Crying may be a sign of overload in children

Dear Dr. Vicki: I have two children a 6 year old and a two year old. The 6 year old seems to cry for anything. He cries when he has to do his homework, when he has to take a shower, etc. I sometimes think he is crying because he sees my 2 year old cry. Why do children cry often like mine? I don’t understand. He doesn’t listen. Even his Kinder teacher is having problems with him doing his... 

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Parents Dealing with Teenage Behavior

How much do you like playing tug of war?         Dear Dr. Vicki:      I have a 15 yr old daughter, 12 year old son and a 9 month old little girl. My oldest daughter has always been head strong and demanding, so her teenage issues seemed like “typical” stuff. My 12 year old son who was always the laid-back/ helpful, wants to please son is now morphing into a child who is disrespectful,... 

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Is Shaming Children ‘Superior’ Parenting?

                                                        The Wall Street Journal printed a book excerpt from the Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother this weekend, suggesting that Chinese mothers are “superior” to Western mothers because Chinese mothers’ solution to “substandard performance” is “always to excoriate,... 

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Family Bed Hurts Child Development

More than two is a crowd! Dear Dr. Vicki: We share a bed with our kids. We have a 7 yrs. old girl, a 3 yrs. old boy and a 1 yr. old boy. What bothers me is that our 3 yrs. old boy exhibits some sexual acts. Is it alright? We make love as discrete as possible but we are not sure if they had seen what we’ve done. Are the scenes such as love making seen by babies will register to their mind unconsciously?... 

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Happy New Year to You and Your Family

Welcome 2011 HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY!  Good-bye 20010—Hello 2011 Now is the time to reflect on the lessons of the past year, and yet put the past in the past.  The past is over.  There is nothing you can do about it.  But today, and every day, is a chance to write in your book called Opportunity, and fill in the blank pages with your own words—of ideas, dreams, goals and emotions. ... 

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High Chair vs. Booster

"Get me out of here!" Dear Dr. Vicki: A question arose in my house this week, and wanted your thoughts… our 9-month old is a great and easy kid. The last few days, he fights us when we try to put him in to his high-chair to feed him. He arches his back and squirms like crazy. We know he’s hungry, and once we get him buckled in, he settles down, and eats well, doesn’t complain... 

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How to raise millionaires

Kids Are From Krypton Parents Are From Pluto Radio Series Update Sept. 23:   When I give kids 3 wishes, almost all of them include ‘a million dollars’ as one of their wishes.  And yet, about 98% of these kids do not believe they could ever make that much money.  And if they grow up believing they can’t, then chances are they won’t.  Because they won’t take the steps necessary to be... 

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How Successful Do You Want Your Kids To Be?

Steps toward meeting your goals Kids Are From Krypton Parents Are From Pluto Radio update Sept. 16, 2010: It is important to teach your kids how to set goals, and develop the steps they need to reach them.  Without goals, there is little opportunity to experience the feelings of success about something they have worked hard to achieve. Encourage them to set goals.  If a child voices a desire, either... 

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Your Children Are Masterpieces

He was standing in front of the room, drawing. Big, sweeping strokes with different colored chalk—back to the audience, not caring what we thought. He didn’t seem to think much, just stared at the canvas for a few seconds, and then went to work. First came the broad stokes of pink and yellow and blue. Then, he started to overlay the colors—orange over blue, white over yellow..and on and... 

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Playing With Your Kids: Infancy To Age Two

Kids Are From Krypton, Parents Are From Pluto Radio Series update July 15, 2010: The key to playing with your kids is to provide toys and activities that meet their developmental level. Kids can play with the same toys for many months, playing with them in different ways as they reach new developmental stages. Some of the basic toys, such as blocks, serve so many developmental purpose that you don’t... 

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