How to Apologize to Your Child Learning how to apologize to your child requires a paradigm shift for many parents. As children, many of us failed to receive apologies from authority figures when they wronged us. Only recently has our...
How to Stop Yelling at Your Kids Has yelling has become the new spanking? Many of us moms have taken physical punishment out of our discipline toolbox, but we’ve replaced it with yelling. To me it makes sense that because...
How to Start Gentle Parenting Hey there, mama. So, you’ve decided that your current parenting style isn’t working and you need a change. Maybe you’ve read about the benefits of gentle parenting and you’re ready to make the switch. You’re...
We Don’t Force Our Children to Hug Other Adults (Not even Grandma!) As toddlers and preschoolers my boys often refused to hug relatives they rarely saw. Sometimes our less mature family members acted offended when the boys refused hugs and...
Attachment Parenting Results After 18 Years Have you ever wondered about attachment parenting results past the first few years of life? I know I wondered about this when I was a new mom. My oldest son will be 18 this...
Is Gentle Discipline Always Gentle? Here’s a fact about gentle discipline: Gentle discipline doesn’t always look gentle. Sometimes when people imagine what gentle parenting or gentle discipline looks like they picture an earth-mother type saying sweetly to her child, “Now,...
Is Gentle Parenting Permissive Parenting? When I first became interested in gentle parenting, I admit, I wondered to myself, “Is gentle parenting permissive parenting?” Because I was brought up in a strict, authoritarian household I worried about the effectiveness of...
How To Discipline Your Child Without Spanking – 13 Alternatives to Spanking Your Child If you’ve decided not to use corporal punishment as a form of discipline you may find yourself unprepared for situations where spanking is often used. Â Many...
Does Gentle Discipline Really Work? I first read about gentle discipline when my oldest child was nearing his first birthday. Â I’d practiced attachment parenting from the beginning, but hadn’t given much thought to discipline. Â I knew from my own upbringing...
How to Deal With Parenting Anxiety If you’re a parent chances are you’ve spent more than a little time worrying about your children. Â It’s normal and it’s healthy to be concerned about the safety and well-being of our children. Â We...
Parenting Q & A: My Kids Fight All The Time. Help! Q: Â My sons are 7 and 5. Â They argue and fight non-stop. Â The older one tries to “parent” the younger one. Â The younger one whines and gets dramatic about...
How to Create a Chore Plan for Children If you’ve implemented a chore system with your children you already understand the importance of children doing chores.  If you are like me, then you might be hesitant to assign chores to your children...
How to Stop Your Child From Whining There are few things more grating than a whining child, right? Â Sometimes around the age of 2.5-3, when a child as an arsenal of words to use, but can’t always seem to figure...
How to Get Children to Eat Real Food So you’ve decided to follow a real food diet and you want your family on board. Â If you are like many former Standard American Diet (SAD) families, your children are likely protesting...
How to Discipline Without Using Punishment I have a long-standing disagreement with punishment. Â When I was a child I would think to myself when I was punished, “Geez! Â You don’t have to punish me. Â Just tell me what I did...
Editor’s Note:  This post was written by OSH contributor Mercedes Samudio, LCSW.  To find out more about Mercedes read her bio on the Current Contributors page. Visit Mercedes’s website The Parenting Skill and follow her on Twitter and Pinterest.  How to Get...
Advocating For Our Children Most of the time I am a pretty mellow mama. Â I don’t enjoy causing a scene and would much prefer to not be noticed and allowed to reside in the background. Â Living life in the spotlight...
How to Stop Sibling Rivalry There isn’t much my children can do that will make me truly angry. My oldest has broken three separate windows, all of my children have made their marks on the walls with crayon or marker,...
How to Create a Family Contract for Smartphone Use A few months ago I was talking with my mother about the differences between raising a teenager in the 90s (when I was a teen) and raising a teenager today. Â Most...
What to do When Your Child Misbehaves in Public We all know that dealing with our children’s misbehavior at home is difficult, but most of us would agree that dealing with our children’s misbehavior in public is the worst. Â It’s...
My Husband and I Disagree on Discipline Disclaimer:  This post is written specifically for mothers who practice gentle, positive discipline.  Our Small Hours supports the use of attachment parenting and gentle, positive discipline and does not support the use of physical punishment....