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As an in-home therapist for young kids and their parents, one of the most common skills I taught to parents was how to run an effective time-out. Often times I did this because parents were attempting to begin a discipline regimine, as they hadn’t had one to begin with or the one they had chosen wasn’t working to eliminate the problem.

Before I opened my play therapy practice, I worked as an in-home child and family therapist who helped parents to improve parenting skills so that their children could develop optimally. One of the most common complaints I received from parents was that the child “just won’t listen.” Even more, these parents were certain that there were no solutions to their child’s behaviors and that they were stuck for life just dealing with these negative behaviors.

After almost 4 years of being a child counselor in Sioux Falls and surrounding areas, I get frustrated when I hear stories like this.

When I ran an in-home daycare, I had to learn quickly how to adapt my life and my thoughts to adjust to the presence of little ones around me every day. I like my world to be neat, clean and well-organized, which isn’t a possibility in the child care business!

Before I get into this post, I want to let you all know that I don’t go to the store in hopes of judging someone else’s parenting, just as I don’t go there hoping to find great examples of parenting. I go there to shop.

In his State of the Union Address last week, President Obama mentioned the need for quality, affordable childcare for all children. In the following days, there was an overflow of posts on social media from parents citing how expensive child care is and demanding that the government step in to regulate and pay for child care costs.

On one of those nights when I desperately needed to run to the store at 9:00 pm (for what, I can’t even remember!), I observed a mom yelling at a child who was maybe three-years-old because she was throwing a temper tantrum right in the middle of the store. This mom seemed very embarrassed that her daughter wasn’t better behaved in the store, and I was embarrassed for this mom that she didn’t know better than to bring a three-year-old to the store at 9:00 pm and expect perfect behavior.

With the overflow of videos, articles and how-to tidbits that flood social media today, consumers are bombarded with conflicting information that boast confident, matter-of-fact claims.

I’m excited to share with you today my thoughts and opinions on the book “Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child” by Marc Weissbluth, M.D. What I’m most excited about is the opportunity to share with you the process that I went through as I read this book as I internally battled whether I agreed with the information or not as a therapist who treats young children.