Helpful Tips for Parents

• Routines are containment for preschoolers — they reduce daily decisions and the attendant negotiation, meltdowns, and fatigue. A predictable day is a calmer day.

• Screen time management is simpler than it appears: establish the rule before the child asks, make it non-negotiable, and hold firm consistently. The first three weeks are the hardest.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is gentle parenting, and is it effective?

Gentle parenting emphasizes emotional connection, positive reinforcement, and natural consequences over punishment-based discipline. Research supports many of its core principles — particularly the importance of emotional attunement, positive attention, and consistent limits. However, "gentle parenting" as a philosophy sometimes underemphasizes the importance of structure and consistent limits, which children need as much as warmth. The most evidence-supported approach combines the warmth and attunement of gentle parenting with the clear, consistent limits of authoritative parenting.

Related reading: See also our screen time guidelines and our preschool sleep guide for more ideas on this topic.

🎓 Skills Your Child Will Develop

• 🌱 Growth Mindset — Parents who praise effort and process rather than ability and outcome build children who believe intelligence can be developed — and children with growth mindsets achieve more, persist longer, and embrace challenge rather than avoiding it.
• 💬 Language & Communication — Rich parent-child conversation — especially expanded responses to children's observations and questions — is the single most powerful driver of vocabulary growth and language development available.
• 🧩 Problem-Solving Mindset — Parents who coach children through problems rather than solving them are building the independent problem-solving disposition that distinguishes capable, resilient learners from dependent, avoidant ones.
• 😊 Emotional Security — A child who feels emotionally secure — whose needs are met consistently by a loving adult — develops the confidence, curiosity, and resilience that enable learning and healthy risk-taking in every domain.

**Resolving conflicts becomes a daunting task. Use these four effective conflict resolution tips to resolve conflicts.

Slippery Fish Song

Slippery Fish, one of many fun and interactive preschool songs.

Seven Tips for Making Grocery Shopping Fun

Grocery shopping with your preschooler doesn't have to be on your top ten list of things you hate to do with your preschooler. I've met so many moms that tell me they shop when their preschooler is at preschool or in the evening when Daddy can take care of the little one. Not me. I love grocery shopping with my preschooler. Am I insane? No -- well, not for this reason anyway.

Before we leave for the grocery store, I take a little extra time and effort into planning our grocery trip to make it enjoyable. Here are a few tips that can get you and your preschooler back in the grocery store together -- and loving it.

Set Aside Ample Time for Grocery Shopping

This is the number one key to an enjoyable trip. If you're rushing and feeling stressed, you will surely have a miserable experience. Remember, your preschooler can sense your stress. I figure that I can grocery shop alone in about an hour, so I give myself two hours to grocery shop with my preschooler.

Make A List of What You Need

Knowing exactly what you need before you get to the store will keep you focused. Then you won't need to be using your brain power for thinking, "Do we need that?" This is important because you will need all that brain power for entertaining and watching over your preschooler while in the grocery store.

Psych Up Your Preschooler For The Trip

As I've always said, "Presentation is everything!" You can get a preschooler to eat a sardine if you present it right. Muster up as much enthusiasm as you possibly can and talk to your preschooler about the grocery shopping trip. Emphasize the fun and excitement of choosing what you need and use words like "big helper" and "fun" and "healthy goodies". Preschoolers like to be prepared; they like to know what to expect next. They want to know where you're going and what will happen when you get there.

Bring Your Preschooler's Toy Shopping Cart With You

If you don't have a toy shopping cart, buy one. It will be the best money you've ever spent. You can't always count on your grocery store to have the small ones or if they do have them, you can't always count on them having one available. Besides, most preschoolers want their own shopping cart anyway. This is their own "big boy" or "big girl" shopping cart for helping Mommy.

Take Your Time Grocery Shopping

Since you've set aside ample time for grocery shopping, take your time. There's no need to rush up and down every aisle like your on a shopping spree. Move at your preschooler's speed, but it's not to say that you can't encourage them to move along. Just don't hound them. Remember, the grocery store is a big place with lots of stuff to look at! You may have seen it a million times, but your preschooler hasn't. Have you ever looked at the world from their perspective? Crouch down to your preschooler's level while in the store and look at how overwhelming it is.

Let Your Preschooler Help You Shop

Items that can withstand damage, or items that are for your preschooler can be placed in your preschooler's shoppign cart. Let them feel important by pushing around some goodies in their cart as you shop. For non-breakable items, let your preschooler take them off the shelf, too.

Play Games While Grocery Sho