John's Articles

Kindergartener with Attitude and Sassy Talk

Posted on 2/6/2007

Little Jekyll and Hyde Q: Every morning, I send my sweet, well-behaved son to kindergarten and every evening I face a teenager. When I tell him to do or stop doing something, he gives me an...

4-Year-Old in Power Struggle with Teacher

Posted on 1/16/2007

4-YEAR-OLD MAY BE TANGLED IN POWER STRUGGLE WITH TEACHER Q: Is it appropriate for a preschool teacher to punish a somewhat shy 4-year-old child for not singing during the music lesson? My...

Toddler/Preschool Classes

Posted on 1/9/2007

ALL THOSE CLASSES FOR TOTS WON'T TEACH WHAT REALLY MATTERS Q: In my hometown, various enrichment programs for children under 3 are proliferating. A 2-year-old can take ballet, music, yoga, or...

3-Year-Old Going to Preschool

Posted on 1/2/2007

TODDLERS WHO DON'T GO TO PRESCHOOL UNLIKELY TO FALL BEHIND THEIR PEERS Q: At what age do you think children should start going to preschool? My son is going on 3, and he is home with me. I...

Toddler Tantrums

Posted on 12/12/2006

TODDLER'S TANTRUMS RUIN THE MORNING Q: My daughter skipped the terrible twos and is now going through the even more terrible threes. The worst part of it is her behavior in the morning. When...

5- and 2-Year-Old Boys Won't Take Naps

Posted on 12/5/2006

NOW THAT THEY'RE BUNKING TOGETHER, THEY WON'T TAKE NAPS Q: My almost 5- and 2-year-old boys recently moved to a bunk bed to be in the same room. I'm delighted that they have a wonderful...

5-Year-Old Enforced Naptime at School

Posted on 10/10/2006

Enforced naptime Q: My 5-year-old son started kindergarten this year. He is an active, inquisitive boy who has not taken a nap in three years. However, the school enforces a 45-minute naptime....

Grandma Giving Gifts to Grandchildren

Posted on 8/22/2006

LET GRANDMA ENJOY THE FUN OF BRINGING GIFTS FOR THE CHILDREN Q: Should I stop my mom from giving my three preschool kids presents every time she visits? She is usually here once a month for...

5-Year-Old Annoying Habit

Posted on 8/1/2006

TELL 5-YEAR-OLD HER HABIT ANNOYS YOU Q: My 5-year-old has been sucking her thumb since she was 2 months old. The problem is she likes to touch faces when she's doing it. She will snuggle up to...

5-Year-Old Fear of School

Posted on 2/7/2006

SON'S FEAR OF BUS IS GENUINE, BUT HE CAN CONQUER HIS TERROR Q: My 5-year-old son was so nervous on the first day of kindergarten that he threw up shortly after getting there. Since then, he...

4-Year-Old Agressive toward Younger Sibling

Posted on 1/24/2006

PARENT NEEDS TO ACT DECISIVELY TO END OLDER BROTHER'S ATTACKS Q: My 4-year-old is very aggressive toward his 30-month-old brother. I don't think he's completely to blame for their conflicts,...

Boys' Gun Games Usually Harmless

Posted on 11/29/2005

BOYS' GUN GAMES USUALLY HARMLESS Q: A while back, the boys from next door (ages 6 and 8) began inviting my 5-year-old son to play good guys/bad guys and "war" with them. Initially the games...

Effective Way to Teach Children to Share

Posted on 11/8/2005

Q: What's the most effective way to get young children, ages 2 and 3, to share, and what should I do when not sharing escalates into violence? I work in a day-care center and this is my biggest...

4-Year-Old Being Disruptive at Naptime

Posted on 9/27/2005

STOP NEGOTIATING WITH 'MR. DISRUPTIVE' FORMULA FOR SOLVING NAP-TIME TROUBLE WORKS FOR OTHER PROBLEMS, TOO Q: My sons are 4 and 2. After lunch, I put the youngest to bed for a nap, wait until...

4-Year-Old Twins Sleep and Socialization Issues

Posted on 8/16/2005

BEDTIME BEDLAM MAY STEM FROM PARENTS, NOT KIDS Q: My twin 4-year-old boys, who get along wonderfully, share a bedroom. They go to bed quite cooperatively, but they talk to each other and ask...

Toilet Training Myths

Posted on 8/9/2005

TOILET TRAINING MYTHS TO IGNORE As some of my readers already know, I have declared all-out war on the absurd, destructive idea - promoted by a good number of pediatricians and mental...

No Delay in Toilet Training

Posted on 7/26/2005

THERE'S NOT A GOOD REASON TO DELAY TOILET TRAINING My recent column on early toilet training prompted a good amount of reader response, both pro and con. Not surprisingly, the older the...

5-Year-Old Friendship Drama

Posted on 6/7/2005

WHEN PRESCHOOL IMITATES REALITY TV Q: At my 5-year-old daughter's preschool, several girls, including my daughter, have been competing with one another for one specific girl's friendship. It...

5-Year-Old Play Time

Posted on 6/7/2005

Kidding about 'kid time' Q: I am the mother of a 5-year-old son. Because our neighborhood has very few children, he has attended part-time preschool since he was 3. We are concerned that he is...

4-Year-Old Transitioning to Pre-K Program

Posted on 5/24/2005

Be confident in your decision Q: We recently moved our 4-year-old daughter to a new pre-K program. The first couple of weeks were fine, but now she cries and doesn't want to go. She attends...

Parent Should Focus More on Manners Than Reading for 4-Year-Old

Posted on 3/1/2005

ABCS? PARENTS SHOULD FOCUS MORE ON P'S AND Q'S Through my Web site (www.rosemond.com), a mother recently asked my opinion of teaching her 4-year-old son to read. The child had not expressed...

Too Many Choices for 4-Year-Old

Posted on 2/8/2005

DON'T GIVE A YOUNG CHILD TOO MANY CHOICES Q: When presented with a choice, our 4-year-old son has started asking, "Well, if you were me, what would you do?" If we don't give him the answer...

5-Year-Old Picky Eater

Posted on 1/18/2005

The picky eater A mother recently asked my advice about a 5-year-old picky eater. She wrapped up her description of the child's bad manners (that's what so-called "picky eating" is, after...

5-Year-Old Saying Disrespectful Comments about Parents

Posted on 1/18/2005

See no evil, hear no evil A 5-year-old girl, when sent to her room for punishment, can be heard talking about her parents in highly disrespectful language. The father asked what they...

Should Parent Tell 5-Year-Old He Was Conceived out of Wedlock?

Posted on 1/4/2005

Q: When should we tell our 5-year-old son that he was conceived out of wedlock, and how should we tell him? A That you think this is something you ever need to tell your son is borne of the...

7-Year-Old Homework Issue and 5-Year-Old Discipline Issue

Posted on 12/28/2004

LEAVING CHILD BEHIND NEVER PROPER INSTEAD OF PRETENDING TO DRIVE OFF AS PUNISHMENT, PULL PRIVILEGES LATER ON Q: Yesterday, while I was helping my 7-year-old daughter review for her spelling...

4- and 8-Year-Old Unruly

Posted on 11/30/2004

UNRULINESS IS REACTION TO STRESS IN THE FAMILY Q: My husband and I have a 4-year-old boy and an 8-year-old girl. They both whine and cry when they do not get their way and do not seem to think...

5- and 9-Year-Old Siblings Fighting over Toys

Posted on 11/16/2004

USE TIMER TO SOLVE FIGHTS OVER TOYS Q: My two daughters, ages 5 and 9, are generally quite good about playing together and sharing their toys. However, it is almost inevitable that when one of...

4-Year-Old Pulling Her Hair Out

Posted on 10/26/2004

WHEN IS A DISORDER NOT A DISORDER? Are today's "experts" sometimes guilty of impulsive diagnosis-dispensing disorder (DDD)? That question came to mind in the wake of a column I recently wrote...

1st Grade Jealousy

Posted on 10/5/2004

New friends and jealousy Q: Last year my daughter Trisha was best friends with another girl in her kindergarten class. This year, they are not in the same class but they still enjoy occasional...

Potty-Training

Posted on 9/28/2004

POTTY-TRAINING NOT MUCH TRICKIER THAN SPOON-TRAINING A journalist recently asked me whether it was better to "push" children as young as 2 to learn to use the toilet or wait until they decide...

4-Year-Old Misbehaving in Public

Posted on 9/21/2004

HERE'S TICKET TO REDUCING 4-YEAR-OLD'S MISBEHAVIOR Q: Inevitably, when we take our 4-year-old into a store or restaurant, he begins misbehaving. How do you discipline a child when the eyes of...

Hair-Pulling and Head-Banging

Posted on 8/17/2004

CALL CHILD'S BLUFF ON HAIR-PULLING WHEN SHE'S NO LONGER THE CENTER OF ATTENTION, SHE'LL PROBABLY STOP Some time ago, the parents of a 4-year-old girl asked for my thoughts on why their...

4-Year-Old Constantly Asking Questions

Posted on 7/20/2004

TEACH CHILD WHEN NOT TO ASK QUESTIONS FINDING OWN ANSWERS IS IMPORTANT STEP IN LEARNING HOW TO THINK Q: I am a teacher of 4-year-olds in a private pre-K program. In my college child...

4-Year-Old Cries When Dropped Off at Preschool

Posted on 5/25/2004

DON'T OVERREACT TO CHILD'S CRYING JAG Q: My best friend's 4-year-old daughter is currently in her third year at the same half-day preschool. The first two years were fine, but she has lately...

4- and 7-Year-Olds Can't Play Nice with Cousins

Posted on 4/27/2004

LET BOYS TAKE TURNS; THEY'LL FIGURE IT OUT Q: My two sons are 7 and 4. When their cousins, who are the same ages, come over, they all go down into our basement to play. Invariably, within 30...

5-Year-Old Should Entertain Self

Posted on 4/13/2004

5-YEAR-OLD SHOULD ENTERTAIN SELF Q: My 5-year-old son is a real people person. Several times a week he cries because he wants someone to play with him. I set aside 30-45 minutes each day to...

5-Year-Old Outbursts

Posted on 3/30/2004

DON'T WORRY ABOUT STOMPING Q: Our 5-year-old son, when he doesn't get his way or is told to do something he doesn't want to do, will sometimes give the floor or table one quick pound of the...

Defiant 4-Year-Old

Posted on 3/9/2004

DEFIANT CHILD NEEDS DOSE OF 'TICKETS' Q: I need help with my 4-year-old daughter. She is our second child and a major handful. As I write this letter she is in her room for the day, due to...

Siblings Create a Mess in Their Rooms

Posted on 2/24/2004

TOLERATE CREATIVE KIDS' MESSES Q: My husband and I have three boys, ages 4, 5, and 8. The two younger ones share a room that looks like "tornado alley." They color, play with Legos, tear up...

5-Year-Old Bad Dreams

Posted on 2/10/2004

HELP 5-YEAR-OLD CONQUER BAD DREAMS Q: My 5-year-old daughter has occasional bad dreams. She can go weeks without one and then have them once or twice a night for two weeks in a row. She's on a...

Too Many Consequences for 5-Year-Old

Posted on 1/6/2004

Q: The other evening, while playing a racing game, my 5-year-old began getting upset because he was not winning, so I shut off the game. At that point, he went absolutely ballistic, screaming that...

5-Year-Old Wants to be Bigger and Older

Posted on 12/30/2003

LET 5-YEAR-OLD FIX HER OWN PROBLEM Q: Our 5-year-old daughter has a slightly older playmate. Since the relationship formed, our daughter talks almost constantly about wanting to be bigger and...

Toilet Training Must Start Early

Posted on 12/23/2003

TOILET TRAINING MUST START EARLY THE LONGER PARENTS WAIT AFTER 24 MONTHS, THE HARDER IT WILL BE Is it easier to house-train a 6-month-old puppy or a 1-year-old dog? The puppy, right? If you...

4-Year-Old LIkes to Talk

Posted on 12/16/2003

HELP 4-YEAR-OLD LEARN TO CONVERSE Q: My 4-year-old daughter frequently repeats things she's heard or said before. She seems to have a hard time coming up with something new to say. For example,...

5-Year-Old Melodrama with 10-Year-Old Sister

Posted on 12/9/2003

DON'T BE AUDIENCE FOR CHILD'S MELODRAMA Q: I have two daughters ages 10 and 5. Over the last few months, and more and more frequently, my 5-year-old has been asking me if I will love only her,...

4-Year-Old Scared of Santa

Posted on 12/2/2003

Q: Our 4-year-old son, Bobby, is scared of the idea of Santa coming to our house. The thought of some guy, even if he is jolly and bearing gifts, sneaking into the house at night does not sit well...

Disciplining 5-Year-Old Adopted Child

Posted on 11/25/2003

DON'T BE AFRAID TO DISCIPLINE ADOPTED CHILD Q: We recently adopted a 5-year-old girl from China who had spent her early childhood in an orphanage. Before bringing her home, we read several...

42-Month-Old Having Meltdowns at Preschool

Posted on 11/18/2003

TIME-OUTS CAN MAKE LASTING IMPRESSION Q: Our 42-month-old son is in a mornings-only preschool. He was in the same church program last year and had lots of "meltdowns," usually during group...

Disciplining 4- and 8-Year-Old at Grandparents for the Holidays

Posted on 11/11/2003

GRANDPARENTS WHO LET CHAOS REIGN YOU CAN'T CHANGE THEM, SO JUST LIMIT THE TIME THEY'LL INDULGE YOUR KIDS Q: It has become tradition that every year, during the holidays, my entire family...

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