Breezy Mama

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child behavior

Question of the Day: How do I get my child to stop complaining and whining?

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Photo by D. Sharon Pruitt

Question of the Day is where Breezy Mama‘s Go-To parenting whiz, Dr. Fran Walfish, who is an Expert in Parents Magazine’s “Ask Our Experts” column, is here to answer your daily parenting questions. Make sure to send us what’s on your mind to alex@breezymama.com and Dr. Walfish will tackle it in a future Breezy post.

Now on to today’s question. . .

Everything that has been coming out of my 8-year-old daughter’s mouth has either been a whine or a complaint. She’s doing a lot of eye-rolling too. It makes me not want to be around her. Why has she started acting like this, and what can I do?

It seems that 8 years-old is the age where many kids pick up bad behaviors from other kids at school. Eye-rolling, complaining, and general opposition used to be more typical with the onset of adolescence, though it appears earlier today. Don’t tell your daughter that  [Read more…] about Question of the Day: How do I get my child to stop complaining and whining?

5 Steps to Put the Brakes on Back Talk

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Parenting can be hard, especially when the kiddos are being defiant. Nothing makes me madder than when I ask my children to do something and they yell back at me with a “No!” My blood starts to boil and I can feel my anger rising. I take a time out, step away, and, taking some deep breaths, think to myself, “There has to be a better way to handle this.” And there is. Amy McCready from Positive Parenting Solutions is here to give us some advice on how to handle the back talk.

PLUS! Amy, along with Breezy Mama, is hosting a FREE webinar on “Why Time Out is a Waste of Time.” Please join us Tuesday, November 15th at 8pm Pacific/11pm Eastern–it’s only an hour long. So pour yourself a glass of wine or a mug of hot cocoa, get in some cozy PJ’s,  and come join us! Space is limited, so please RSVP  asap by clicking here.

From Amy:

Whether it’s a toddler’s defiant “No,” or a teenager screaming, “You can’t make me,” back talk is enough to [Read more…] about 5 Steps to Put the Brakes on Back Talk

Getting the Low Down on Your 4-Year-Old’s Behavior

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4-year-olds: Bursting with fun, sass, and independence.

Children are full of developmental stages, and turning 4 is no exception. As a result of their independence and curious minds, 4-year-old’s behavior can be great one minute, and then frustrate you to no end the next.  Breezy Mama turns to Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, as well as Parenting Coach, Bette Levy Alkazian, for advice on how we deal with the 4-year-old milestones.

(For those of you who want some advice on three year old behavior, click here to see Breezy Mama‘s past coverage.)

They have such an independence, but yet don’t have the skills to know better (i.e. look both ways before crossing street). How do we teach this?

The key to teaching kids how to be safe and appropriate in this world is repetition and vigilance.  It sometimes feels like an uphill battle when these little, independent 4-year-olds want to run and go off on their own, but we must rein them in and stay on top of them to ensure their safety.  We must [Read more…] about Getting the Low Down on Your 4-Year-Old’s Behavior