Dona Matthews | Parents Space

Preventing and Soothing Children’s Nighttime Fears

Question: My two and a half year old has recently started waking up with terrible nightmares. He’s inconsolable at first, and takes quite a bit of time to

Patience and planning: Successfully managing young children’s transition tantrums

Question: My two and a half year old screams when it’s time to stop playing and get ready for bed, have lunch, or even go outside, something he

Getting Kids to the Other Side of Worry: The Fear Fix by Sarah Chana Radcliffe

Review of The Fear Fix: Solutions for Every Child’s Moments of Worry, Panic and Fear by Sarah Chana Radcliffe. Published October 2013 by Harper Collins. I highly recommend

Five Reasons Toddlers Timeouts are More Harmful than Helpful

Question: My 2 year old—who’s been sweet and sociable until now—is starting to do things she knows we don’t want her to do, like throwing food at the

Toddler Aggression: Five Steps to Preventing Hitting, Kicking, and Biting

Question: My son Damian just turned two. He’s always been a good-natured and sociable child, but recently he’s started hitting, especially my husband and me. He usually does

Baby Intelligence: Do I Need to Buy Expensive Toys?

Question: There are some expensive toys I want to buy that I’ve heard help in building a baby’s intelligence. My mother tells me not to waste my money.

Seven Tips for Being a Great Parent Advocate Without Giving Up Your Day Job

Question: My daughter Aria is smart, funny, and curious, but she has trouble with reading, spelling, and writing. Her handwriting is illegible. The school tells me she meets

Single-Sex vs Co-ed Schools: It’s All about Individual Differences

Question: My 10-year-old son goes to the co-ed school in our neighbourhood. He’s happy there, but we’re thinking of enrolling him in a boys’ school. The local school

Review of Nicholas Wilkinson’s Child Abuse: The Ripple Effect

Nicholas Wilkinson’s Child Abuse: The Ripple Effect is raw and compelling. It’s a first-person account of an adult’s attempt to grapple with the crippling aftershocks of physical child

Redshirting Pros and Cons: Is It a Good Idea to Delay Kindergarten Entry?

Question: My friends are telling me I should be ‘redshirting’ my son—keeping him in preschool one more year, to let him enter kindergarten as one of the older

Giftedness and Learning Disabilities: Frustration, Creativity, and Coping Strategies

Question: My 12 year old son, Justin, has had trouble reading, writing, spelling, and doing math on paper, since he was 5 years old. He’s terribly frustrated and

Setting Healthy Boundaries for Kids: When ‘No’ Is the Kindest Word

Question: My best friend won’t let my kids into her house. She says she can’t trust them not to break things, and I’ve got to learn about setting healthy

‘No’ Is a Four-Letter Word: Don’t Say ‘No’ Unless You Can Follow Through

Question: My three-year-old daughter Mindy has a mind of her own. It’s like ‘no is a four-letter word for her. It makes her see red. She persists and

Playing Outside: So Many Benefits, So Many Possibilities!

Question: We live in an apartment, and playing outside isn’t easy. I can’t just send my kids out on their own (Shawna is 4 and Cooper is 6).

100 Great Boredom Busters: What to Do when Your Child Says, ‘I’m Bored!’

Question: School is out and I can’t afford a summer nanny or camp. I work from home and am already at my wit’s end with my 7-year-old, Piper.

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