Recent content by Sue Barashi

<t>I can be more specific: my niece just turned 8 and is in 2nd grade. I called my sister, her mother, this week, and Niece interrupted her so frequently and insistently that Sister had to ring off after 4 minutes because she could not sustain our conversation. (Sister and Niece were at a...

<t>Hey, all, it's me again—the child-free aunt with behavior/development questions. Here are my next two:<br/> <br/> 1. At what age do kids usually learn to wait for others to finish speaking rather than interrupt?<br/> <br/> 2. At what age do kids usually bathe...

<t>On a lighter note, here is a non–behavior-related question:<br/> <br/> What would be a good gift for my niece's 8th birthday (next month)?<br/> <br/> I'm clueless about which toys, books, and games are popular, so maybe you can tell me what your kids like?</t>

These are all excellent points, and I really appreciate your insights. It's true that, as Parentastic mentioned, I probably don't have realistic expectations of children's behavior because I'm rarely around them. And while I don't necessarily consider jumping on furniture or tossing stuff...

Thanks for such a quick reply. I can clarify a little. Consequences: My niece does not lose toys, treats, or privileges when she continues "bad" behavior after a verbal warning or two. So I don't know what her parents do to convince her to stop undesired actions or start desired ones. "Bad"...

OK, so here's another thing I, as a non-parent, am ignorant about. I don't know how my sister and her husband handle disciplining my niece on regular days, but when they're visiting me or I'm visiting them, Niece experiences no consequences for bad behavior. Well, there's the verbal sparring...

<t>Hmm. On the behavior issue: The tension between my niece and her mother is constant—at least when I'm around them, which is just every few months. If they're not fighting, they will be in a moment. <br/> <br/> I'm uncomfortable with the constant wrangling—it's like going to...

<t>My niece is 7 years old—turns 8 and starts 2nd grade next month. <br/> <br/> This is part of my confusion: I don't know when to expect her to grow out of that mega-defiance stage. But I hope it's soon.</t>

OK, here goes: Can you tell me at what age I can hope for my niece to: <LIST> <LI>chew with her mouth closed?</LI> <LI>wipe her bum well enough that she's not stinky at the end of the day?</LI> <LI>comply with requests/instructions from her mom with a minimum of whining, foot-dragging...

Hi. I don't have kids and am not around them often, so I'm sometimes confused about my niece's behavior. Is it OK if I post questions here and get some perspective from those of you with experience?

Hi. I don't have kids and am not around kids often, so I'm sometimes confused about my niece's behavior. I hope to learn more from people with experience.