Posted on 8/18/2020
Q: We have a five-year-old who obsesses about dying. This has been going on for six months, ever since a child in the neighborhood died of a congenital genetic condition. Our son knew the boy and...
Read MorePosted on 3/12/2019
Q: My 5-year-old has had eating issues since he was an infant. When I introduced solid food at six months, he began rejecting most vegetables. His feeding problems have worsened since then to the...
Read MorePosted on 8/28/2018
It has long been known, but only spoken of in hushed tones by university professors sitting in darkened rooms wearing Fat Elvis masks, that pre-Kindergarten “jump-start” (aka, “push-down”)...
Read MorePosted on 6/7/2017
Q: Our 4-year-old prefers solitary play over play with other children. It’s been this way from early on when I began arranging play dates for him. When those really didn’t work, I enrolled him in...
Read MorePosted on 12/21/2016
Q: Our 5-year-old has suddenly started waking up with nightmares. He's not able to describe them with any clarity, however, so we don't know what the content of them is. The most he's able to...
Read MorePosted on 9/20/2016
Q: Over the past year or so, our 5-year-old has developed an extreme fear of going to the doctor or dentist. This came on suddenly, without a precipitating incident. The crying begins when we...
Read MorePosted on 8/16/2016
Q: We are looking for a private school for our 4-year-old. Regardless of the school we ultimately choose, we want to keep him there through eighth grade at least. We live in an suburban area so...
Read MorePosted on 7/14/2015
Copyright 2015, John K. Rosemond Q: Our 4-year-old daughter will not eat dinner, no matter what. At most, she takes a few bites of what I fix and then says she doesn’t like it. This has...
Read MorePosted on 3/10/2015
Copyright 2015, John K. Rosemond Q: About six months ago, our four-year old daughter began complaining of being afraid to be alone at bedtime. Upon questioning, she told us she was...
Read MorePosted on 12/16/2014
Q: I’ve been trying for two months with little to no success to get your “ticket” system to work on my 4-year-old daughter. The target behaviors are ignoring me when I tell her to do...
Read MorePosted on 11/25/2014
Courtesy of my friend and parent coach Janet Carter (www.ourchildishways.com), comes an interesting story: The parents of a 4-year-old girl went to a preschool parent conference to...
Read MorePosted on 8/19/2014
Q: Our 5-year-old grandson sees his 5-year-old female first cousin from time to time. After they play for a while, he tells her he wants to “touch” her. This has happened twice in recent...
Read MorePosted on 7/8/2014
Q: The "sassiness" that I have heard so much about from my friends started a few months ago with my 5-year-old daughter. She will say things to me that I actually find myself tongue-tied on how or...
Read MorePosted on 6/3/2014
I recently asked a group of 50 teachers: “Raise your hand if you agree that when a child comes to an adult asking for help with an academic problem, the adult should help.” ...
Read MorePosted on 5/13/2014
Q: For the past few months, our usually compliant 4-year-old son has been having problems with defiant behavior at school. He often refuses to do what he is told by the teacher. What concerns us...
Read MorePosted on 4/29/2014
Q: Our 4-year-old son (middle child with older and younger sisters) frequently uses "baby talk". It doesn't seem to be a way of seeking attention, because when we ask him to repeat in his "big...
Read MorePosted on 4/28/2014
Shortly after I finished graduate school, a friend of mine shared with me a book called Indirect Hypnosis, written by Milton Erickson, a most unorthodox psychiatrist if ever there was one....
Read MorePosted on 3/25/2014
Q: Our 4-year-old daughter has a huge problem with being laughed at. She loves to be goofy and do funny things but as soon as someone, including one of us, laughs at her she becomes upset. She...
Read MorePosted on 3/11/2014
Q: My 6-year-old son is a bright and friendly kindergartner. Each day a color coded chart is sent home about his behavior. This year he's gone through several spells during which he will have a...
Read MorePosted on 2/11/2014
Q: My 5-year-old is the youngest of my 3 children. Her older boy/girl twin siblings clearly outshine her athletically. They're already very skilled at wakeboarding and snow skiing, for example. I...
Read MorePosted on 2/4/2014
Q: I have 3 kids ages 8, 6, and 4. I need help solving the "pick up the playroom" dilemma. When an area in which they've been playing needs to be picked up and straightened, the 8-year-old always...
Read MorePosted on 12/3/2013
Q: My 5-year-old son is an only child whom I homeschool. He talks back, argues, and generally wears me down. I need help getting to him to realize that no is no, that I mean what I say. I know I'm...
Read MorePosted on 11/19/2013
The mother of a 4-year-old boy shared an interesting story with me the other day. At age 2, her son began chewing meat to the point where it became liquid, but would not swallow. The parents...
Read MorePosted on 10/8/2013
Q: My 5-year-old daughter has developed a bad habit of arguing with me whenever I refuse her something, anything. Believe me when I tell you she is relentless. She will continue to argue until...
Read MorePosted on 8/13/2013
Q: My 5-year-old is going to Kindergarten soon and still sucks her thumb. We've tried everything to get her to stop, even a dental appliance, but she won't give it up. Do you have a solution for...
Read MorePosted on 6/25/2013
Q: Help! We find it almost impossible to finish a restaurant meal when our 18-month-old twins are along, which is always. We give them toys to keep them busy, and they do well for about 30 minutes...
Read MorePosted on 1/1/2013
Q: Our son is in Kindergarten at a small private school. Most of the children in his class are boys. From the beginning, he's been somewhat of a behavior problem. Each time we get a notice from...
Read MorePosted on 12/25/2012
Q: My 5-year-old daughter loves to play with other kids her age, but has not yet asked me to invite any of her school friends over for a play date. According to her teacher, she's a bit shy but...
Read MorePosted on 12/18/2012
Q: Our son started full-day kindergarten in September. For the first three months he had no problem with his behavior at school, but for the past few weeks he has gotten in trouble for talking,...
Read MorePosted on 8/14/2012
Q: My oldest child starts kindergarten soon. I know there will be the class and/or bus bully who will cause her some distress, whether directly or indirectly. I want to know how to handle it...
Read MorePosted on 6/21/2011
Stick with the tickets and stay on track Q: Using the "ticket method" you have described, I began my 4-year-old daughter's rehabilitation program this week. When she loses all five of her...
Read MorePosted on 6/14/2011
Children at funerals? Q: My father-in-law has about one month to live. Should our children - ages 7, 5 and 2 - attend the funeral or viewing? A. Sit down with the older two children,...
Read MorePosted on 5/31/2011
Boy doesn't like playing with unfamiliar children Q. My son will be 4 years old in a couple of months. He is having problems playing and relating to groups of kids in social situations. For...
Read MorePosted on 5/10/2011
Ill-behaved child = thoughtless parents Q. Our 4-year-old is fairly well-behaved, but her best friend is definitely not. We just got back from a weekend trip with that family, and I was...
Read MorePosted on 4/5/2011
I'm-growing-up list for neediness Q: My daughter, who is 5, relies on me far too much. All through the day, she asks me to do simple things for her like get her a glass of water or help her put...
Read MorePosted on 3/29/2011
Tantrums halted And now, on to a more uplifting topic: Several weeks ago, a mom wrote complaining that her 4-year-old daughter would not wear the clothes picked out the night before, even if...
Read MorePosted on 2/15/2011
Q. Our 4-year-old daughter is constantly correcting her 9-year-old brother. She tells him - to use a recent example - that he's making noise when he drinks something, then proceeds to show him how...
Read MorePosted on 1/25/2011
Sassy obedience Q: When I give my 5-year-old daughter an instruction of some sort or other, she does what I tell her to do, but not without some amount of "lip." She'll mutter under her breath...
Read MorePosted on 11/23/2010
Locked in her room Q: I don't require our 4-year-old to take a nap, but I do make her stay in her room for an hour after lunch. The problem is that while she's in there, she dismantles her...
Read MorePosted on 10/12/2010
Preschool without shame? What a pity The National Association for the Education of Young Children and I don't see eye to eye on many things - maybe anything. We don't even agree on a definition...
Read MorePosted on 8/17/2010
Many preschools go about it all wrong Q. Our 4-year-old grandson is enrolled in a pre-kindergarten class where all the kids are beginning to learn to read and write. The problem is that he...
Read MorePosted on 7/6/2010
Phonics is best way to begin teaching reading Q: Our son was already registered for junior kindergarten before we became aware that you believe in phonic-based reading instruction. He will be 5...
Read MorePosted on 7/6/2010
Facts of life Q: I'm pregnant with our second child, which has raised all sorts of questions for our daughter, who just turned 5. Her questions include, "How did the baby get in your tummy?"...
Read MorePosted on 5/25/2010
Sensory processing disorder might not be real condition On their website (www.spdfoundation.net), the Sensory Processing Disorder Foundation defines SPD (also known as Sensory Integration...
Read MorePosted on 5/11/2010
Skip the drama on kid's theatrics Q: Our normally very obedient 5-year-old son flat out refuses to get on stage and sing at his preschool's musical. At last year's musical, he made a huge scene...
Read MorePosted on 3/2/2010
Watch mom going batty over 'watch me' requests Q. Shortly after our second child was born a year ago, my 4-year-old son began asking me to stop what I'm doing - usually something with the baby...
Read MorePosted on 2/23/2010
If child is hungry, give healthy snacks Q. My almost 4-year-old daughter asks for food constantly. I can't tell if this is a boredom thing or an attention thing, but regardless I am unsure how...
Read MorePosted on 2/16/2010
Siblings can't bicker if they're not together Q. My 7- and 4-year-old daughters play together all day long, but the play is punctuated every few minutes with bickering of the "I'm telling!" and...
Read MorePosted on 2/9/2010
It's always one step at a time with 4-year-olds Q. My 4-year-old is just plain messy. I expect her to help out around the house, and she does, but she rarely finishes a chore. If I ask her to...
Read MorePosted on 12/22/2009
Question of the Week: The mother of a preschool boy asks if and how she should discipline him when he is suffering one of his recurrent ear infections. The youngster is generally well-behaved, but...
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