Positive Discipline Parenting Blog
Sproutable's Positive Discipline blog.
Real tips. Real talk. Read & grow.
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Navigating Sleep Regressions in Your Little One’s Developmental Journey
I once worked with a family whose child, an eccentric 18-month-old, was learning a new song. They told me that every night for three nights in a row, their child would wake up in the[...]By Jade Folk
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My Life with Boobs
I’m two weeks into this whole parenting thing, and so far, it’s unbelievably amazing. Thanks to the hormones allowing me to function on 2-hour increments (or sometimes 1 hr) of sleep, I’m coping pretty well. Here are my sleep-deprived and total overshare musings on how my body has changed thus far. When I […]By Alanna Beebe
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3 Secrets to Parenthood Prep
Why “winging it” is no longer a parenting plan Humans are complex. Human relationships are complex. Human brains are complex. Yet, the traditional parenthood prep doesn’t include reading up on human development or social neuroscience. Normally (and if you Google you will see what I mean), all the parenthood prep is about what you need […]By Alanna Beebe
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Reframing Potty Training: How we can let go to speed up the process
shirt. This is life as a parent: poop and pee is not disgusting. We find it on our hands, our clothes, and hair. We even touch things that might be poop and smell it to make sure. We think a lot about our children’s pee and poop. I remember that first week of his life being obsessed with how much and when. With this same fervor, I entered the world of potty training.By Alanna Beebe
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My Top 5 Toddler Parenting Tools
My little baby is now a full-blown toddler. Every stage of development has been such an exciting leap, but it’s at this stage that I’m getting a glimpse into the inner dialogue of my little one’s brain. He is learning to talk and along with language comes a newfound sense of independence and autonomy. This is great when I need to clean up after meals or shoot off a couple of emails, because he can now play by himself for longer periods of time, or even better, help me around the house. It’s a challenge when I have an agenda of what needs to happen now and it doesn’t align with HIS plan. I now understand why virtually every parent of a toddler says their child is “strong-willed”. There’s a parenting myth about the terrible two’s, but what I’ve found is that it doesn’t have to be so terrible if you have some solid Positive Discipline parenting tools in your back pocket.By Alanna Beebe
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When You are Not on the Same Parenting Page
The other day my nine-year-old came home from school super bummed. She grew teary describing her frustration with the inequity in P.E. teams made by the teacher. Time and time again, her team continued to lose while “all” of her other friends were on the other team. I validated her feelings, kept my face open and empathetic and gave her a big hug. “That must feel unfair. I would feel sad if I was playing against my friends too...By Julietta Skoog
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My 15 Month Roller Coaster
Having a baby is so taxing on the mind, body and spirit. It’s like riding one of those big roller coasters at a theme park where you are laughing and crying at the same time because it’s so thrilling yet scary. You may even pee your pants.By Alanna Beebe
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Growing Big Sisters
I was preparing for three babies, really. Not triplets, although many people asked, but one baby and two big sisters (who will always be my babies). I took the big sister preparation this time with somewhat of a strategy - before baby and right after.By Julietta Skoog
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Military Families
It is humbling to think about the thousands of families who are not only struggling with the day-to-day challenges of parenting, but also the added layers and burden of having a partner gone (and an uncertainty of return); plus being uprooted and transferred every few years. I am in awe. Recently, I had a conversation with a new mom whose husband is active in the military. They have a 17 month old and she was sharing how hard it is to maintain the “memory” of his dad when their child is so young.By Julietta Skoog
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Feelings, the First Foreign Language I Learned as a Parent
How will we practice? How are we going to teach them to name their feelings, express themselves clearly and assertively, and not internalize or explode their stress or negative emotions? When our children are scared, mad, or so sad, their irrational brain has taken over and is only able to yell, “Fight! Run away! Freeze!” We can guide our children into their “rational” brain by helping them feel safe and understood, while teaching them to name and express their feelings in positive ways.By Julietta Skoog
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