Jennifer Kolari

My name is Jennifer Kolari and I am really looking forward to answering questions and sharing my method of Connected Parenting (http://connectedparenting.com/) with all of you. I am a family therapist with a practice in Toronto and San Diego, and a mother of three.

My 3 year old is a very picky eater. She does not want to eat anything but raisin toast, peanut butter or nutella sandwiches, or pizza. Will she outgrow this? How do I get her to try new foods. Every time I suggest that she eat something different, she actually looks frightened, she whines about it, and sometimes even starts to cry. What should I do? Few things can trigger a Mom’s anxiety more than a child who will not eat. Yet one of the...

My 3 year old girl has an imaginary friend. She is rarely around when we are playing with her, but my daughter often says that "Brianna, (her imaginary friend) is at school and will be coming home soon." Should I be worried about this? Don’t worry about this at all; it is perfectly normal for children of this age to have imaginary friends. The fact that your daughter can entertain herself and keep herself busy when you are not with her...

My 2 year old does not sleep. I tried to sleep train her at about 6 months and was not successful. Every night, she falls asleep on her own in her toddler bed between 7:30 & 8:30pm but she wakes up at 10 and then again at midnight, and sometimes again at 2am. I'm so exhausted that by the midnight or 2 am wakeup I give up and just bring her into bed with me. What can I do? We need sleep! This is such a tough issue because for many of us...

Q: My two year old has been hitting, pushing and scratching the other kids at her daycare. The other night while I was putting her coat on, she was smiling at another girl in her group, she went up to her and I thought she was going to give her a hug, instead she pushed her and when I crouched down to her level and said, "No hitting" she just laughed and lunged at the girl again. I was so embarrassed, as this girls mother was with her, and I...

My name is Jennifer Kolari and I am really looking forward to answering questions and sharing my method of Connected Parenting with all of you. I am a family therapist with a practice in Toronto and San Diego, and a mother of three. I love being a therapist and I especially love working with children one on one. Kids are amazing and they fascinate me whether they are infants or teenagers. Many years ago as a beginning therapist at a...