My son is 15 months old. He communicates well with pointing and nodding, he can identify objects in his books, and he understands most of what we say. However, he does not have any words beyond "Mama", "Dada", and "no". He has playmates around his age who are much more verbal. Should I be concerned?

How do you encourage children to practice philanthropy at the ages of 4 and 6?
'Tis the season of giving but at these ages, it's often, "I WANT!, I NEED!, I HAVE TO HAVE!". I also want to encourage them to share their good fortune throughout the year, not just at Christmastime.
I have often thought of having them help out with Meals on Wheels (there's a Moms for Meals in Central MD) or visiting a senior center to play board games but with flu season upon us and the threat of swine flu still in the air, I'm thinking I might want to continue practicing some social distancing at this time...or am I really going overboard here?

My 17 month old daughter has been defiantly throwing her food off of her tray. We tried moving her from her high chair to her booster, but get the same result. I've tried letting her off of her chair and holding her tray so she could come and get the food, but that's not working either. How do I a) discipline the food throwing and b) get her to actually eat something. She has been having a slight problem with weight gain as it is.
Thanks!

My 3 year old daughter is going through a major whiny, temper-tantrum phase. Part of me knows that this is just a phase, but part of me is afraid she's going to keep up this behavior in the long term. How can we encourage her to communicate more constructively without negating her emotions?

How do you make sure kids are helping around the house doing age appropriate chores? What's reasonable? Kiddo is quick to tell me what others do or don't do. I respond "they don't have the privilege to live under this roof", but I really do wonder