The Meltdown
A toddler loses it at the end of the day.

"When our daughter Jennifer was two, she sometimes had difficulty napping. It seemed that she just didn’t want to miss anything. She could be active, alert and happy all day long. On rare occasions, she would hit the wall when it was time to unwind and get ready for bed. On this particular day, I don’t remember what set her off (and sixteen years later it certainly doesn’t seem important), but around 9:00 that evening she fell into a full-blown tantrum." more

The Magic of the Incredible Years
Effortlessly transform negative behaviors to positive ones.

"In one scene, Carolyn had a mother and son play with some animal puppets until they were both completely relaxed. Then she instructed the mom to pick up the newspaper and pretend to read. I watched in fascination as the child tried out an escalating series of strategies in an attempt to recapture his mother’s attention. First he tried to continue the game by getting his mom to look at what his animal had done.  When that failed, he whispered to her “I love you.”  And when that failed, he finally had his puppet bite her hand.  Then, as I watched, Carolyn gently coached the mother in how to reverse the process, establishing appropriate boundaries and reconnecting with her child. To me, it seemed almost magical." more

The Vice President of the Playroom
How one father deepened his connection with his young daughter.

"In one of my early parent education groups there was a wonderful father named Jack, a successful executive in his mid-thirties with very highly developed management skills. He and his wife came to the group because they were concerned that their daughter Kristen, then in preschool, seemed shy and reserved.  Even at home Jack seemed to have difficulty making the kind of connection he longed for with his daughter.  Mother and daughter seemed to connect in a language of their own, but that only left Jack feeling a little like the odd man out." more