When puppies jump, we often reward them with attention, pets, and baby talk. But as dogs grow larger and stronger, that sweet jumping becomes dangerous. I learned this the hard way when a friend's "friendly" golden retriever knocked over her elderly neighbor, resulting in a broken wrist. Jumping is self-reinforcing behavior. Every time someone gives the dog attention for jumping, even negative attention like pushing them down, it reinforces the behavior.
Reading your child a bedtime story-or making one up yourself-has so many benefits, but there's one that is often overlooked: Bedtime stories create powerful narratives in your child that you choose. (For more on narratives and why they're crucial for parents to know about, see this post.) How stories become narratives Children's stories affect kids on an emotional level. For instance, let's take the common absent-parent-returns-home story.