John's Articles
15 New Year's Resolutions for Parents
Posted on 1/1/2024
<b>Given that the new year is upon us, I'm proposing a number of parenting resolutions for my readers to consider. The list is by no means comprehensive. It's just a good beginning on what is...
Read MoreDon't Enable Entitled Teen
Posted on 4/19/2022
A recent online article concerned a mom who refused to pay her teenage daughter for doing household chores. A poll of readers found that an overwhelming majority of them agreed with the...
Read MoreIn Defense of ‘Because I Said So'
Posted on 2/1/2022
Q: Concerning chores, another expert recommends giving a child a certain number of chips, like poker chips, every month and if he or she fails to do a chore or doesn’t do it properly, you take a...
Read MoreKeep It Simple With Your Kids During Quarantine
Posted on 4/14/2020
One website is titled “How to Cope with Kids During Coronavirus.” Another, featuring a staged photo of an obviously frazzled mom with a toddler on her lap, tells the reader that “Parents are...
Read MoreThe Biggest Mistakes Parents Make (and How to Stop Making Them!) - Part 2
Posted on 2/11/2020
This is the second in a series of three columns on the Biggest Mistakes Parents Make (and How to Stop Making Them!). Last week, I identified giving children explanations for parental instructions,...
Read MoreToday's Parents Afraid Kids Won't Like Them
Posted on 8/13/2019
Short questions I’ve been asked of late (mostly by journalists) and proportionately short answers: Q: Is there a single most important thing parents should be teaching during their children’s...
Read MoreThe Children-Need-Lots-Of-Attention Myth
Posted on 1/22/2019
One of the more difficult facts for today’s parents, as a rule, to wrap their heads around is the…I’ll say it again, with emphasis…FACT that children do not need (as a general rule) a lot of...
Read MoreHome Alone: Is Your Child Ready?
Posted on 3/9/2017
For some folks, the phrase "latchkey child" rings of parental neglect. Yet, unlike in the movies, most kids who are left unattended in an empty house do just fine, emotionally and otherwise....
Read MoreA Guide to Kids and Chores
Posted on 1/27/2017
<b><i>Household jobs will help your kids master the mechanics of running a home, and the skills needed for responsible living. Here's how to get them started and encourage their...
Read MoreParenting 101
Posted on 1/9/2017
<i><b>Welcome to Parenting 101. Upon passing this course, you will have acquired what it takes to raise children who are mannerly, self-disciplined and do their best in school. As you will see,...
Read MoreHow We Got Our Children to Do Chores
Posted on 5/17/2016
This is the absolutely true story of how Willie and I took two children who "would not lift a finger around the house'' and removed them from Family Welfare: When our children, Eric and Amy,...
Read MoreReclaiming Parent Leadership
Posted on 5/12/2016
Things have really changed now that parenting has turned into a project focused on deep (theoretical) psychological qualities. Parenting used to be about children's values, character, and...
Read More'No' Is Best Answer When Mom and Dad Disagree on Parenting Issue
Posted on 3/15/2016
Q: Is three hours of one sport once a week too much for a 7-year-old? This sport meets from 6 - 9 PM. It is nearly 10 PM before child is in bed (as opposed to usual 8:30 bedtime). My husband...
Read MoreToday's Grandparent's Deserve Well-Behaved Grandchildren
Posted on 2/23/2016
A recent article on grandparenting.com says that many baby boomers are experiencing difficulties in their relationships with adult children, including “not enough time together, not enough regular...
Read MoreShould You Pay Your Child to Do Chores?
Posted on 5/5/2015
A major US newspaper recently ran a piece detailing all the ways children benefit from doing chores. Well, not all the ways. They failed to mention the most important benefit: chores, properly...
Read MoreNot All Outcomes Are Equal
Posted on 2/17/2015
Copyright 2015, John K. Rosemond Equality under the law is a uniquely American principle, one that no freedom-loving person would oppose, but the manner in which said principle is...
Read MoreThe Ticket System for Corrective Discipline
Posted on 4/28/2014
I developed "Tickets" in response to the observation that time-out only works with children who are already fairly well behaved. (Then again, just about any demonstration of parental disapproval...
Read MoreUnconditional Love and Unequivocal Leadership
Posted on 8/7/2012
In the late 1960s, as psychologist B. F. Skinner's behavior modification theory made the jump from academia into popular culture, the focus in child rearing shifted from molding character to...
Read MoreStep-Family Issues: Parent From the Marriage
Posted on 11/15/2011
How to 'parent from the marriage' Q: Several years ago, I married a widower who never disciplined his children. They are now 9, 14 and 16 and he still has a very difficult time denying them...
Read More15 Resolutions For Parents
Posted on 1/4/2011
15 resolutions for parents Given that this is the first column of a new year, I'm proposing a number of parenting New Year's Resolutions for my readers to consider. The list is by no means...
Read MoreHigh Self Esteem
Posted on 9/21/2010
Spare the praise and save our civilization The notion that adults should do all they possibly can to advance the self-esteem of children is dying a slow but, we hope, unavoidable...
Read MoreGrowing Up in the 1950s
Posted on 8/31/2010
What today's kids are missing What do today's children seriously lack that children in the 1950s and before enjoyed in abundance? To assist the reader in figuring out the answer before it is...
Read MoreMore Parents Saying Yes to No
Posted on 3/10/2009
A POSITIVE SIGN: MORE PARENTS SAYING 'YES' TO 'NO' While walking through one of my favorite discount stores the other day, I happened upon a scene that gave me hope for America's future. It was...
Read MoreParenting 101: More Chores, Less Electronics
Posted on 12/2/2008
MORE CHORES, LESS TV GOOD FOR KIDS This is the conclusion of Parenting 101, a two-part overview of the fundamentals of parenting. We've established that parenting is about leadership and...
Read More4-Year-Old Boy Hitting Others at Preschool
Posted on 11/18/2008
KIDS WHO HURT OTHERS NEED TO BE STOPPED Q. Our 4-year-old son is hitting others at preschool and has to spend the afternoon in his room for this. In soccer, he's pushing kids down and tripping...
Read MoreSiblings Sharing Rooms
Posted on 8/28/2007
WANT YOUR KIDS TO GET ALONG? HAVE THEM SHARE A ROOM The question of whether or not children should share rooms came up on my Web site the other day, causing me to realize that in 31-plus...
Read MoreAre All Teens Crazy?
Posted on 2/27/2007
Are teenagers basically nuts? Michael J. Bradley thinks so. An educational psychologist and therapist, Bradley's the author of "Yes, Your Teen is Crazy! Loving Your Kid Without Losing Your Mind."...
Read More10 Ways Parents Can Raise Well-Adjusted Kids
Posted on 7/11/2006
<b>How to grow a happy child, part one:</b> If you are married, have a more active relationship with one another than you have with your children. Spend more time in the roles of husband and wife...
Read MoreVideo Game Issue
Posted on 6/6/2006
THINK VIDEO GAMES ARE OK? LISTEN TO THIS MOM'S STORY When video games first came out, I warned my readers that they were not appropriate for children. I maintained they were not games; rather,...
Read MoreChild Needs to be Family Team Player
Posted on 12/13/2005
YOUR CHILD'S MOST IMPORTANT 'TEAM' IS THE FAMILY A father recently told me one reason his 10-year-old son was active in a different sport every season was "he needs to learn how to be a...
Read MorePaying Children for Chores and Treating Adults with Respect
Posted on 7/19/2005
QUESTION'S RIDICULOUS, BUT I'LL ANSWER IT ANYWAY I LIKE CHILDREN - WHEN THEY BEHAVE AND TREAT ADULTS WITH RESPECT Most Ridiculous Item of the Week: Someone recently asked me if I like...
Read MoreParents Should be Leaders, not Pals
Posted on 4/5/2005
PARENTS SHOULD REAR KIDS, NOT BE PALS These days it seems that the more things change in parenting, the more they keep right on changing. For example Today's parents are trying to...
Read More5-Year-Old Needs to Occupy Self
Posted on 10/7/2003
SHOW KIDS THEY'RE SMART ENOUGH TO OCCUPY THEMSELVES Q: I'm a single mom who works full-time from home. At noon, I pick up my 5-year-old from her half-day kindergarten program. Unfortunately,...
Read MoreChidren Will Change When Their Behavior Causes Them to Become Upset (Babysitting Story)
Posted on 2/25/2003
SOMETIMES A 'SHRUG' GETS RESULTS Every so often, I run across a story that qualifies for inclusion in my growing "Parenting at its Best" collection. These "bests" almost always involve...
Read MoreAllowances and Alternating Chores
Posted on 7/10/2001
GIVE KIDS CHORES TO LEARN, NOT TO EARN Q. Two questions: In a recent column, you encouraged the practice of children doing chores and advised that parents not pay for this work. Are you...
Read MoreParents Disagree on Paying Children for Chores
Posted on 6/26/2001
KIDS SHOULD DO CHORES WITHOUT EXPECTING PAY Q. My husband and I disagree over paying children for chores. He feels that just as we get paid for doing our jobs, children should be paid for...
Read More9- and 12-Year-Old Don't Want to do Chores
Posted on 2/13/2001
NAGGING IS WRONG TACTIC IN CHORE WARS Q. Our 12-year-old son and 9-year-old daughter share animal chores on our family farm in the evenings. Every night we have to remind them, and they always...
Read MoreAfter-School Activities
Posted on 1/25/2000
BEST AFTER-SCHOOL ACTIVITIES TAKE PLACE AT HOME Q. I read the recent column in which you called on parents to take their kids out of all after-school activities. I couldn't help but wonder...
Read MoreChores Make Child Useful Within the Family
Posted on 1/13/1998
CHORES BUILD YOUR CHILD'S COMPETENCE AND CHARACTER Colonial children were initiated into the adult world early, but not in a hasty or harsh manner. From the age of 3 or so they were given...
Read MoreToday's Teens are More Prone to Serious Problems Than in Years Past
Posted on 5/27/1997
TEENS AND PARENTS AREN'T WHAT THEY ONCE WERE Q. Every week it seems, I hear yet another horror story about a teen-ager who's gone "off the deep end.'' In many cases, these are kids whose...
Read MoreGood Parenting Requires Sacrifice
Posted on 3/13/1997
I'M A LOVING DISCIPLINARIAN, NOT A NAZI I've noticed that journalists often conceal an inability to think dispassionately about a given subject by engaging in prose that is "cute.'' Such...
Read MoreHow To Make Children Do Chores
Posted on 11/21/1996
<i>This is the absolutely true story of how Willie and I took two children who "would not lift a finger around the house'' and removed them from Family Welfare:</i> When our children, Eric and...
Read MoreUnderstanding and Successfully Managing Your Teen-Ager - Part 4
Posted on 5/2/1996
MUZZLING THE EFFECTS OF PEER PRESSURE EDITOR'S NOTE: Fourth in a series on teen-agers. Q. Every week, it seems, I hear another horror story about a teen-ager who's gone "off the deep...
Read More8- and 10-Year-Old Forgetting Chores
Posted on 1/18/1996
TO HELP KIDS REMEMBER TO DO CHORES, POST THEM ON A SCHEDULE Q. We've tried various forms of punishment to get our children, ages 10 and 8, to remember their chores. But nothing works. We find...
Read MoreFirst Grandchild
Posted on 1/13/1995
NOT TO BRAG, BUT LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT MY NEW GRANDSON My grandson, John McHenry Rosemond, was born at 7 a.m. on New Year's Day. I know all grandparents - especially those who, like my wife...
Read MoreAllowances - Part 1
Posted on 8/5/1994
ALLOWANCES TEACH HOW TO SPEND, SAVE FIRST OF THREE PARTS For whatever reason, parents have asked me a lot of questions lately about allowances. I've decided to cash in on this surge of...
Read MoreTeacher Concerned About High Number of ADD Students
Posted on 7/15/1994
IS ATTENTION DISORDER FOR REAL? INSTEAD OF GENETICS, IT MAY BE UPBRINGING Q. As a teacher, I'm increasingly concerned about the number of children being identified as having attention...
Read MoreThoughts on Parenthood - Part 2
Posted on 2/18/1994
CHILDREN NEED TO LEARN THE 3 R'S: RESPECT, RESPONSIBILITY, RESOURCEFULNESS More musings on parenthood: * Children need a lot of supervision, but not a lot of attention. Too much attention, like...
Read More15-Year-Old on Phone All the Time
Posted on 3/20/1992
WHAT TO DO FOR A 15-YEAR-OLD'S SERIOUS CASE OF PHONE EAR Q. We have a 15-year-old daughter who, if allowed, would stay on the phone in her room all day and night. When we propose regulations,...
Read More8- and 10-Year-Old Chore Issues
Posted on 4/22/1990
WHEN CHORES ARE KID STUFF, A LITTLE ORGANIZING HELPS Q. We've tried various forms of punishment, including restriction and deducting money from their allowances, to get our children, ages 10...
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