Holiday Parenting Tips and Special Occasion Articles by Ann Douglas

Holiday Parenting

• The Burdens of a Jingle Belly: Who wouldn't want to be out battling the crowds with a pregnant belly?
• Baby's First Holiday is a Wondrous Event:  Forget all the holiday hoopla: it’s the little things that mean the most when you’re celebrating the holidays as a family.
• Holiday Sanity Savers for Each Age and Stage:  ‘Tis the season to be jolly — provided you’re a parent who knows how to minimize holiday stress. 
• Schedules, Toddlers, and Holiday Travel: Are you going to be spending a lot of time traveling to visit your relatives during the holidays? Tots don't readily tolerate schedule interruptions, no matter how much fun they're having.
• 5 Tips for Holidays with a Toddler: 'Tis the season to be merry. Or stressed out. Yes, mom, you’re the one who gets to decide how the holidays play out for you and your toddler.
• Seven Simple Holiday Sleep Solutions: Holiday visitors and parties can throw little ones of their sleep routine. Here are Ann Douglas's tips for getting them back on track.
• If Mama Ain't Happy....: If the holiday martyr suit doesn't fit, don't wear it....
• Squelching the Holiday Gimmees: "My child wants everything advertised on TV at this time of year. How can I tame this case of the gimmees?"
• 3 Multi-Generational Holiday Parties: Unique and festive get-togethers for the whole family.
• Holiday Discipline Traps: 'Tis the season when cookies get their very own food group, wish lists take on a life of their own, and regular routines can end up missing in action.
• Holiday Stressbusters for Parents and Parents-to-Be: 'Tis the season to be merry-or stressed out, depending on how you pace yourself during the upcoming weeks.

New Years

• Parenting Resolutions: Resolving to do better is great, but remember to cut yourself some slack. Parenting expert Ann Douglas offers encouragement, tips and advice to help turn resolutions into reality.

Valentine's Day

• Ten Ways to Say 'I Love You' to Your Child on Valentine's Day: Some creative ways of saying 'I love you' to your child.
• Sure-Fire Ways to Beat the February Blahs: Tired of short days and long hours spent suiting up to go out into the cold? Here's a ray of sunny positivity to light your way back from the dark winter blahs.

March Break

• You Are Not Alone: A Survival Guide to March Break: Trade off childcare and activities with a buddy family. Take "me" time no matter what. Bake a lot with them, and worst case, let them get bored and see what they come up with. Presenting a survivor's guide on how to stay unbroken through March Break.

Mother's Day

• Joy, Grief, Hope: The Mother's Days I'll Never Forget: Years of celebrations have blurred together, but a few still stand out, for good reasons and bad. And so does this lesson: Mothering is hard, but mothers are resilient. You can break our hearts again and again, but we will find our way back to joy.

Family Vacation

• Avoiding the B-Word: 16 Summer Boredom Solutions: Less boredom means means less whining, less fighting with siblings, and fewer discipline problems for you.

Back-to-School Parenting

• Caring Connections in the Classroom Boost Student Engagement and Learning, Study Shows: Students tend to thrive in classroom environments in which teachers are sensitive to students’ needs; teacher-student relationships are warm, caring, nurturing, and congenial; teachers take students’ perspectives into account; teachers refrain from using sarcasm and harsh disciplinary practices; teachers express warmth towards, respect for, and interest in students; teachers encourage student cooperation; and teachers are aware of the students’ emotional and academic needs.
• 5 Ways to Draw Out Your Child's Inner Bookworm: You have an important role to play in encouraging your child's lifelong love of reading.
• Dear Parent of a Child Who is Struggling: An open letter to parents who have a child who is struggling (from the Parenting Through the Storm blog).
• Four Simple Yet Powerful Things You Can Do Right Now to Start Making Things Better for Your Child: Practical advice for parents who have a child who is struggling with a mental health, neurodevelopmental, or behavioural challenge (from the Parenting Through the Storm blog).
• Teen Brain Benefits from Mindfulness Training: Teenagers who practice mindfulness — a technique that involves focusing on what is happening in the moment and being aware of and accepting of emotions — benefit from increased self-control, healthier relationships, and improved overall well-being.
• Parenting a Child with ADHD Made More Stressful Because of Stigma, Misunderstanding: It's tough enough parenting a child who has ADHD. The stigma that surrounds the disorder makes it tougher.
• ADHD Parenting: Panic less. Live (and love) more. 
• Handling Bullying: "My child is being bullied at school. What should I do?"
• Bullying Prevention Tips for Children Who Are Struggling: Why children who are struggling with mental health challenges are more likely to bully and be bullied.

Halloween

• Baby's First Halloween: Why is it that so many sleep-deprived parents choose to participate in a baby-world variation on the debutante ball by introducing the new arrival to the neighbours via trick-or-treating?
   

Ann Douglas is the author of The Mother of All Parenting Books and numerous other books about pregnancy and parenting.