John's Articles
When Your Father Got Home
Posted on 2/28/2024
The most terrifying words a child of the baby boom generation ever heard: “I’m going to tell your father about this when he gets home.” Or, “Your father is not going to like it when I tell him...
Read More15 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 MoreWhy Hanna Sleeps With Us
Posted on 5/9/2023
My wife, Willie (nee Wilma), and I are the happy caretakers of a happy seventeen-month-old pure white toy schnauzer, Hanna. Hanna occupies the center of our attention. If you spent a day in our...
Read MoreChores for 3-Year-Olds? Yes!
Posted on 5/31/2022
Q: In certain of your books as well as your newspaper column, you have written that children as young as three should be doing daily chores around the home. Exactly what chores are reasonable for...
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 MoreMake the Marriage Top Priority in Family
Posted on 3/15/2022
Okay, I’ve had it! I’ve reached my limit! My tolerance for well-intentioned nonsense is kaput! Over and done with! Maxed out! Stop it! Just stop it! I’m referring to the...
Read MoreWith Parenting Young Adult Children, Less Is More
Posted on 8/3/2021
It seems to be generally true that as one gets older, the habit of reminiscing develops. Looking back seems to be a function of getting closer to the final curtain. The closer the latter, the more...
Read MoreAfter 45 Years, Still Advocating for Old-Fashioned Parenting
Posted on 1/12/2021
2021 marks the forty-fifth year I’ve been writing this column. I’ve been told it is the longest-running syndicated column written continuously by one author. That takes “Dear Abby” out of...
Read MoreThe Biggest Mistakes Parents Make (and How to Stop Making Them!) - Part 3
Posted on 2/19/2020
This concludes my three-part series on the Ten Biggest Mistakes Parents Make (and how to stop making them!). For the first two columns in the series, go to johnrosemond.com. The mistakes covered...
Read MoreWhat's in a Name?
Posted on 9/17/2019
Q: I want to legally change our daughter’s name. No one pronounces it correctly and I think it’s going to cause her more problems as she gets older. My husband doesn’t want to, however. He says...
Read MoreCo-Sleeping Is Detrimental to Marriage
Posted on 9/11/2019
A New York writer named Jonathan Daniel Stern, writing in the August 7, 2019, issue of the e-zine “Fatherly,” laments that co-sleeping has destroyed his marriage. As best as I can figure, Stern...
Read MoreOut With 'Parenting,' in With Child-Rearing
Posted on 1/29/2019
There is “parenting” and then there is bringing up, rearing, or raising children. The difference is night and day; so are the outcomes, short- and long-term, to all concerned, meaning every single...
Read MoreOne Reason Why Marriages Go Bad: Postnatal Marital Amnesia
Posted on 12/12/2018
Just about every marriage has its share of bad times; then again, some marriages simply go bad. The reasons for the latter include abuse, adultery, alcoholism (and other forms of chemical...
Read MoreFoundation to Parenting Begins With Marriage
Posted on 10/31/2018
In an opinion piece recently featured on FoxNews.com, Jonathan Pokluda explicates his Ten Habits of Extraordinary Parents. Pokluda, a teaching pastor at a mega-church in Texas, and his wife are in...
Read MorePutting Child First Can Ruin Marriage
Posted on 8/8/2018
Q: I am stepfather to my wife’s only child, age 8, from her first marriage. My wife always and in every way puts her son before our marriage. We went through counseling several years ago and...
Read MoreParents, Stop Trying to Referee Kids' Fights
Posted on 6/27/2018
Q: We have a boy, 6, and a girl, 9, who fight constantly about everything under the sun. My husband and I have a good marriage. We hardly ever have a serious disagreement about anything, so it’s...
Read More15-Year-Old Daughter Should Not Get Private Time With 20-Year-Old Boyfriend
Posted on 6/13/2018
Q: Our 15-year-old daughter has told us she’s in love with a 20-year-old guy who is in the Army and intending to make the Army his career. We’ve met him, and he is extremely respectful and...
Read MoreStepfamily or Just "Family"?
Posted on 11/7/2017
A journalist called me the other day wanting me to make some pithy, erudite comments on the subject of the so-called "stepfamily." I am eminently qualified, I propose, to remark on the subject...
Read MoreOvercoming Bad Parenting
Posted on 10/31/2017
I was standing in the lobby of an auditorium in which I’d just spoken, talking with a small group of attendees, when a 30-something woman took me aside and told me that her parents were bad role...
Read MorePutting Focus on Marriage is not Always Easy
Posted on 7/21/2017
Several years ago, during a break in a workshop I was conducting in Baton Rouge, La., a fellow approached me and said, "After reading you, we took your advice and put our marriage first. We are...
Read MoreUpside-Down, Inside-Out and Backwards Parent-View Disorder
Posted on 6/13/2017
Many of today’s parents suffer (and suffer they do, albeit a good number seem to feel their suffering is a sign of conscientious parenting) from what I call “upside-down, inside-out and backwards...
Read MoreChildren Need Adults Who Are Worthy of Being Paid Attention
Posted on 3/21/2017
Once again, a reader proves that parenting must be added to religion and politics as verboten subjects for polite conversation. A column I published back in December of 2016 went viral...
Read MoreHey, Moms: There's More to Life Than Raising Children
Posted on 3/8/2017
A couple of months ago, following a talk I gave in Georgia, a woman told me she had been offended by my many references to mothers who are enmeshed in their children's lives. These women, when...
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 MoreIn a Family, Parents' Relationship Comes First
Posted on 12/28/2016
I recently asked a married couple who have three kids, none of whom are yet teens, “Who are the most important people in your family?” Like all good moms and dads of this brave new...
Read MoreA Non-Argumentative Teen Is a Happy One
Posted 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 MoreStepparents Should Have Authority over Teens, Too
Posted 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 MoreStepfathers Must Have Complete Disciplinary Discretion
Posted on 8/2/2016
Q: The woman I’ve been dating—a single mom with two young boys—and I have decided to get married. My only reservation, and I’ve told her this, concerns the stepfather thing. I’m not clear and...
Read MoreRecipe for a 'Happy Child' a Simple One
Posted on 6/14/2016
I recently enjoyed the privilege of seeing and hearing radio talk-show host Dennis Prager speak on the topic of happiness. He only spoke for twenty minutes, but said more in that short span than...
Read MoreAlthough the World Is More Complex, There Is No Need for Parental Anxiety
Posted on 5/31/2016
“Puzzled Grandma in the South” recently wrote to “Dear Abby” asking “Why is there so much angst today over raising children, especially in young mothers?” Grandma has observed that moms of her...
Read MoreDon't Let Ex's Parenting Shortfalls Influence Your Parenting
Posted on 4/19/2016
Q: We are a struggling blended family. My husband has three children (ages 7, 12, 17) from a previous marriage. Their mother's home is focused on the easiest way of parenting. She allows...
Read MoreIt's Common Sense to Put Marriage First
Posted on 3/1/2016
I never cease to be amazed at the reactions people sometimes have to things I say. Most recently, a significant number of folks—women, all—were outraged over something I posted online: In a...
Read MoreParenting Disagreements Fracture More than Just Marriages
Posted on 1/19/2016
A journalist asks, “Why do today’s parents seem to be having so many more parenting difficulties than did parents of previous generations?” There is more than one answer to the question; or,...
Read MoreGrandparents Raising Grandson
Posted on 12/29/2015
Q: Our daughter died last year—long, sad story—leaving behind a 2-year-old boy. The father—not named on the birth certificate—is not and never has been a factor in the child’s life and gave us...
Read MoreA Q&A with John Rosemond
Posted on 10/13/2015
A composite of recent questions posed to me by journalists, along with my answers: Q: What is the biggest problem in American parenting? A: The marriage not lasting much past the...
Read MoreMore on Attachment Parenting
Posted on 8/18/2015
Copyright 2015, John K. Rosemond In a recent column, I referred to “attachment parenting babble,” which is to say, I called a spade a spade. The column in question concerned...
Read MoreMaking a Change
Posted on 8/4/2015
This is a story about how quickly parents, if they are determined enough, can make significant change in parenting policy. The family in question consists of two boys, ages 9 and 8,...
Read MorePerhaps There is Still Hope!
Posted on 4/29/2015
A list of some of the more memorable elements of pre-1960s parenting is in constant circulation on the Internet and is especially popular with people my age who can for obvious reasons relate. The...
Read MoreStaying on the Same Page
Posted on 5/27/2014
“How can my spouse and I get on the same page where the kids are concerned?” is both the most difficult question parents ask me and also the most important. It is the most difficult because each...
Read MoreFour Year Old Baby Talk
Posted 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 MoreOut of the Garden
Posted on 4/28/2014
Occasionally a behavior problem is so BIG that nothing short of what I call "nuclear discipline" will do. Your great-grandparents called it "lowering the boom." Regardless of terminology, the...
Read MoreGood Old Days
Posted on 8/6/2013
Sometimes, the so-called "good old days" really were better. For example, if the data is correct, then the state of parenting in America has been in slow but steady decline since the...
Read MoreRadical Parenting Philosophies
Posted on 6/18/2013
If my parents told me once, they told me at least one hundred times, "Don't talk to anyone about their religious or political beliefs." They meant, of course, that those topics are likely to...
Read MoreParenting Stone Age
Posted on 5/7/2013
When I was a child, back in the Parenting Stone Age (a.k.a. the Parentocentric Era), your parents were the most important people in the family. They paid the bills, bought your clothes, prepared...
Read More21-Year-Old Needs Walking Papers
Posted on 2/26/2013
Q: My husband and I have a 21-year-old daughter from his first marriage. She was suspended from college for bad grades and is waiting out her time until she can go back. Meanwhile, she works for...
Read More3 Year Old has bedtime problems
Posted on 1/22/2013
Q: For the past several weeks, our just-turned 3-year-old has been waking up and coming into our room at all hours of the night with the usual excuses. He's scared, hungry, thirsty, lonely, can't...
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 More17-Year-Old Girl Dating Issue
Posted on 11/1/2011
Daughter is 17, but dad forbids dating Q: My husband won't allow our 17-year-old daughter to date. She is an excellent student, very involved in activities at school and church, and has never...
Read MoreStepfamily or Just "Family"
Posted on 6/20/2011
A journalist called me the other day wanting me to make some pithy, erudite comments on the subject of the so-called "stepfamily." I am eminently qualified, I propose, to remark on the subject...
Read MoreStep-Family Recommendations
Posted on 6/7/2011
A stepfamily by any other name is a family A journalist called me the other day wanting me to comment on the subject of the "stepfamily." I was raised in one, although it was not called a...
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