Practical Parenting Solutions by Dr. Polly Dunn
Earlier this year I happened upon an article by a respected family psychologist and parenting expert. In it, he provided lots of ideas on how parents could improve their family life, a number of which I completely agreed with. But then I got to his recommendation about family dinners. He suggested that families today should gather around the dinner table six nights a week. Six nights? Out of ... read more
Everyday when my first grader comes home from school, she proudly announces that she didn’t get her rocket flipped. Good news right? I guess, although it took me a while to figure out what on earth she was talking about. You see, her teacher has a great discipline plan that I have half a mind to implement in my own house. All the kids in the class have a rocket with their name on it. Their ... read more
This fall I'm offering small group parenting workshops for the Auburn-Opelika community at Transformations Life Center. Transformations offers a perfect setting for groups of people and professional facilitators to come together and support, educate, and help one another through life’s challenges in a relaxed and casual environment. Each workshop costs $50 and lasts for two hours, but if you ... read more
Dear Polly, My four year old daughter was recently put in time-out at day camp for 20 minutes. How long is too long and what is the correct way of doing this? You are right to be concerned! Twenty minutes is a long time to be in time-out for a 4 year old. Generally, the length of time-out in minutes should be equal to the age of the child in years. So, your 4 year old should spend about 4 ... read more
Recently I was asked by a colleague to lead a parenting workshop on how to potty train your child in three days. After I picked myself up off the floor laughing, I told her that I probably wasn’t the best instructor for that course. You see, of my four kids not a one of them was potty trained in three days. Not even close. That got me thinking. What kind of child psychologist am I if I can’t ... read more
