Notes on raising
a small & mighty
human.
A small library of what we've learned, what the books say, and what's worked at our kitchen table — for the days when the toddler is laughing while hitting and the toothbrush is on the floor again.
When she laughs while hitting — and what to do next.
It feels like a tiny act of defiance. It almost never is. Here's the developmental story behind the giggle, and a calm playbook for the moment your softness is met with a slap.
Read the guide →The library
09 guides · always growingWhen she laughs while hitting.
The giggle isn't defiance — it's nervous-system overflow. A 90-second script for staying steady when small fists meet your patience.
Read →Tooth brushing, without the tears.
Why a two-year-old fights the toothbrush, what dentists actually need, and four small reframes that turn the nightly battle into a two-minute ritual.
Read →Words that land with a small person.
A copy-paste phrasebook for the moments that come up every day — meltdowns, refusals, drop-offs — and the universal three-step formula behind all of them.
Read →The phrasebook: lines that work.
Hundreds of tested phrases organized by situation — limits, meltdowns, transitions, drop-offs, sleep. Bookmark this one. Open it on the way to the store.
Read →Words that quietly backfire.
A tour of the well-meaning phrases that sabotage what you're trying to build — good job, be careful, you're okay — and what to say instead.
Read →When you are the one melting down.
The single most important variable in your parenting is your own regulation. On triggers, the low road, repair, and why your childhood is in the room with you.
Read →Orchids, dandelions & spirited kids.
Some kids are wired for sensitivity, some for resilience. A primer on temperament, sensory processing, and why "stress behaviour" is rarely misbehaviour.
Read →The home, set up to say yes.
Lessons from Montessori, RIE, French and Maya parents — how to design rooms, meals and routines so a toddler can do real things, all by herself.
Read →Potty training, start to finish.
When to start, what to buy, the three-block method, and the honest truth: most resistance is parents over-prompting. A calm, day-by-day plan.
Read →House principles
Our north starsTwo things are always true.
She is having a hard time and we are not going to let her hurt anyone. Both. Always.
Behaviour is a signal.
Tantrums, hitting, refusal — these are the smoke. We are looking for the fire underneath: tired, hungry, overwhelmed, disconnected.
Repair is the real magic.
We will lose our cool. The goal isn't perfection. The goal is coming back, gently, and saying: that wasn't your fault. I'm sorry.