John's Articles
Misbehaving Children
Posted on 4/12/2005
WHY DO PARENTS DEFEND CHILDREN'S BAD BEHAVIOR? The mother of two small children writes that when she takes them to indoor play areas she often finds herself dealing with parents who not...
Read More2- and 3-Year-Old Unruly on Disney Trip
Posted on 3/8/2005
A WHOLE NEW WORLD: TOTS TURN UNRULY ON DISNEY TRIP Q: Our two girls, ages 3 and 2, are very well behaved both at home and in public, so my husband and I decided to treat them to a memorable...
Read More6-Year-Old Disruptive at Home and School
Posted on 1/18/2005
SOME OLD-FASHIONED DISCIPLINE SAVES ANGST, TIME AND MONEY A collection of "parenting shorts": First, an absolutely true story from my ever-growing "True Stories of Psychobabble" file,...
Read More7-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...
Read MoreChildren Interrupting Adult Conversations
Posted on 11/2/2004
HOLDING PRACTICE SESSIONS CAN HELP A CHILD IMPROVE MANNERS Judging from reader response, my recent column on children interrupting conversations - or I should say, parents letting children...
Read MoreInappropriate Language
Posted on 10/19/2004
WILL SOAP CLEAN UP A DIRTY MOUTH? Before I write this column, journalistic ethics require that I make two disclosures of personal experience: My first-grade teacher washed my mouth out with...
Read More4-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...
Read MoreChildren Interrupting Adult Conversations
Posted on 9/20/2004
PLEASE, TEACH YOUR CHILD NOT TO INTERRUPT ADULT CONVERSATIONS LEARNING TO WAIT RESPECTFULLY IS VITAL TO GOOD MANNERS EDITOR'S NOTE: For space reasons, John Rosemond's column did not run in...
Read More16-Year-Old With Many Issues
Posted on 8/10/2004
KEEP STEPSON GROUNDED FOR COMMUNITY'S SAKE Q: Life with my 16-year-old stepson, who lives with my husband and me because his mother is a mess, has been a battle from day one. School has always...
Read More3-Year-Old Asks for Food When Upset
Posted on 8/3/2004
PARENTS: YOU ARE SMARTER THAN KIDS SOLUTIONS TO CHILDREN'S DISCIPLINE PROBLEMS CAN BE CREATIVE BUT SIMPLE Good ideas department: On my Web site (www.rosemond.com), I recently fielded a...
Read More4-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...
Read More6- and 10-Year-Old Sibling Conflict
Posted on 7/6/2004
HELP CHILD LEARN TO RESPECT OTHERS' RIGHTS OLDER SIBLING'S NEED OF SOLITUDE SHOULD NOT SEND YOUNGER INTO TANTRUM Q: My 10- and 6-year-old daughters play together frequently and well....
Read More14-Year-Old Has Friend Who is Trouble
Posted on 5/18/2004
PUT BALL IN SON'S COURT Q: Our 14-year-old son has been hanging around a friend who is constantly in trouble. Recently this kid and my son were out using their paintball guns, and the "friend"...
Read More24-Month-Old Runs Away From Parent
Posted on 5/4/2004
CAN'T OUTRUN THAT 2-YEAR-OLD? OUTSMART HER Q: When I call my 24-month-old daughter to come to me, she takes off running like a bat out of you-know-where. She obviously thinks it's a game...
Read More4- 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...
Read More5-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...
Read MoreDefiant 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...
Read More8-Year-Old Tells Mom "I Hate You!"
Posted on 1/13/2004
Q: Occasionally, when I discipline my 8-year-old daughter by, say, taking away a privilege because she's disobeyed me, she screams that she hates me. It seems to me that this is disrespectful....
Read More20-Month-Old Climbing Into Crib for New Baby
Posted on 1/6/2004
CONSEQUENCES OFTEN LOST ON TOTS Q: I am expecting my third child in six months. I put up the baby's crib this week with the intention of teaching my 20-month-old "monkey" to stay out of it. She...
Read MoreToo 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...
Read MoreDisciplining 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...
Read More42-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...
Read MoreDisciplining 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...
Read More4-Year-Old Refuses to Dress for School
Posted on 9/23/2003
A LITTLE DISCIPLINE WON'T DAMAGE CHILD Several columns ago, I related the story of an encounter with the mother of a defiant 4-year-old girl. The child had refused to dress for school in the...
Read MoreNo Longer Husband and Wife, but Still Father and Mother
Posted on 9/16/2003
TEAMWORK OFTEN KEY IN DISCIPLINE Q: I am the single mother of a 9-year-old boy. I feel like I'm a fairly good disciplinarian, but I occasionally ask my ex-husband, from whom I've been divorced...
Read More15-Year-Old Refuses to Wear Bands on Braces
Posted on 8/5/2003
LIFE GETS SIMPLER WHEN PARENTS ARE STRICT I decided to depart from my usual format and let a reader write this column. Occasionally, I get letters from parents telling me how they've solved...
Read MoreDoes Time-Out Work with Agressive 2-Year-Old?
Posted on 7/22/2003
Q: Is it OK to use timeout with a child who's barely 2? While I was watching church nursery today, a 2-year-old boy started pushing and hitting the other children. I put him in a chair every time...
Read MoreMost Effective Consequence for 28-Month-Old
Posted on 6/3/2003
Q: I have a friend who puts her 28-month-old son in his room for several hours if he does something really bad, such as bite her. When he's put there, he cries for a while, then plays. She uses a...
Read MoreToday's Mom is Afraid of Her Child
Posted on 5/6/2003
TODAY'S MOM LIKELY FEARS HER CHILD A short collection of musings on the nature of parenting and its current condition in America: By the time your child is 24 months of age, he is making...
Read More3-Year-Old Acting Out in Public Places
Posted on 4/8/2003
SHOW 3-YEAR-OLD SHE'LL PAY FOR FITS Q: My daughter and first child is 3 years, 8 months old. She is generally well-behaved except for a bad habit she has of screaming and running away from me...
Read More5-Year-Old Being Aggressive with 10-Month-Old
Posted on 4/1/2003
GO EASY ON BIG BROTHER Q: When my husband and I realized we were guilty of having created a child-centered home, we began cracking down on our spoiled 5-year-old and began "centering" our...
Read More3-Year-Old Cries When Disciplined
Posted on 3/11/2003
HELP SON LEARN TO CONTROL TANTRUMS Q: Our 3-year-old cries whenever we reprimand or discipline him. Whether we spank (occasionally), firmly redirect, or simply say, "No, you may not," he begins...
Read MoreMoms Micromanaging Children
Posted on 3/4/2003
PSYCHO-BABBLE CAN CLOUD YOUR VISION Q: I am a teacher of 3-year-olds at a church preschool. Most of the boys in the class have a lot of energy, but one boy in particular has some developmental...
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 MoreDivorced Parents of 8-Year-Old Should "Tag Team" Discipline
Posted on 2/18/2003
TAG-TEAM DISCIPLINE WORKS - IF IT'S WELL-COORDINATED Q: My husband's 8-year-old son lives with his mother. We see him every other weekend and for two weeks in the summer. He has major problems...
Read More4-Year-Old Stomps, Complains, Pouts Before She Obeys
Posted on 12/24/2002
DON'T LET BEHAVIORS ESCALATE Q: When I ask my 4-year-old, Lulu, to do something, she will do it, but not before she stomps, complains, talks under her breath, huffs and pouts, or all of the...
Read More32-Month-Old is Defiant and Disrespectful at Preschool
Posted on 12/24/2002
Q: I am the mother of two boys: 6 months and 32 months. The difficulty is with the latter. This well-mannered, easy-going, very loving child is having trouble at Mother's Morning Out. This is...
Read MoreMom Wants to Have Democratic Parent-Child Relationship, But It Does Not Work
Posted on 11/19/2002
TYRANTS NOT BORN; THEY'RE MADE I recently had a funny exchange with a person in the sales division of the company that manufactured my once-trustworthy laptop. I have to share it with the...
Read More8- and 10-Year-Old are Disrespectful to Dad and Step-Mom
Posted on 8/27/2002
VISITATIONS SHOULD END AT ONCE IF SONS DISOBEY Q: I am black and my husband is white. We have weekend visits with his sons, 10 and 8. The weekends are tortuous because in our home the children...
Read More7-Year-Old's Misbehavior Frustrates Family
Posted on 8/20/2002
HERE'S TICKET TO BETTER BEHAVIOR Q: My husband and I are raising a 10-year-old grandson and a 7-year-old granddaughter who was a "crack baby." She is very hyper, oppositional and interrupts...
Read More8-Year-Old Intrudes Adult Conversation
Posted on 6/25/2002
DON'T NAG, DO SOMETHING I love stories with happy endings. Several months ago, the mother of an 8-year-old asked my advice concerning her daughter's often-embarrassing tendency to intrude into...
Read MoreDon't Micromanage Discipline
Posted on 5/28/2002
DON'T BE A MICROMANAGER WHEN IT COMES TO DISCIPLINE Q: I am the at-home mother of four boys, ages 3, 5, 8 and 10. They are well behaved (other people tell me this), but lately I feel like all I...
Read MoreDiscipline: Two Different Stories
Posted on 4/23/2002
KIDS AREN'T WELL-INTENTIONED; THEY REALLY NEED 'STUBBORN LOVE' This is a two-part column involving two stories, each from the mother of a rebellious little girl. Concerning her daughter, the...
Read More3- and 4-Year-Old Refuse to Leave Preschool Class with Mom
Posted on 2/19/2002
SURPRISE CONSEQUENCES CAN CURE CHILDREN'S MISBEHAVIOR A mom recently asked me for advice concerning a discipline problem that had had a small beginning, but was getting completely out of hand....
Read MoreWhen Misbehavior Occurs, Punishment First, Then Talk Later
Posted on 1/15/2002
NAUGHTY CHILD? PUNISH FIRST, ASK QUESTIONS LATER When I misbehaved - and it didn't matter whether the misbehavior occurred at home, school or in the neighborhood - my parents rarely asked me to...
Read MoreDiscipine is a Matter of Leadership
Posted on 10/30/2001
DISCIPLINE IS MATTER OF RULE, NOT RULES As you might have guessed, parents frequently ask me for advice concerning discipline problems they are having with their children. Almost as...
Read More8- and 10-Year-Old Like to Discipline 4-Year-Old
Posted on 10/23/2001
AUTHORITY ISSUES? TRY ACTION, NOT 'YADA YADA' Q. We have three children, ages 10, 8 and 4. The problem is with the older two, who obviously feel they are qualified to discipline their little...
Read MoreMidde Child Syndrome Has Easy Cure
Posted on 9/18/2001
GIVE THAT MIDDLE CHILD A TICKET FOR EACH ACTING-UP INCIDENT Q. Do you believe in "middle child syndrome" and if so what are some ways to avoid it? My husband and I have three boys - 6, 3, and...
Read More7-Year-Old Hides Food in his Room
Posted on 9/11/2001
LET SON WHO SWIPES FOOD LEARN HOW TO COOK IT Q. Our 7-year-old son has been diagnosed with attention deficit disorder and oppositional defiant disorder (ADD/ODD). The problem is that he takes...
Read MoreMost Effective Discipline Comes From a Functional Marriage
Posted on 8/21/2001
It takes 2 to discipline Q. My second husband reads me your column every week. It's infuriating! He says I don't discipline my two children, which isn't true, and that I won't let him...
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