Recommended Reading

The Biscuit has been an avid listener of books since he was a wee one. I started reading to him as soon as he was born (or really close to it) as I was fortunate to have some friends with kids who were quick to offer me the must-have books for reading to your little ones. The Biscuit's taste in books has changed over time for sure. While I desperately want him to love Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbit, which I read to him every night when he was a baby, it just doesn't make it on his list of favs as a toddler. In the spirit of the late, great Roald Dahl, I share with you the Biscuit's list of TV avoidance, the Biscuit's Reading List:

Snuggle Puppy
Hug
We're Going on a Bear Hunt
Love You Forever
Something's Buggy (OK, this was a freebie at Chick-fil-a but he loves it)
The Pup Speaks Up
May I Please Have a Cookie

What were/are your child's favorites?

Teach Your Toddler Some Manners (Please)

Call me old fashioned, but I truly believe that you should raise a young boy to be a young gentleman. As soon as the Biscuit was able to say the words "please" and "thank you" we began incorporating the words into our daily lexical diet. Now he can express his wants and pleadings (for food usually) to me by saying "More please." And at only 22-months old, I am quite proud of the accomplishment.

Just this week, we started working on yes ma'am and yes sir (and the no's). The Biscuit is following suit very well. Maybe it is old fashioned (I hope I don't set him up to be bullied), but I have seen a few kids in today's society who still actually say these words (and I have seen so many who don't). I view it as a sign of respect for the parents (or teachers) and it just makes the child who says it seem more well-behaved than the next (who doesn't).

As an update, the pushing and hitting behavior calmed down pretty quickly after I brought home "the naughty stool" for the Biscuit. He responded so well to the discipline. No matter where we are (we find naughty stools/chairs/spots wherever we go so we can use them in a moment's notice), if I mention going to the naughty stool, the Biscuit pays attention. To be fair, our little naughty stool gets a lot of wear and tear (and sometimes he just sends himself there because he likes to sit on it) so I'm not saying that it is a true deterrent yet, but I certainly can say that tantrums are rare and I can quickly change his behavior just by mentioning the word "naughty."

All in all, the Biscuit is one well-behaved little boy. I think that a lot of love from a lot of family and teachers helps. I'm quite grateful for that because it makes it a lot easier to help him on his path to becoming a young gentleman.