Premack to the rescue (How to motivate yourself)

Waking up sluggish, glancing at the mountain of paperwork on your desk or the long list of chores to do around the house, and wanting to crawl right back under the covers… do you know the kind of day I’m talking about, the I-wanna-be-anywhere-but-here-preferably-on-an-island-far-far-away kind of day? That’s a Premack day right there.

I’m having one right now. Heck, I’ve been having many of those lately (I blame the warm weather, it’s too sunny for my own good, makes me daydream of lounging and lazing.) Continue reading

Does spanking work?

April 30th is National Spank Out Day. It’s hard to forget about it when the old adage “spare the rod, spoil the child” gets revisited so frequently. Every week brings a news story of parents or caregivers arrested for taking disciplining a child too far. For all the adamant opponents of spanking, there are still just as many supporters of this purportedly mild form of corporal punishment, following the idiom to the letter.

Why? It’s very simple: It works, especially to stop tantrums… at least temporarily. But there’s much more to spanking than its immediate effect. Continue reading

Congratulations winners!

$25 Starbucks giftcard giveaway winners:

  • @JulieALindsey
  • @frenchbabe09
  • @boskerbonzer
  • @ibelayni
  • additional winner @ctomassian7 for the most RTs.

$10 Starbucks giftcard consolation prize winners:

  • @weaponhex (for her persistence)
  • @BlackMoonEyes (for her desperation)
  • @theystayx3ingme (for saying “Choose me:))!!” at the right time)
  • @BlackMoonEyes (for her greed, pure greed!).
Thank you all for participating. See you same time next year?

 

What’s the deal with potty training?

Toilet training – or potty training – is a grim subject with many parents. While we may have differing viewpoints about when and how to toilet train a child, this much we can all agree on: we all have to go through it with our children and none of us really looks forward to it, because let’s face it: there ARE better things in life than dealing with pee and poop. Continue reading