Posted on 12/4/2018
Q: Our 15-year-old daughter is very demanding and, to be honest, self-centered. One of the things she does is ask one of us for something and demand an instant decision, as in, “Can I go to the...
Read MorePosted on 10/16/2018
When I was a child, my most important possession was my bicycle, followed closely by my radio. My bike was how I got around. I rode it to school, friend’s houses, pick-up...
Read MorePosted on 5/1/2018
No question about it, the peer group exerts great influence on teenagers. From the way they dress to the way they carry their books, the stamp of peer pressure is upon them. If the influence is...
Read MorePosted on 2/21/2018
Q: When our daughter, an only child, turned thirteen and entered the 8th grade, it was like a switch was flipped. Almost overnight, she went from being a sweet, respectful and obedient child who...
Read MorePosted on 8/22/2017
Q: Our son attends first grade at the local public school. At the beginning of the school year, all the parents were basically told that we are expected to go to the school’s parent website every...
Read MorePosted on 4/11/2017
During my sophomore year at Proviso West High School in Hillside, Illinois, my guidance counselor, Mr. Gusloff, refused my request to take auto shop because I was, he said, college-bound and my...
Read MorePosted on 1/31/2017
Q: Our 15-year-old daughter has become, over the past year or so, quite a disruptive influence in our normally peaceful home. She was a gem until she entered high school when she almost overnight...
Read MorePosted on 1/18/2017
Q: I found a vaping pen hidden in my 13-year-old son's room and am at a loss as to how to deal with it. He is very susceptible to peer pressure and wants very badly to fit in with the "cool"...
Read MorePosted on 11/22/2016
Q: In last week’s column, you advised parents not to argue with teenagers. That’s fine and dandy advice, John, but you failed to tell your readers how to stay out of or end these arguments. For...
Read MorePosted on 11/15/2016
My advice to The Wall Street Journal, the only news source to which I subscribe: Stop trying to be all things to all people. Specifically, stop giving parenting advice. The latest attempt by...
Read MorePosted on 8/24/2016
Q: In a recent column, you advise that stepparents have complete disciplinary authority over all children who live in or visit the home, but do you feel the same policy should apply when the...
Read MorePosted on 6/9/2016
The depraved excepted, parents do not enjoy making children unhappy. Nevertheless, sometimes it is in a child's best interest that parents - while not deliberately trying to induce unhappiness -...
Read MorePosted on 6/7/2016
Q: While exploring your website, I ran across a column you wrote a while back about a 13-year-old who wanted a Mohawk haircut. You told the parents not to allow it, pointing out that if you give...
Read MorePosted on 1/12/2016
Q: My ex-husband and I have pretty much fifty-fifty custody of our 15-year-old son, who has become infected with his father’s disrespect for me. When he’s with me, he makes it very clear that he...
Read MorePosted on 11/17/2015
Copyright 2015, John K. Rosemond A recent caller to my syndicated radio show (Saturdays, 6 pm EST, American Family Radio) objected to advice I dispensed concerning a teenage girl...
Read MorePosted on 9/29/2015
Copyright 2015, John K. Rosemond Q: My 14-year-old son started public high school this year and immediately fell into his old bad habits. He’s intelligent and capable of making...
Read MorePosted on 6/2/2015
Copyright 2015, John K. Rosemond Q: Our 14-year-old daughter has difficulty controlling her anger. She has extreme outbursts fairly frequently here at home—screaming, cursing, and even...
Read MorePosted on 4/21/2015
Copyright 2015, John K. Rosemond Q: Our son is going to be 13 next year and we’re trying to be proactive about the coming storm. He’s been a good kid and relatively easy to raise to...
Read MorePosted on 3/3/2015
In the 1960s, child and teen mental health and behavior problems began an alarming rise that has continued to the present. In 1970, one of my grad school professors proposed that this trend could...
Read MorePosted on 2/24/2015
<b>Q: My 13-year-old son has developed overwhelming anxiety about going to school. This began a year ago, but has gotten steadily worse since then. At this point, he fights me every morning about...
Read MorePosted on 2/3/2015
Copyright 2015 John K. Rosemond Q: My twin boys just turned 13 and are demanding—that is the right word—later curfews. They tell us that their curfew, which is 8:30 on nights when there...
Read MorePosted on 1/13/2015
Copyright 2015, John K. Rosemond Teenagers are highly motivated by any opportunity to expand their freedom. More freedom is in fact THE MOST POWERFUL OF ALL MOTIVATORS for teens. I...
Read MorePosted on 9/30/2014
I’ve spoken at several conferences in the last year or so where presenters were opining on the subject of the teenage brain. Their thesis was that features of the so-called “teenage brain” are...
Read MorePosted on 9/2/2014
New research finds that teens whose school days begin later than the national norm of approximately eight o’clock achieve at higher levels than teens who start school earlier. The researchers in...
Read MorePosted on 8/5/2014
A mom recently asked me what I would say to my son if he was twelve years old and wanted a Mohawk haircut for the summer. I told her I’d say no. “But is it really that...
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 5/20/2014
Q: For the first five years of her life, it was just me and my now 13-year-old daughter. I didn’t have a clue as to what I was doing. I wasn’t consistent; I didn’t hold her accountable; I was an...
Read MorePosted on 5/6/2014
Q: Our 13-year-old daughter has a very bad attitude, mostly when it comes to our family. She stays in her room most of the time, reading, and only participates in family activities if we force...
Read MorePosted on 4/29/2014
Q: My 14-year-old son does not brush his teeth, except during the week before going to the dentist. He doesn't have any cavities, his breath is fine, his check-ups at the dentist are at the...
Read MorePosted on 4/8/2014
Q: Our 14-year-old son seems depressed-to us, at least. His principal sees no sign of depression but thinks he's socially anxious. The subjects of counseling and medication have come up. We have...
Read MorePosted on 4/1/2014
Q: My 14-year-old daughter says I don't trust her because unlike her best friend's parents, I won't allow her to stay home alone for several days while I go out of town. Her friend's parents do...
Read MorePosted on 1/28/2014
Q: Our 13-year-old son has had an iPod for the last 3 years. We've always made use of the parental restrictions to make sure that he could only access "clean" music, movies, and websites. When I...
Read MorePosted on 12/17/2013
Q: Over the past year, the relationship between our 14-year-old son and his sisters has deteriorated markedly and is causing major problems in our family. He won't speak to them and says he hates...
Read MorePosted on 10/22/2013
The "their biology makes them do it!" hypothesis concerning the oft-horrid behavior of today's teens keeps on rolling along, charming parents of said teens into the comforting belief that...
Read MorePosted on 10/6/2013
Kicking the child out of the Garden of Eden John's "Garden of Eden" statement: Other Q and A or articles about this method may be searched by using the keyword "Garden" Below is detailed...
Read MorePosted on 9/3/2013
The statute of limitations has expired concerning the following tale, so I can finally tell it. In October of my now 40-something year-old son Eric's seventh-grade year, he informed me...
Read MorePosted on 8/21/2012
Q: Our 13-year-old daughter has been mature for her age from early on. She takes advanced classes and makes straight A's. She's also very talented musically. We think, however, that she has become...
Read MorePosted on 8/23/2011
<i>As the new school year begins, it's time for me, once again, to make my perennial case against parental involvement in homework.</i> First, it is significant to note that as...
Read MorePosted on 3/29/2011
Teach teens cellphone manners A reader asks if I have ever written a column on texting while eating in restaurants. She writes: "Recently my husband and I observed a small group at a table near...
Read MorePosted on 3/8/2011
Hold fast to restrictions on slacker son Q. Our son, a 15-year-old high school sophomore, was an honor student until he got to high school and took up with kids who think good grades are...
Read MorePosted on 2/22/2011
A hidden abuse problem: Kids who assault parents One of the more heartbreaking consequences of the "psychological" parenting philosophy and style that American parents began adopting in the...
Read MorePosted on 7/13/2010
Dealing with poker Q: What do you think about a 13-year-old child playing poker with my kids, ages 8 and 9? Even though they weren't using money, I didn't think it was age-appropriate, so I...
Read MorePosted on 6/22/2010
Do right, even when kids do wrong A headstrong teen's bad decisions can test parents' resolve and confidence. Q: Our 13-year-old daughter recently told us that she wants to be like everyone...
Read MorePosted on 2/23/2010
Bed-wetting calls for checkup Q. My 13-year-old son still wets the bed, and I'm considering a bed-wetting alarm. Should I get a "pad" type or one that attaches to his underwear? A. At this...
Read MorePosted on 11/24/2009
Corrections: The following correction appeared after this story was published: A recent column in which I advised the parents of a teen to let him drop out of high school, get his GED, and join...
Read MorePosted on 10/27/2009
GIRLS NEED POSITIVE MALE ATTENTION IN LIVES Q. My 13-year- old daughter seems obsessed with boys. She will talk to a boy on the phone one time and then tell me that he's her new boyfriend....
Read MorePosted on 10/13/2009
MOM DISCIPLINES DAUGHTER, THEN DIVORCED DAD IGNORES IT Q. My 15-year-old daughter's grades have dropped this year, and I have taken away most of her privileges. But she spends a few nights a...
Read MorePosted on 7/7/2009
SEND GIRL TO BULLYING REHAB Q. Whenever our 11-year-old son has a friend over to play, our 15-year-old daughter interferes in ways that eventually reduce our son to tears. Mostly, she'll make...
Read MorePosted on 12/9/2008
PARENTS' HARD-LINE STANCE WILL SERVE THEIR SONS WELL Every so often, and usually just as I am about to resign myself to the folly of postmodern parenting, I run across a story involving parents...
Read MorePosted on 10/21/2008
GIVE OLDER CHILDREN SOME FREEDOM TO ROAM From the time I was 12, my parents would let me walk from our house in Westchester, Ill., to the bus stop five blocks away, catch a bus to the...
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