Working Mom's 411 is your one-stop resource guide for navigating through the often choppy waters of managing kids, career and home. With extensive experience as a credentialed nanny, household manager and as a working mom herself, Michelle is sure to make you laugh out loud as she shares her expert take on the common dilemmas that working mothers face.
At your fingertips, you will find expert advice, up to date information and tried-and-true tips on everything from choosing childcare to streamlining housework, homework and more. You'll discover super solutions to problems big and small from learning how to let go of that all-too-familiar working moms guilt to dealing with family and friends who have different ideas about home moms and careers should mix.
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Grocery lists. Checklists. To-do lists. Lots of people love--and live by--lists. And parents are no exception. Today's families are busier than ever, and moms don't have the time or energy to search and scramble for the parenting information they are desperately seeking. This handy, practical reference guide will save time, money, and sanity for today's busy women.
A Mom's Ultimate Book of Lists is your one-stop resource for more than 100 lists to live by, including: When to Call the Doctor Questions to Ask before Choosing a Pediatrician Sleep Training Your Baby Top Toys for the First Year Terrific Activities Toddlers Love Easy Steps for Taming Tantrums Feeding a Picky Eater Signs of a Family-Friendly Restaurant Common Childhood Allergies and Illnesses Instant Pick-Me-Ups and so much more Start saving your time, money, and sanity today!
To learn more, visit
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Nanny to the Rescue
America's nanny offers a large dose of healthy parenting advice with secrets for raising happy, secure, and well-balanced babies and toddlers.
Babies don't come with instructions. And since today's parents are so overwhelmed with schedules and demands, they have little time to bone up on their parenting skills. Often removed from grandparents and relatives who in times past lived next door or just down the street, they have no one to guide them through the disorienting world of raising children. Enter Nanny to the Rescue! Michelle LaRowe, 2004 International Nanny Association "Nanny of the Year," gives her tried and true solutions to childcare. Her expertise with chapters titled "Who's the boss?" and "Discipline is not a four letter word" gives confidence to parents who need specific ideas for real day-to-day problems. A proud member of Christian Nannies, Michelle offers foundational truths sure to help encourge moms and dads.
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Faced with multiple choices regarding school, friends, and activities coupled with the ever-widening influence of the outside world, parents of 6-12 year olds need help. America's nanny is back to offer a large dose of healthy parenting advice with secrets for raising happy, secure, and well-balanced children.
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Setting the Mood
 Are bedtime battles getting you down?
More often than not, struggling with your babies or toddlers sleep pattern is much more about you, than your child.
Children look to you to gauge their reaction to every situation. If you approach bedtime with confidence, your child will sense this and follow your lead.
When establishing your bedtime routine set yourself up for success.
Bathing, changing, feeding and dressing your baby appropriately for the season should reassure you that all her physical needs are met so when it's time for her to hit the hay. - She's ready to go.
With toddlers, a book (ONE book) before bedtime and after a warm bath is a great way to help him wind down.
Regardless of what your routine entails, consistency will make it effective. Your child, will come to expect "What comes next" when getting ready for bed and before you know it he will be on auto pilot, cruising from the bath to the bookshelf to the bed.
Creating a soothing sleeping environment for your child will help her associate her crib or bed with sleep time. Setting your thermostat at 68, keeping her room free from clutter and visual distractions and having minimal lighting will create a calming, peaceful environment for her to dream away in. Would you really want to wake up in the middle of the night to a glaring mirror above your face twirling around? What seems like a little distraction can turn waking for just a blink of an eye to wailing for what seems like an eternity.
Every mother (and night nanny) gets a tingle of distress when baby begins to cry from the crib. If you know her physical needs are met, try your hardest, to separate your emotions from your actions.
In doing this you'll be confident that if she wakes up crying a half hour after she falls asleep, you'll know that it's not because she's starving, in a drenched diaper or sweating from the three layers of clothing on a hot summers night - and are more likely to give her that few minutes she may need to fall back to sleep on her own. What seems like hours may only be minutes before baby lulls herself back to dream land.
When your older toddler yells "Mommy!" or sweetly asks you to come in for a hug it is certainly just as tempting to go in for a snuggle but remember if you do, you are creating the expectation that when he calls after he's in bed, you will come running.
It may seem harmless to pick up your child after you put him down, to continually enter the room after he's been tucked away or to play one more round of "just one more hug" but what are these actions conveying to your child? That bedtime can be extended at his will.
Now of course every mother knows when her child is truly sick, uncomfortable or in need of real reassurance and in those circumstances, by all means do what need to be done to soothe your child, but when it comes to the daily grind, put the brakes on at the end of your bedtime routine.
Have confidence that you know your child best and can decipher her cries. Every mom in their gut can tell the tears of terror from the whimpers of wanting mommy.
If you feel you must go in, try to maintain the sleep environment. Keep the lights off and gently walk over to your child. Rub her back and whisper mommy is here. After she calms down, exit the room and give her time to self soothe. You may be surprised that just knowing that you were there was enough to lull her back to sleep.
Bed time battles are bound to happen, but if you have a routine that you are consistent with you are sure to win every time. Well most every�.
Children's Bedtime Stories
Children's Bedtime Books reviewed by Barbara Beitz from Families Online Magazine
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Michelle LaRowe is the 2004 International Nanny Association Nanny of the Year. A career nanny specializing in caring for twins, Michelle has over a decade of nanny experience. Although she holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry, she has found her true calling, working as a professional nanny.
Michelle is an active member of the nanny community. She is the founder and president of Boston Area Nannies, Inc., a local non profit educational organization and has served on the International Nanny Association Board of Directors for the past five years. During that time she has also served as the associations 1st Vice President. Michelle is also a proud member of Christian Nannies.
She is called on by the media as a nanny and parenting expert, and has been affectionately dubbed America's Nanny. Michelle has appeared on television and has been featured in print. She is the author of the new parenting series, Nanny to the Rescue!, a contributing writer in the Experts' Guide to the Baby Years and a regular columnist in several parenting publications, including Twins Magazine.
To learn more about Michelle and to get your parenting tip of the day, please visit
www.michellelarowe.com
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Parenting Advice Article Archive
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Separation Anxiety
Toddler Temper Tantrums
How to Hire a Babysitter
Doing It All
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Anthony G. Alessi, MD
Charles Glassman, MD
Dale Peterson, MD
Mache Seibel, MD
Peter Weiss, MD
Mitchell Yass, DPT
Dr. Howard Peiper
Dr. Mary Riggin
If your daughter is developmentally healthy, it seems like this is a pattern or habit. How do you respond? Does something specific trigger this? Evaluate what happens before the negative behavior starts.
Since she goes back to normal on her own, it would seem something, perhaps an inconsistency in scheduling, routine or something is triggering the change?
I\'d need more information to be able to specifically help.
Praise acceptable behavior and ignore negative behavior you don\'t want to reinforce.
I have an almost 5 yr old and a 3 yr old. We have a very hard time getting them to stay in bed 9 out of 10 times. We have a set bedtime routine that we stick closely to. However, they will get out of bed (feeding off each other) and have every excuse in the book. Bathroom (they just went..) want a stuffed animal they have not wanted in months, get a drink ( just had one) ask where I am..
We have tired many things such as rewards, taking their favorite blankets, charts for doing well, not talking to them and putting back to bed, time outs and the list goes on. In the mean time we are dealing with tantrums of them wanting mommy when my husband is trying to help. It takes about an hour or so of this before they are back in bed for the night. We do not know what else we can do and are at our wits end. I would love and accept any sugguestions that you have to offer. Our girls are healty and developmentally on track.
It can be effective to set clear consequences for breaking the rules. It’s important to remain calm and non emotional when dealing with the bedtime situation. It’s also super important to be consistent.
I do suggest putting them back into to bed and not speaking, except to say its bedtime, back to bed. No conversations. No yelling. I also suggest using the 123 Magic Approach Thomas Phelan made famous. The first time they get a warning. It's bedtime stay in bed. The second time, its bed time, we stay in bed. The third time, it's bedtime we stay in bed, and take something he sleeps with i.e., turn off the light, the music; take away a toy, a cup, etc.
It takes a lot of work but developing a plan, any plan really and sticking to it for 5 straight nights should help end it.
You also want to be sure you're putting your kids to bed at an appropriate time. Not tired at all and over tired can make the process drag on.
Perhaps you can stagger bedtimes as well. Have them earn the right to go to bed at the same time. Alternate who goes to bed first, until they can agree to go to bed together and behave.
Hope this helps.
First I'd put the toilet in the bathroom. That's really where it belongs. Since you have to wash his hands anyways, it only makes sense. Will also help him develop good toileting habits.
Set the rule. We use the toilet once before bed. That's it. Don't let him sit on it again and it will be less of a struggle with it NOT in his room.
Good luck!
Bad habits don't form overnight, so now you will have to kick it into high gear if you want to break this habit.
I'd start with establishing a solid bedtime routine. Keep it consistent and follow thought. If he gets up, put him back in his room and say no its bed time. And each time after that put him back and don't speak to him. Be calm and consistent. With your one year old you can either put her in a different room or hope he doesnt wake her. if you are consistent the good news is it will only take 5 or so days to break the habit.
What do we do?...we cannot continue this 2-3 hour marathon every night. We are all miserable and losing our patience quickly. Do we stick with this until she gives up? She seems to be the most relentless toddler on earth.
That's a lot of change for a little one to handle at once. I suggest putting the gate back up for sure, be sure her room is childproofed and then stick to the routine.
Are you putting her to bed when she's fairly ready? I'm not sure what time you are putting her to bed, but if every night she doesnt seem ready to go to sleep for 2 more hours, perhaps bumping her bedtime back 1/2 hr may help.
Id need more details to make additional comments
good luck