Toddlers can drive you bonkers... so adorable and fun one minute... so stubborn and demanding the next! Yet, as unbelievable as it sounds, there is a way to turn the daily stream of "nos" and "don'ts" into "yeses" and hugs... if you know how to speak your toddler' s language. In one of the most useful advances in parenting techniques of the past twenty-five years, Dr. Karp reveals that toddlers, with their immature brains and stormy outbursts, should be thought of not as pint-size people but as pint-size... cavemen.

Includes index.

Introduction.Part One. The happiest toddler: Toddler/parent basics. Toddler basics: The gentle art of civilizing a toddler -- Parenting basics: The lowdown on bringing up a toddler -- Part Two. Connect with respect: Toddler communication basics. The "fast-food rule": The golden rule of communication -- "Toddler-ese": A talking style that really works! -- Part Three. Behavior basics: Raise a great child the green-yellow-red-light way. Green-light behaviors: How to encourage good behavior -- Yellow-light behaviors: How to curb annoying behavior -- Red-light behavior: How to put the brakes on bad behavior -- Part Four. How do I handle this one? Taming tantrums... like magic! -- Real answers to common problems -- Epilogue. Civilization ho! Your happy confident four-year-old -- Appendix A. The ten basics for raising a happy toddler -- Appendix B. Dr. Karp's key terms and all-star tricks!