Hi Jenny,

I certainly get to the rampage stage sometimes, too! I really think that the Fey's "Love & Logic" books and notions of natural consequences have helped me. I never, as they suggest is possible, look forward to my child misbehaving so that I have a learning opportunity. But I do notice that the less energy I give to my anger, the less my son is likely to repeat the incident. He does like to push ... that's for sure! Sometimes I look at my friends' "easy" kids and wonder about karma. I got a tough one in some ways, but I tell myself that all the work I am doing now with laying boundaries creates a foundation for years to come ... I hope that's true.

Organic fruit grower, linguist and poet Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer is mother to Finn, age 3, and stepmother to Shawnee, age 24. She's expecting another girl mid-July (between apricot and peach harvest). Her mantra for 2008: "I'm learning."