it easy to celebrate the difference between the big girls and babies in your household.