Formal letters have somewhat long, detailed headers which contain both your own personal information and the information of the person you are contacting. Provide as much of this information as you are able to. The first thing you should do is to write your address (and/or your name) in the top left corner. Write the address in standard two-line form - in other words, put your street address in the very top left corner and your city, state, and postal code on the line below it.  If you choose to include your name, which is not required, put it in the very top left, rather than your address, which will then occupy the second and third lines. Here is a sample of how we might write our name and address:  John Smith 21 Jump Street Milwaukee, WI, 12345 Next, write the current date. Skip a line below your address, then write the date so that it's similarly aligned with the left edge of the page. Dates are written in the form: month, day, year. Always spell out the month of the date, but not the day or year. Here is a sample date of this form: April 1st, 2014 Finally, you must specify the name and address of the person you're attempting to contact. This is called the "inside address" because it's the same information as on the outside of the envelope, only inside it instead. Skip a line below the date and write this aligned with the left edge of the page as well. If you know the name of the person you're contacting, lead with this. If not, try to at least include his or her title (like, for instance, "Professor of English Literature" or "Senior Technician"). If you know both, write the name first, then the title on the next line. If you're writing to this person at his or her place of employment, next, write the name of this place. Finally, write your recipient's address on the following lines. Here is an example of an inside address:  Mrs. Jane Doe Director of Stadium Operations Wrigley Field 1060 West Addison Street Chicago, IL, 98765 The instructions above aren't the sole way to compose a header in a formal letter. Other options are acceptable as well. The most common alternative to the method above is to position your return address in the top right corner, rather than the top left corner, and to position the date under the inside address, rather than above it. In other words, in this alternative configuration, the return address is in the top right corner, followed by a skipped line,  followed by the inside address aligned with the left side of the page, followed by another skipped line, followed by the date. The above instructions assume you're writing a letter in a formal or business context. If you're simply writing a letter to a friend or casual acquaintance, you may want to skip the pretense of a formal header. If so, simply writing the date in the top left corner is sufficient. After this, you may proceed to the salutation and the body of the letter itself.

Summary: Write your return address (and, optionally, your name) in the top left corner. Write the date below your contact information. Write the "inside address" below the date. Consider using an alternate header arrangement. For casual letters, simply write the date alone.


Toddlers move very quickly from one feeling to the next, so if one can distract them long enough for them to forget what they’re upset about, you’ll be set. This is called redirection. Of course, the goal is not to distract them so that they never learn, but rather to help them move on from one thing to the next without getting caught in an emotional loop. However, there are some situations where redirecting is less productive. If your child has done something really bad, a strong scolding may be better. For example, hitting or biting another child may require a scolding, while simply not wanting to share is certainly a good opportunity for redirection. Always explain that and why a toddler shouldn’t do something. When they do something wrong, they need to know that it’s wrong so that they don’t do it again. Don’t make a big production about explaining to them, as this can make it more difficult to redirect them. Just state it simply and help them move on. For example, if your child is arguing with their sibling about sharing a toy, say: “Oh, we don’t fight with our brothers. We have to share so that everyone gets a turn. You can play with that toy later. How about you and I go play with the bubbles instead?” If the tantrum is related to something that they think or feel, it may be possible to redirect the child by forcing them to think about something else. Manually guide their thought process by asking them questions and slowly move the questions away from what they were upset about, until eventually they forget what the original problem was.  For example, if you see your child hit their elbow and a meltdown is on the way, ask if they hurt their toe. Their foot. Their hand. Their belly. Move from body part to body part that you know is not hurt, forcing them to think about the “not in pain” sensations in other parts of their body. Similarly, you can shift your child's attention to a new activity if they're upset about not doing what they want. Introduce the activity you want them to do, while also demonstrating it to them. You can also get their attention and encourage critical thinking by asking them questions about the activity, such as "What do you think?" Another redirection method is to create empathy while moving the child away from an action. This is helpful as a life skill, as it will help them become more considerate of the consequences of their actions for others. The empathy they have does not, necessarily, have to be for a real, living creature either.  “Oh, don’t draw on the couch. That gets the couch dirty and the couch HATES to take a bath. You don’t want to take a bath, do you?” “Aww, why are you hitting the table. That hurts the table. You don’t like it when your brother hits you, so why would you hit the table? How about we find a pot for you to hit instead?” “Don’t pull the kitty’s tail, that gives him an owie. We pet the kitty gently, like this. Oh, see, the kitty loves being pet gently. Look at how happy he is. Aw, he’s so happy.” When you redirect a child, you need to always give them something else to do. This teaches them to find other things that make them happy, rather than learning to simply sit around being upset about things they can’t have or do. This can be tricky, as sometimes toddlers can be very stubborn, so you’ll just have to know what works best for your child.  Save some activities that your child really enjoys for when they need to be redirected. For example, playing with playdough or blowing bubbles. During times when you expect your child to get upset, bring their favorite toy or activity to distract them. For example, you could bring their favorite game along to a doctor's appointment. If they’re having a really hard time finding something else to do, try relocating the child so that they have an easier time. Take them out of the room where the thing they want is when you give them something else to do. This way they have fewer visual reminders of what they were focused on.
Summary: Know when to redirect. Explain when you can. Change their line of thinking. Create empathy. Provide alternatives. Relocate the child.