I took very different approaches to potty training with each my older children, and I expect to take an even different path when Little Guy is ready to start toilet training. My daughter was only 16 months old when we started but she was very motivated to use the potty. My son was almost twice her age at the start and didn't really see the point. Their attitude towards potty training along with my needs influenced many things including what they wore during training.

Knowing this, I was very careful about the advice I offered a reader who recently asked whether she should use disposable training pants when potty training her granddaughter. She writes:
I'm about to start potty training my 25-month-old granddaughter. I can't decide if I should start by using pull ups or move straight onto the panties.

Read my response and share your own potty training tips with other readers.

There has been so much noise around motherhood these past few weeks that I can barely hear the sound of the children.

From politicians taking sides on the SAHM/Working mom "war" to everyone with a Twitter account weighing in on celebrity mom advice and recent parenting books, I feel like much of the country is over-analyzing what it is I do every day.

Surprisingly, the only time I don't hear anyone talking about these things is when I'm with other moms. I don't think that this in any way says we don't care about issues like the price of day care or whether we're raising babies to feel secure. But on a day-to-day basis, the moms I know are too busy to get caught in the media hype. The frenzy around some of these topics reminds me of high school dramatics -- like the time I cried when I saw my yearbook picture. Surely the fact that this lasting portrait was so hideous was worth getting excited over...at least for a day. After that it was time to focus on the actual fact of graduating.

That's how I feel now: I need to get on with the business of raising my kids. I don't really have the energy to spend on debating whether that person over there is more right than the other person over here. I believe that the time I spend today planning activities and talking with my toddler is going to do more good in the world than anything else. To those who say that I should be concerned about reinventing modern motherhood to be more fair to moms, more effective for children, and more fun for all: I agree. But I am going to start with my own house. Today we're breaking out the playdough (with all the accessories) and turning everyday junk around the house into toddler "toys."

What little ways do you find joy in motherhood? Share your stories with the rest of our readers.

Earlier this week, parenting experts and psychologist Jim Taylor published a piece in Psychology Today arguing that parents should outsource childrearing to professionals. His basic thesis is that moms and dads are too invested in their children. That leads us to become depressed when kids don't achieve what we want them to and, in general, causes us to act badly.

I'm assuming that this is all tongue in cheek, especially since Jim Taylor, Ph.D., should be quite familiar with the fact that children without involved parents face truly significant problems such as substance abuse and, in severe cases, reactive attachment disorder.

But even if this is just a "Ha ha...I'm not totally serious here" piece, I'd like to recommend that Dr. Taylor stick to his day job and drop attempts at comedy. It's not really so funny to hear one more expert making parents worry that they are doing something "wrong."

He brings up the fact that almost all parents yell , and, Dr. Taylor explains, "the research shows, that yelling is not good for our children." Well, yes, severe "psychological aggression" (psychologist speak for yelling and other non-physical behavior management techniques such as threatening to spank) has been shown to be harmful to children. This is according to a 2003 paper published in the Journal of Marriage and Family (where, I think, Dr. Taylor gets his stats on the topic). But other experts such as psychologist George Holden, Professor of Psychology at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, see a golden lining to moms yelling at their kids. In an interview with TODAY Moms, he said that kids who are yelled at by their parents can learn an important lesson about dealing with negative emotions.

I'm not so sure about that expert fact either (especially when it comes to yelling at a toddler). I personally know I yell too much and I am working on cutting down on my outbursts.

In the meantime, I try not to be too hard on myself when I have a yelling moment. I also think that the way you treat a yelling episode is important. One way I try to lighten the impact of my yelling is by recruiting my older kids to help me not get so crazy in the morning (because mornings are especially hard for this yelling mom). They know they need to move to get out the door on time, but they also have been told to tell mom when she's rushing them too much and when I am basically getting "too yelly." I've been honest with the two of them (ages 4 and 5) that I don't like to yell and it's something I try not to do. I think if they see that we all struggle with problems and help each other with our short fallings, then they will learn another important lesson - we all need each other and we all love each other even if we're not perfect.

Actually, the best response to Dr. Taylor's argument I've seen was posted by Julie Ryan Evans on The Stir. She asked readers to tell her what they would outsource as a parent. My pick - worrying! I'd pay someone to do all the fretting for me any day.

I am a huge fan of house parties and homemade cakes. Of course, my kids love the bouncy house arenas and amusement parks just as much. We've pretty much tried them all. Of course, with toddlers, you need to take care to be sure that you have the right activities and aren't expecting too much from kids who are so little and easily overwhelmed. See our suggestions for planning your child's next birthday from age one through three.

And keep in mind: there is more than one way to celebrate a birthday. What's important is making time to reflect on the amazing things that have happened over the course of one short year.