Oh Crap! I Have a Toddler: Tackling These Crazy Awesome Years-No Time-Outs Needed

by Jamie Glowacki

Overview

Real-world, from-the-trenches toddler parenting advice from the author of the bestselling Oh Crap! Potty Training.

Toddlers—commonly defined as children aged between two and five years old—can be a horribly misunderstood bunch. What most parents view as bad behavior is in fact just curious behavior. Toddlerdom is the age of individuation, seeking control, and above all, learning how the world works. But this misunderstanding between parents and child can lead to power struggles, tantrums, and even diminished growth and creativity.

The recent push of early intellectualism coupled with a desire to “make childhood magical” has created a strange paradox—we have three-year-olds with math and Mandarin tutors who don’t know how to dress themselves and are sitting in their own poop. We are pushing the toddler mind beyond its limit but simultaneously keeping them far below their own natural capabilities.

In the frank, funny, and totally authentic Oh Crap! I Have a Toddler, social worker Jamie Glowacki helps parents work through what she considers the five essential components of raising toddlers:

—Engaging the toddler mind
—Working with the toddler body
—Understanding and dealing with the toddler behavior
—Creating a good toddler environment
—You, the parent

Oh Crap! I Have a Toddler is about doing more with less—and bringing real childhood back from the brink of over-scheduled, over-stimulated, helicopter parenting. With her signature down-and-dirty, friend-to-friend advice, Jamie is here to help you experience the joy of parenting again and giving your child—and yourself—the freedom to let them grow at their own pace and become who they are.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781982109738
Publisher:	Gallery Books
Publication date:	06/04/2019
Series:	Oh Crap Parenting Series , #2
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	185,087
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Jamie Glowacki is an internationally recognized potty training and parenting expert. Her two former careers as social worker and circus performer make her uniquely qualified to deal with toddlers (and poop). She is the author of Oh Crap! Potty Training and Oh Crap! I Have a Toddler. Visit her at JamieGlowacki.com.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

The Parent Part of the Book

Introduction 9

Chapter 1 Boundaries 13

Chapter 2 Parenting Philosophies 39

Chapter 3 Connection 51

Chapter 4 Parents' Self-Care 67

Chapter 5 Not Enough Time 93

Chapter 6 Parental Anxiety 115

Chapter 7 Reactionary Parenting 125

The Kid Part of the Book

Introduction 141

Engaging the Toddler Mind

Chapter 8 Stop Educating 147

Chapter 9 Executive Functioning 161

Chapter 10 Stop Talking So Much 173

Chapter 11 Cultivating Creativity 183

Working with the Toddler Body

Chapter 12 Proprioception and Vestibular Movement 195

Chapter 13 Free Play versus Structured Play 211

Chapter 14 More Sleep, Lots More 219

Chapter 15 Validating Feelings 231

Understanding Toddler Behavior

Chapter 16 Discipline and Why Time-outs Suck 239

Chapter 17 They Just Don't Listen 255

Chapter 18 Transitions and Preparing the Child 265

Chapter 19 Food and Behavior 277

My Final Words: YOU GOT THIS 287

Acknowledgments 291

Editorial Reviews

Glowacki brings a pragmatic attitude and plenty of experience with the two-to-four-year-old set to her useful guide to setting one’s child up to be ‘the best kid they can be.’ Her intuitive insights into toddler behavior and skill in pulling practicable takeaways from these insights make her manual well worth any frazzled parents’ time.”
—Publishers Weekly

“Glowacki’s approach is honest and straightforward... In each chapter, she covers must-know details and backs them up with relatable examples. This is a perfect addition to parenting collections, where Glowacki's previous book is likely still a popular checkout.”
—Booklist

“Parents of toddlers will no doubt find this tome accessible and at times delightfully funny. A breezy and memorable read.”
—Library Journal (starred review)

“Jamie Glowacki definitely has cred... Her book offers plenty of sage advice in often amusing prose, backed up by examples of toddler dilemmas she’s helped solve. Her recommendations may challenge your instincts or long-held beliefs, but she offers solid evidence for encouraging risky play, allowing kids to sometimes work out their own rules and issues, and making space for physicality and something she calls ‘Big Play’... She offers a well-reasoned toolbox of effective alternatives [to time-outs] to address those tricky toddler meltdowns, and by gum, she has me completely convinced. Oh Crap! I Have a Toddler is exactly the book I wish I’d had when my kids were that age.”
—BookPage

Praise for Oh Crap! Potty Training

“Jamie Glowacki tells it like it is. She is the real deal. Her advice will give you confidence, motivation, and have you laughing. [Oh Crap! Potty Training] is a book I will recommend again and again.”
—Alanna McGinn, Founder of Good Night Sleep Site

“Most of us think of potty training in the top 10 of Crappiest Chores of Parenting. But check it out! It doesn't have to be with Jamie's Oh Crap! Potty Training. Straight up, parent tested, and funny to boot, Jamie gives you all the information you need. You must own this book. And read it.”
—Amber Dusick, author of Parenting: Illustrated with Crappy Pictures

From the Publisher

★ 07/01/2019

According to former social worker Glowacki (Oh Crap! Potty Training), who has worked with hundreds of mothers and children in her community, beginning with teaching potty training classes, the first step in dealing with parenting struggles is to find our triggers, the unconscious contributions to toddler behavior. When we get entangled in the child's behavior, we neglect to look at ourselves. Instead of blindly doing what our parents did, conscious parenting includes setting boundaries for both child and parent. Seeking to "create a life we don't need a vacation from," practicing self-care, and working to identify personal anxieties are key to the "work" of parenting. The second section ("the kid part") contains advice on how to engage the unique toddler mind and body (more sleep, more free play, lots of movement). VERDICT Parents of toddlers will no doubt find this tome accessible and at times delightfully funny. A breezy and memorable read.Julia M. Reffner, Richmond

School Library Journal