Questions

Don't Play with a 14-Year-Old

Posted on 12/29/2023

Long story short, after finding out my nearly 14 yr old daughter tells her stepmom how much she hates me and her stepfamily from my side and how much she wants to live with her dad I conceded and...

DIVORCED DAD WANTS TO TAKE 9 YO ON HOLIDAY, WON'T TELL MOM WHERE

Posted on 10/30/2022

I’m the worst mum in the world and hated because my 9-year-old son isn’t allowed to go on holiday out of the country with his dad and new girlfriend for a family holiday. I told my son's dad no...

10 Year Old with Violent Fits, Divorced Parents and "trifecta of diagnoses"

Posted on 10/13/2022

My 10 year old son has the adoptive trifecta of diagnoses: "on the autism spectrum", oppositional defiant disorder, and ADHD. Sometimes he has violent fits - although now they're down to 1 or 2...

POST-DIVORCE PARENTING ISSUES

Posted on 9/21/2022

Some allegations that my daughter made about me to her school counselor and obviously and the allegations that were given to me in the report it states that my children’s father was coaching them....

Keep It Simple

Posted on 7/13/2022

I’m a single mother of a 2.5 year old. Her father has never been in the picture at all. She’s starting to notice other kids have a dad and she doesn’t. How do I explain his absence to her and...

DIVORCED DAD RUNNING THE USUAL SCAM

Posted on 7/2/2022

My 17 y/o daughter is from my first marriage. divorced when she was 3. Her stepdad and i have been married since she was 5. Long and short? We have done all of the parenting, all the tough...

Drama feeds high conflict

Posted on 5/22/2022

I’ve spent the last 9 years of my sons life recovering from domestic abuse perpetrated by his father who has very narcissistic tendencies and defending my son, learning to ignore hurtful comments...

PARENT ALIENATION

Posted on 4/14/2022

What are the best ways to deal with parent alienation? To help the teenage child in the middle? Any specific podcast? Books? Any advice on this topic would be appreciated. In this situation the...

Be the Mean Mum!

Posted on 4/11/2021

My 8 year old son has came back from spending the weekend with his dad and dad's family. He said I’m a strict mean mum because his 8 year old cousin has an iPhone, TikTok and YouTube channel...

It's All About Leadership and Love

Posted on 1/25/2021

Hello, we are over in the UK, back in full lock down, schools closed. I struggle with consistency, tiredness and forgetfulness. Even worse I feel humiliated and pathetic because I struggle with...

Grandson Needs to be Held More Accountable

Posted on 1/15/2021

I just pulled an old John article out of my drawer that I have had for years. It was about how therapy can be detrimental to a child and rarely works. Also talked about kids emotions and feelings...

Respect isn't Optional

Posted on 12/26/2020

Hello- I am so glad I subscribed to Parent Guru! I love reading all the questions/answers!! So I have a 9 year old son and unfortunately his father and I have divorced. I moved (with my son)...

Shyness Not A Character Defect

Posted on 12/13/2020

My daughter (age 16) is extremely shy and always has been. Recently due to my divorce situation, we had to relocate and so making friends has been a struggle. However, I have observed her...

Honest Conversations

Posted on 12/12/2020

My nephew has confided in my son (11yr old- cousin), that he is Bisexual. His parents have recently divorced- March will be 2 years (mother left) and my brother is a single parent of 4 children....

The Time for Tough Love is NOW

Posted on 10/31/2020

My son is 19 years old and has been graduated from high school for 1 1/2 years. His teen years were a struggle with almost not graduating, drug use and getting into trouble with the law. He no...

Parenting differences after divorce.

Posted on 10/11/2020

I’m sad to hear my son has come from his Dads house talking about black magic, spirits, ghosts and watching the Simpsons movie. He is 7 and his innocence is being taken away and these things are...

Answered previously

Posted on 10/11/2020

Sorry I forgot to add to the previous message, how do I help my son with these mixed messages and how do I also deal with behaviour and boundaries when he comes back from his Dad? He comes back...

Need some legal advice.

Posted on 10/11/2020

My sons Dad is currently living in a caravan park on a farm after breaking up with his girlfriend. This is frustrating and unstable however I thought the fun of being on a farm would be...

Parenting a Disrespectful Teen with Divorced Parents

Posted on 10/10/2020

Almost two years ago my husband left (affair) and we are in a very difficult divorce. We are not friendly and don’t communicate other than texting. We have four children together and have 50/50...

Difficult transition for a 4 year old.

Posted on 9/17/2020

Hello again, Gretchen, Thank you for your previous advice on not saying too much to my 4 year old about his father and I separation. I have followed the advice but my 4 year old is now having...

Explaining marital problems to a 4 year old.

Posted on 8/21/2020

About 5 days ago, my 4 year old son and I escaped a domestic violence situation. My husband is now in a behavioral health hospital for the unforeseen future and we have been staying at my dad’s...

Dads Are Never Done

Posted on 4/12/2020

I'm currently going through a divorce. Parenting has gotten increasingly harder for obvious reasons, and I'm the only disciplinarian. I'm concerned my kids - or some of them - are too old for me...

Co-parenting precautions

Posted on 3/29/2020

My 7 year old son has told me he watches films which are 12+, scary, include swearing, witchcraft (which goes against my Christian Faith) when he stays with his Dad. My son doesn’t seem very...

Co-Parenting precautions continued

Posted on 3/29/2020

My 7 year old son has picked up on some terrible slang while with his father. Everything is “banging mate” as one example. It sounds horrendous. How do I stop this?

Bump in the Road

Posted on 12/3/2019

My son is 4 years old and lately has been having trouble sleeping. He gets up several times a night and wants me to sleep with him. I have been divorced for 1 year and have joint custody with my...

Divorce challenges parenting.

Posted on 11/21/2019

My daughter left home on September 3rd, after I removed her door and we had an argument. She told me I was a terrible mother and a psychopath. She said she was leaving and I asked for her keys,...

17 YO Boy's Odd Behavior

Posted on 11/5/2019

17 year old grandson has hidden lady’s purses under bed or in a drawer. They are empty and he gets them from family homes(ones no one uses). Happened about 4 times with fairly long lengths of...

Custody Decision For 17 YO

Posted on 9/26/2019

John, I have read many of your books and listen to your podcast regularly. I am a Christian and agree with your biblical parenting principles. However, I am divorce from an atheist and he is...

Upcoming Divorce

Posted on 9/21/2019

After 11 yrs of marriage, my husband and I have decided to go our separate ways. However, before we file for divorce, sell the house, etc., etc. We have a ton of debt to pay off. And with the cost...

Co-parent conflict creates chaos.

Posted on 9/17/2019

My partner and I share custody of his ten year old son. His son is now in 5th grade and is really having to step up with homework and classwork, which he is not doing. We only have him every other...

Parents Need to Be On The Same Page

Posted on 8/30/2019

My husband and I recently legally adopted our six and half year old nephew who has been living with us since he was 2.5. He did not know us prior to him coming to live with us. He comes from a...

Tough Questions

Posted on 8/25/2019

My daughter and her spouse separated after three years in a tumultuous relationship. He was verbally abusive and their relationship was adversely impacted by alcohol, infidelity and employment...

Needed: Parenting perspective adjustment

Posted on 7/17/2019

One follow up question. When do we seek counseling, if at all, and for whom (just her, just her parents-and separately at that since we’re divorced)? We’re both wondering if her out-of-control...

6 year old's disrespect reaches new heights

Posted on 7/17/2019

Hello. Starting in the last two weeks, my 6-year old daughter has ratcheted up her disrespectful tone, language, and behavior to an awful degree. If I ask her what is going on with her she blames...

Special challenges for children of divorce.

Posted on 6/21/2019

Hi John and Team, My boyfriend and I share custody of his 10 year old son. We have his son for two four-week blocks in the summer and then every other weekend during the school year. We are...

child sends mixed message

Posted on 5/5/2019

I have a personal friend that went through a bitter divorce approximately 6 years ago. She has 4 children ages 14, 13, 10.5 and 9.5. The three older ones are girls and the youngest a boy. The...

Let Go or No?

Posted on 3/16/2019

My 16 year old son wants to live with his dad in another state for his junior and senior years of high school. I’m reluctantly willing to let him go. How do I navigate this transition?

Emancipation is never easy

Posted on 12/29/2018

I am divorced and remarried for 16 years. My ex cheated on me multiple times. Since our divorce which was a 3rd marriage he has been married 3x since. His most recent wife is 30 years his jr and a...

Now what?

Posted on 12/13/2018

Hey thank you for the answer I needed..I have taken her phone permanently only reason she had a phone is because her dad lives out of town and I work far from where I’m at and he bought her a...

Dad's Not on Board

Posted on 11/4/2018

Hi there, Susan Morley recently answered a question I posed concerning my son who has been caught with vape materials. She recommended strict consequences which I want to impose. His father,...

Strive

Posted on 9/26/2018

My step-daughter 14 has been telling her mom and dad on and off for years that she does not feel part of our household and wants to stay at her mom's house. This conversation usually starts up...

Entitled, Self-Centered 14 YO Boy

Posted on 9/17/2018

I have a question re. how to handle my son's awful behavior. He is 14 years old. His Father and I switched custody 6 months ago through mediation, following a lawsuit that my son requested because...

Strong willed v. needing leadership.

Posted on 9/7/2018

I'm a single mother of a strong-willed 6 years old daughter. Her Dad hasn't been around much. We divorced when my daughter was almost 2 yrs because of substance abuse. Recently, the paternal...

Grandma custody of 4yro

Posted on 8/3/2018

My 4 year old Grandson who has always lived with me seems to be having some new concerns regarding his Mom. His Mom, has not seen him since Christmas Day, and has not contacted me to do so. Yes,...

Husband files for divorce after wife takes a stand with teens.

Posted on 6/1/2018

Dear John Rosemond, I wrote in a while ago on putting the marriage first. I was never able to get my husband on board which indeed caused a great deal of strife in our family, especially with...

Telling 17yo daughter of Divorce

Posted on 5/27/2018

How do we tell our 17 yr old daughter, about the dad's decision to divorce. The difficult part for me,...we are Christians, and our issue, poor communications. How do I help, that she not feel...

Mom Needs Legal Advice

Posted on 5/19/2018

My 13 year old daughter and my ex-husband are currently a problem. My ex has taken her to a therapist without telling me for the last 3 years and we have joint legal and physcial custody. Our...

Moms

Posted on 5/8/2018

Have custody of a now, 4 year old Grandson. Mom abandoned him at about 18 months old, moved to Florida to make porn. Returned after that didn't work for her. My husband and I refused to allow...

Introducing Half Siblings

Posted on 4/13/2018

How do I introduce a half sister to a three year old child? He does not understand that Jj (father of both children) is even his Dad. Jj is not present in his life nor the sister's life. The...

Living at home or on campus for rebellious teen?

Posted on 4/12/2018

Our eldest is my step-daughter and she is graduating high school in May, and beginning a university program in town in summer. She has planned to live on campus, but is now feeling anxious and...

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