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Parents’ Top Sleep Questions: A Sleep Consultant Answers.

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I get a lot of questions about sleep – from clients of babies and clients of toddlers, moms and dads, grandma and grandpas, inexperienced parents, and parents who are on their eighth child. I have answered questions on the phone, via email, through text message, in line at the farmers’ market, and in the bathroom at Starbucks. I… have… heard… it… all.

A few questions never get old; they are asked over and over again because they are top of mind for virtually all parents of babies and young children. So, here are parents’ top sleep questions: a sleep consultant answers the biggest hurdles to those baby sleep challenges!

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co-parenting
In Parenting

How to Co-Parent Through the Back-to-School Transition

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Co-parenting can be tricky; there are lots of emotions, many people to consider, and a wide array of schedules to coordinate. But with effective cooperation and communication, it is possible to make it smoother. Here are some tips to co-parent successfully through the school year. How to organize the schedule between both parents: Start discussing the school schedule well in advance to avoid any last-minute conflicts.  Consider the following: -PA Days -Doctor and dentist appointments (especially any that may impact your ex’s days  or pick-up times) -Parent-teacher interviews -pick up and drop off’s -extracurricular schedules -Special days (pink shirt days, pizza days etc.) Make sure it’s on everyone’s calendar and that any adjustments to the calendar or schedule have been discussed in advance. Make sure everyone is aware of what each day entails and has the items needed. Coordinate supplies and schedule:   Coordinate your shopping trips to avoid duplicating…

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Limiting summer screen time
In Parenting

How to Limit Summer Screen Time  

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Things have changed a lot since we were kids. Do you remember leaving the house in the morning after a large bowl of fruit loops, knowing that the only rule you needed to follow was to be back again before the street lamps came on? Maybe I’m showing my age, but those were good days. Full of fresh air, friends, adventures, and dirty feet. These days feel very different. Our kids don’t leave the house in the morning to meet friends- they get online. Although this is all they’ve known, I can’t help but feel sad for the kids who sit on screen all day long. So, I started looking for tips to limit screen time this summer. They’re not having adventures, digging up worms, or kissing boys under the bleachers. Instead, it has me worried for them. So, I’ve decided my kids will have at least a little bit…

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bullying
In Parenting

Signs Your Child Is Being Bullied, and What to Do Next

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Finding out your child is being bullied is completely heart-breaking for parents. It’s hard to understand how it could happen and even more confusing to understand what to do next to support your child. So often, the mama-bear comes out, and we have the urge to find the bully and confront the bully head-on, even though the logical adult in us knows that’s not the right thing to do. Here are signs your child is being bullied and what to do next.   Firstly, parents should remember that disagreements are a part of life, and we don’t want to jump to conclusions over every peer conflict. It’s healthy and typical for kids to deal with peer conflict, and they must learn to manage the situations. Here are a few essential differences that parents should be aware of between bullying and peer conflict:    Peer conflict is a MUTUAL disagreement between two kids…

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cheer squad
In Mom Moments

Organization Tips for a Rookie Cheer Mom

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I’m not a regular mom; I’m a cheer mom. My daughter started cheerleading a few years ago, and we’ve found our new family. Our cheer family. It hasn’t always been easy for me (or my daughter, but today I’m just speaking to the cheer moms). I have had many things to figure out, from what to pack, to how to navigate competitions to hair and makeup and everything in between. So here are some tips to being an organized cheer mom. Here is a crash course on what I’ve learned about staying organized (being a cheer mom can be a full-time job on top of a regular full-time job). I learned through experience, and I want other newbie cheer moms to have an easier go – so follow these tips and you’ll go from rookie to All-star in cheer-mom organization! There is much more to cheer than I imagined before…

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dads and daughters
In Parenting

6 Ways Dads Can, and Should, Support Their Daughters throughout Puberty.

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The daddy-daughter relationship is a huge and important one. Inevitably, it will change as your little girl grows up. We all know it will happen, yet so few dads are prepared. It often occurs far younger and much quicker than many dads know. So it’s time we open up the conversation with our girls and start teaching dads how to navigate this awkward time so it isn’t so uncomfortable. Dads need to learn how to support their daughters through puberty. It hit me hard when I learned that 3 out of 10 girls experience puberty at the age of 8. That means you only spend about 8-10 years parenting your little girl. The rest of the time, you’re parenting your daughter as a woman. So, it’s about time we focus on what it means to parent a young woman. you only spend about 8-10 years parenting your little girl. The…

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In News

Understanding the Importance of Gender Pronouns; And What to Do if You Get It Wrong

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Cis-gender, transgender, agender, non-binary, genderqueer. These are big and scary words. Worse, their use is seemingly fluid, and what was perfectly acceptable yesterday is suddenly offensive today. Some of the people who use these terms are remarkably forgiving when we make mistakes, but some aggressively enforce their ‘correct’ use at all times. All of these factors combine to make the topic of gender a seeming minefield of political correctness over what is a seemingly trivial thing that has only very recently become a prominent issue. The easiest thing by far is to avoid talking about non-standard gender topics entirely, right? After all, this wasn’t an issue when we were growing up. Why is it so important now all of a sudden? There has been an explosion in growth of studies being done on transgender and gender non-conforming folks. At the same time, we’ve opened our eyes as a society to…

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