Dr. Deb Zupito Parenting young children often feels like navigating a storm. Big emotions, power struggles, and sleep disruptions can leave parents exhausted and questioning their abilities. These challenges are common, yet many parents feel isolated or overwhelmed by them. The good news is that these struggles are not signs of failure. They are part of the complex journey of raising children who are learning to understand themselves and the world around them. Treehouse Minds

Dr. Deb Zupito January often arrives with an unspoken question from adults everywhere, Why are children acting like this? The holidays bring joy, connection, and a sense of magic. They also bring late nights, extra screens, new toys, sugar on sugar, travel, big gatherings, relaxed routines, and lots of excitement packed into a short window. Even the best moments ask a lot of a child’s developing nervous system. When children return to daily life feeling more emotional, impuls

Why I Wrote This I wrote this after one too many late-night scrolls through potty training posts and one too many daily conversations that start with, Is this normal, or, What am I doing wrong. I see parents who love their children deeply apologizing for accidents, questioning their instincts, and carrying far more stress around toilet learning than anyone ever warned them about. The worry is loud. The advice is conflicting. The timelines are rigid. Everyone online seems to h

Dr. Deb Zupito Every year, it seems we are told the holidays should sparkle louder, shine brighter, and feel bigger than ever before. Bigger gifts. Fuller calendars. Perfect photos. Somewhere between the wrapping paper and the wish lists, it gets easy to miss the quiet magic that children are noticing. The truth is, the season is not magical because of what we buy. It is magical because of how we belong to one another. Children do not remember the price tag. They remember who

Dr. Deb Zupito At some point, almost every parent finds themselves stuck in a familiar loop. Potty training suddenly feels harder than advertised. Bedtime stretches into a full-length feature film, popcorn optional. Transitions spark big reactions over things that seem, on the surface, very small. And some days, simply getting out of the house feels like an Olympic event, stamina required, judges clearly watching. It is easy to wonder, why is my child pushing back so much? Di

Dr. Deb Zupito There are moments in early childhood that stop everyone in their tracks. The death of an animal or a loved one is one of them. It often arrives quietly, through a shared classroom moment, a family story, or the sudden absence of something once familiar. For adults, it can stir deep emotion. For preschoolers, it opens a door to questions their growing minds are only beginning to explore. How Young Children Understand Death Young children experience death in a ve