Nanny Rose
For parents of 1-5 year-olds

Fewer meltdowns. Less yelling. Kids who listen.Peaceful sleep for you and your husband tonight.

Meltdowns over the wrong color. Yelling and feeling the guilt. Bedtime that feels like a nightly war. You're not alone: in a big study, 84 in 100 3-5 year olds had a tantrum in the past month. Toddler Playbook gives you one calm plan and the exact words to say for tantrums, bedtime and dinner, from a nanny who's seen it all. Best part? It costs less than one box of diapers.

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Instant PDF + EPUB · 5 printable bonuses included · Secure checkout
95Pages
15Chapters
8Big battles
+5Free bonuses

"Yelling doesn't make you a bad parent. It makes you a parent who had a hard moment."

From Chapter 12
Cover of Toddler Playbook by Rose Dalton: what to do tonight about tantrums, hitting, bedtime and dinner
I · The problem

It's not that you haven't tried

Meltdowns over nothing

The wrong color cup. A sandwich cut the wrong way. A no at the store. Most tantrums actually last a few minutes, but when they come every day, you're worn down before dinner.

Then you yell, and the guilt hits

You snap, they cry, and later you lie awake wondering if you've done damage. Nearly every parent has been there. It doesn't make you a bad parent. What matters most is what you do next.

Everything works for a day

Sticker charts, time-outs, gentle talks. Monday you hold the line. Wednesday you're too tired and give in. By Friday, your toddler knows a no only means maybe if they scream long enough.

None of that means something is wrong with you or your child. A toddler's feelings are big and their words are small. The answer isn't another philosophy. It's one plan, the same words every time, and a grown-up who stays calm most of the time and makes up afterward when they don't.

The method · The 5 rules

Five rules for almost every battle

You don't have to learn a new system for every problem. Every chapter in the playbook uses the same five rules, for tantrums, hitting, bedtime, dinner and the grocery store.

1

Stay calm and close

Get low, slow down, breathe

2

Say less

A few words, then quiet

3

Warn once

Not three times. Not ten.

4

Follow through

If you said it, do it. Calmly.

5

Repair after

Reconnect, then move on

SAY THISThe exact words for the moment, so you're not making it up in the middle of a meltdown.
TRY THIS TONIGHTOne small step at the end of every chapter, so the plan turns into something you actually do.
WHAT TO EXPECTHow the first few nights usually go, including the part where it gets louder, so you don't quit too soon.
II · What you get

The whole playbook, plus everything that goes on your fridge

Toddler Playbook with its five printable bonuses
  • The full 95-page book as an instant PDF, plus an EPUB for phones and e-readers
  • 15 short chapters in 3 parts, in plain, friendly English. Read the chapter you need in about ten minutes
  • The 5 rules for almost every battle, and exactly how they work for each one
  • Word-for-word "Say this" lines for tantrums, hitting and biting, "No!", bedtime, night waking, dinner and the store
  • What the American Academy of Pediatrics and the research actually say, in plain words, with a full list of sources
  • A "When to call your pediatrician" chapter, so you know what's normal and what's worth asking about
  • 17 simple pictures, like the tantrum curve, the calm-and-firm grid and the bedtime chart
Plus 5 free printable bonusesvalued at
  • The Calm Words CardWhat to say in the moment, for every battle, on one fridge page, plus pocket cards to cut out.
  • The Bedtime KitA picture routine chart, bedtime tickets to cut out, and a 14-night sleep log.
  • The Dinner-Table PlanWho decides what at the table, your child's safe foods and set meal times, and a 10-taste tracker.
  • The Babysitter Handoff SheetYour house rules and your exact words for whoever is watching your child, plus "What's changed since we raised ours" for grandparents.
  • The 2-Week Behavior TrackerOne battle, one plan, fourteen days of notes, so you see the progress you'd miss day to day.
Total value · one time, yours forever
Get the book + 5 bonuses
III · What is inside

Three parts, front to back

Part 1 — Why Toddlers Do What They Do

What's normal, what temperament really means, and why your calm is the strongest tool you have.

Part 2 — The Big Battles

Tantrums, hitting, not listening, "No!", bedtime, night waking, dinner and public meltdowns. Each chapter gives you the words to say and a plan for tonight.

Part 3 — You, and Everyone Else

When you've yelled, getting the grown-ups on the same page, when to call your pediatrician, and your one-page plan.

At the back

All the common mistakes in one place, a quick-find for "what's happening right now?", and the full list of sources.

Show all 15 chapter titles
  1. Normal Is Louder Than You Think
  2. "It's Just Temperament" Is Half True
  3. Your Calm Is the Tool
  4. Tantrums and Meltdowns
  5. Hitting, Biting and Kicking
  6. "He Won't Listen"
  7. "No!" and Power Struggles
  8. Bedtime Battles
  9. Night Waking and the Big-Bed Move
  10. Picky Eating and Dinner Fights
  11. Public Meltdowns
  12. When You've Yelled
  13. Getting on the Same Page
  14. When to Call Your Pediatrician
  15. Your One-Page Plan
IV · A look at the pages

Short chapters, clear steps, the exact words

These are real pages from the book. Every chapter in Part Two follows the same pattern, so you always know where to look: what's normal, what to do, what to say, and what to expect.

Swipe to see more →

The 5 rules for almost every battle, one page near the front of the book
The 5 rules
A page from the tantrums chapter: the steps, the Say this box and the tantrum curve
In a tantrum
A page from the bedtime chapter with the bedtime routine chart
Bedtime
V · What this book gets right

The honest version, before you buy

What it does well

It gives you one plan and the exact words for the battles that wear you down most. Every chapter follows the same pattern: what's normal, what to do tonight, what to say, what to expect, and when to call your pediatrician. It's written from the American Academy of Pediatrics' guidance and published research, and it tells you plainly when something is a tested finding and when it's a trick that simply works for a lot of families.

What it does not promise

It won't end tantrums. Nothing does: they're a normal part of being small. Temperament is real, and some children take longer. What a steady plan can do is make the hard moments shorter and calmer for many families, and help you stay calmer during them. It isn't medical advice, and it can't diagnose your child.

VI · Is it for you

Written for a tired grown-up with a toddler

This book is for you if

  • Your child is somewhere between 1 and 5, and most days have a battle in them
  • You've yelled, felt awful, and want a better way
  • You've tried gentle and you've tried strict, and nothing sticks
  • You're a grandparent or sitter who helps, and you want to use the same words as the parents
  • You want a short plan for tonight, not another 300-page philosophy book

It is not for you if

  • You want a promise of no more tantrums
  • You're looking for a diagnosis, or something to use instead of your pediatrician
  • You need help with a newborn's sleep or feeding
Rose Dalton in her living-room armchair
"What helps isn't a perfect parent. It's a simple plan, the same words every time, and a grown-up who stays calm most of the time and makes up afterward when they don't."
Rose Dalton · Nanny Rose on YouTube

Rose has been looking after other families' little ones since she was about 20, as a nanny and a babysitter. Along the way she raised three children of her own, and now she's a grandmother too. On the Nanny Rose channel, she shares calm, practical help for the toddler years.

Rose isn't a doctor or a nurse, and she doesn't pretend to be. That's why the book sticks to what the pediatricians' guidance and the research say, and tells you exactly when to call yours.

VII · Questions

Before you ask

Is this gentle parenting, or strict?

Neither. The book's middle path is calm and firm: a quiet voice, a few words, and a limit that doesn't move. Chapter 3 shows why calm without follow-through gets ignored, and loud without calm brings more pushback.

My child is just strong-willed. Will a plan even help?

Temperament is real. Research suggests genes explain somewhere between a fifth and three-fifths of it. The rest comes from experience, and that's where a steady plan helps. Strong-willed kids often need more warning before changes, more time to calm down and more repetition, and Chapter 2 shows how to adjust.

I've read the parenting books. Why is this one different?

It's short on purpose, and you don't read it cover to cover. Read Part One, then turn to the chapter for tonight's battle. Each one gives you the exact words, the steps in order, and what the first few nights usually look like.

What ages is it for?

Toddlers and preschoolers, roughly 1 to 5. Most of the research behind it looked at children in that range, and the sleep chapter gives the recommended hours for 1- to 2-year-olds and for 3- to 5-year-olds.

I'm a grandparent. Is it for me too?

Yes. Chapter 13 is about getting every grown-up on the same page, kindly. The Babysitter Handoff Sheet has a gentle page called "What's changed since we raised ours" that you can share, or that someone can share with you.

Does it tell me to spank, or to let my child cry it out?

It doesn't recommend spanking. The American Academy of Pediatrics advises parents not to spank or hit children, and Chapter 3 explains why. For sleep, Chapter 9 covers what a five-year follow-up study found about gentle sleep techniques, plus a calm middle-of-the-night plan. You choose what fits your family.

I'm exhausted. Do I have time for this?

The book is built for tired parents. Pick one battle, run one plan for two weeks, and let the rest wait. Most "Try this tonight" steps take a few minutes.

Can I read it on my phone?

Yes. The book comes as a PDF and an EPUB. The PDF looks like the printed page and prints cleanly at home. The EPUB is made for phones and e-readers like Kindle, Kobo and Apple Books, and the text resizes to whatever is easiest for you. The 5 bonuses are print-ready PDFs, each with an EPUB reading copy too.

How is it delivered? Is checkout secure?

Checkout runs through a secure payment page. Your download links arrive right away on the confirmation page and in your email.

One plan. The same words. Every time.

Read Part One tonight, pick your hardest battle, and use the plan at the next meltdown.

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