100 Tips for Nannies and Families

You’re a first-time summer camp counselor.  You’ve got some kids in your care that are unhappy and acting out or acting withdrawn.  What can you do to respond to these behaviors with early positive interventions, thus “heading off” potential discipline problems?Â
First, recognize that these kids are likely lonely because they are away from home, their [...]

Q:  When arranging for child care for a potentially large number of kids, what is a good ratio of children-to-caregiver to keep in mind/aim for?
A:  The ideal ratio of children to caregivers depends on the age of the children.  The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Public Health Association advise the follow ratios:  3:1 [...]

Why do pre-schoolers (children three to four years of age) start using baby talk when they had been speaking clearly prior to the regression?
Why do walking pre-schoolers revert to crawling or ask to be carried everywhere?
Why do pre-schoolers who have successfully completed toilet training suddenly start having accidents?
Pre-schoolers may go through phases such as these [...]

You are going on vacation:  Fido and Felix prefer to stay at home.  How can you provide them with the care they need without breaking your bank?

1. Determine the appropriate level of care needed. Fido will probably require more care than will Felix. In addition to daily feeding and watering, Fido needs daily walks. He [...]

You and your family are planning a family vacation.  Your pets prefer to stay at home.  So, you’ve decided to hire a temporary pet sitter to attend to your pets while you are away.  What should you look for in a pet sitter?

Your pet sitter should have clean background checks. (For example, no history of [...]

Ask almost any teacher: s/he will tell you that most students backslide during the summer.  Some of the information that the students knew when school ended in May or June is forgotten by August.  This necessitates a refresher course when school resumes in August, which consumes valuable classroom time that could otherwise have been used [...]

Developing early numerical skills can be important in a child’s ability to feel comfortable with and excel at mathematics in school.  Why is math important?  How can parents foster the early development of numerical skills in their children?
Why is math important?
 Aside from math-related careers that typically have higher than average annual incomes (such careers include [...]

Sibling rivalry is normal in childhood.  Siblings often compete for their parents’ attention, parental approval, access to toys, and other things that they deem valuable and limited in supply.  When one sibling frequently “bests” the other, the other sibling typically feels threatened because s/he is, in theory, being “edged out” of things that are important [...]

Oh, she knows what she wants.  She knows what she likes.  She expects everyone to behave accordingly.  Have I mentioned that she’s three years old?  Here’s a little information about your powerhouse toddler.

1. Her strong will, when properly channeled, is an asset. She may try your patience right now, but that strong will can help [...]

Kids are learning all the time.  Their minds can absorb information more efficiently than our adult minds.  Still, there are times that kids have trouble remembering information.  What can you do to help your kids remember information?

Expose your kids often to the information you want them to memorize. An example of this learning technique is [...]