John's Articles
Mom of 3-Year-Old Wants to be Friends with her Child
Posted on 2/17/1998
KIDS NEED PARENTS; YOU CAN BE FRIENDS LATER Q. On a recent radio talk show, you said today's parents make problems for both themselves and their children by trying to be friends with them. I...
Read MoreChildren Should Be Accountable For Their Behavior
Posted on 12/16/1997
WHEN CHILD GETS TO AGE 2, PUSH HIM OUT OF PARADISE In Genesis 2 and 3, Adam and Eve - after being told not to do so - eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. When God discovers what...
Read MoreQuick-and-Easy Potty Training
Posted on 9/30/1997
As promised in last week's column, today's column will reveal the secrets of quick-and-easy toilet training; but first, a brief recap: * The typical child is ready to be toilet trained between...
Read MoreCome What May’ Approach to Potty Training Is All Wet
Posted on 9/23/1997
Q. My son is 28 months old and not yet toilet-trained. My mother-in-law says he should no longer be wearing diapers, but on a recent talk show, a pediatrician said parents should be in no hurry...
Read More3 Understandings That Parents Should Communicate to Children by Age 3
Posted on 6/3/1997
RULES FOR RAISING CHILDREN RESPONSIBLY COME IN SETS OF 3 One of the main themes of my sixth book, "A Family Of Value'' (Andrews and McMeel, 1996), concerns three fundamental understandings...
Read More3-Year-Old Gags and Throws Up When Upset
Posted on 3/18/1997
NO WONDER ROLLO RETCHES - IT WORKS Q. I'll bet you've never gotten this question before. Our 3-year-old was premature and had some mild but nonetheless anxiety-provoking developmental...
Read More3-Year-Old Has Imaginary Playmate
Posted on 12/26/1996
IMAGINARY PLAYMATE IS AN IMAGINARY WORRY Q. Our 3-year-old daughter, Courtney, has developed an imaginary playmate - named Jennifer - and the time she spends in fantasy is beginning to worry...
Read More3-Year-Old Addicted to Pacifier
Posted on 5/16/1996
IS OUR 3-YEAR-OLD TOO DEPENDENT ON HIS PACIFIER? Q. Our 3-year-old son seems addicted to his pacifier. Over the past year, we've limited its use to his bed, but he still comes to us four or...
Read MoreTelling the Toddler "The Doctor Says" Isn't The Same As Lying
Posted on 3/21/1996
TELLING TODDLER THE DOCTOR SAYS' ISN'T SAME AS LYING Q. In a recent column, you advised communicating rules to older toddlers and 3-year-olds by telling them the rules are from their...
Read More3-Year-Old Has Developed Several Fears
Posted on 8/11/1995
IT'S NORMAL FOR KIDS TO DEVELOP CERTAIN FEARS Q. Within the last month or so, our just-turned 3-year-old daughter has become afraid of the dark, barking dogs, trucks and thunder. She's also...
Read More3-Year-Old Hits Parents
Posted on 6/23/1995
YES, YOU CAN TEACH CHILD NOT TO HIT Q. When our 3-year-old daughter gets mad at us, she sometimes tries to hit us. We're concerned because we read an article that said children who hit their...
Read MoreParents Don't Agree on How to Handle Discipline of 3- and 6-Year-Old
Posted on 4/8/1994
PARENTS WHO DISAGREE ON ISSUES SHOULD AGREE ON HOW TO ARGUE Q. My husband and I don't always agree on how to handle situations that come up with our two children, ages 6 and 3. I'm concerned...
Read MoreImpact of Moving on 3-Year-Old
Posted on 12/31/1993
IF PARENTS HAVE GOOD ATTITUDE TOWARD MOVING, SO WILL CHILD Q.My husband and I recently read that researchers have determined that moving can cause psychological and academic problems. The...
Read MoreParent Care vs Day Care - Part 4
Posted on 7/2/1993
ONCE AGAIN, LISTEN UP: CARING FOR CHILD AT HOME IS BETTER THAN DAY CARE Jennifer Mitchell, a columnist for the Des Moines (Iowa) Register, recently took me to task for saying that at-home...
Read MoreParent Care vs Day Care - Part 3
Posted on 3/19/1993
OUTRAGE OVER CHILD-CARE COLUMN POINTS TO THE REAL PROBLEM: DECLINE OF FAMILY In a feature article and two separate editorials, The Des Moines Register has taken me to task for a column in...
Read More3-Year-Old Will Not Share Toys
Posted on 1/1/1993
CHILD WON'T SHARE? CONSIDER THE AGE Q. Our daughter, who recently turned 3, has a real problem sharing her toys. She wants to play with other children, but then becomes possessive if they...
Read MoreParent Care vs Day Care - Part 2
Posted on 12/18/1992
Q. I read a recent column of yours in which you said that parent care during the first three years of life is preferable to daycare. I tend to agree, but wouldn't some children be better off in...
Read MoreParent Care vs Day Care - Part 1
Posted on 12/4/1992
STAYING AT HOME ENCOURAGES INDEPENDENCE IN TODDLER I recently wrote that parent care during the first three years of life is highly preferable, in most cases, to day care. A number of folks...
Read More3-Year-Old Afraid to go Outside
Posted on 2/14/1992
3-YEAR-OLD'S AFRAID TO GO OUTDOORS Q. My 3-year-old has suddenly developed a fear of going outside. If I try to take her outside to play, go for a walk, or even go down the street to see a...
Read More3-Year-Old Demands a Lot of Attention from Mom
Posted on 2/7/1992
3-YEAR-OLD CLINGING VINE CAN CUT LOOSE Q. I read a recent column of yours in which you said 3-year-olds who demand lots of attention have probably received too much to begin with. You were...
Read More3-Year-Old Difficult and Uncooperative
Posted on 1/10/1992
UNRULY CHILD? DON'T GIVE IN OR GIVE UP Q. My husband and I have two children: an eager-to-please 8-year-old and a hell-on-wheels 3-year-old. The second child has always been difficult, but...
Read More3-Year-Old Wetting Bed at Night
Posted on 8/18/1991
TOILET TRAINING: A DIFFERENCE OF NIGHT AND DAY Q. Our almost 3-year-old daughter learned to use the toilet, and pretty much on her own, shortly after her second birthday. After nearly a year,...
Read MoreRegular Bedtime Routine for 3-Year-Old and 15-Month-Old
Posted on 7/28/1991
TODDLERS NEED REGULAR ROUTINE TO FOLLOW AT BEDTIME Q. I have two sons, ages 3 and 15 months. When the first was a baby, I rocked him to sleep. As he got older, I began lying down with him at...
Read MoreDiscipline Management: 3-Year-Old Getting Out of the Bed
Posted on 10/8/1989
TRICKS ARE A TRICK OF THE DISCIPLINE TRADE This is my third attempt in as many weeks to try and convince you, the reader, that the trick to successful discipline lies not in punishment, as...
Read More4-Year-Old Toilet Training Problem
Posted on 4/16/1989
DETERMINED APPROACH SOLVES A TOILET-TRAINING PROBLEM The parents of a 4-year-old boy recently asked my advice concerning a toilet-training problem. This little guy learned how to use the...
Read More3-Year-Old Hurting 10-Month-Old
Posted on 2/26/1989
TEACH CHILD NOT TO HURT BABY BROTHER Q. How can we keep our oldest, a 3-year-old daughter, from hurting our 10- month-old? Ever since the baby started crawling, our daughter has been...
Read MorePreschoolers Do Not Need to Know ABCs (Also Dyslexia Question)
Posted on 7/17/1988
PRESCHOOLERS ARE NOT READY TO LEARN TO WRITE ALPHABET I was talking recently with the parents of a boy who attends a preschool program for 4-year-olds where they've been teaching him to write...
Read MoreNo Need to Emphasize Academics with Preschoolers
Posted on 3/27/1988
PRESCHOOLERS NEEDN'T LEARN ABC'S, READING I do a workshop titled, "Helping Your Child Succeed in School." At one point, I ask my audience the following question: "How many of you knew the...
Read MoreSteps to Help Calm Overactive Toddler
Posted on 1/3/1988
TAKE THESE STEPS TO HELP CALM OVERACTIVE TODDLER Do you have an extremely active toddler, the kind who's always on the go, getting into everything? One who hits the deck running in the...
Read More3-Year-Old Regresses in Toilet Training
Posted on 4/12/1987
BE PATIENT WITH 3-YEAR-OLD Q. Our 3-year-old daughter was successfully toilet-trained at 27 months. She learned very quickly and, outside of an occasional accident, had been doing fine....
Read More3-Year-Old's Imaginary Friend
Posted on 1/25/1987
IMAGINARY FRIEND HELPS CHILD GROW Q: Our 3-year-old daughter has recently invented an imaginary playmate whom she calls "Cindy." She is beginning to spend more and more time playing with Cindy,...
Read MoreDay-Care Spanking
Posted on 12/26/1986
I'M AGAINST DAY-CARE SPANKING Joseph Chambers wrote a column that appeared on this page Oct. 1 under the headline "I'd Go To Jail Over Right To Spank." Obviously, the Rev. Chambers believes...
Read More3-Year-Old Hair Pulling Issue
Posted on 6/22/1986
SIMPLEST EXPLANATION CAN SOMETIMES BE THE RIGHT ONE When I was a graduate student, my psychology professors did an excellent job of convincing me that human behavior was a complex thing,...
Read More3-Year-Old and 15-Month-Old Bedtime Issues
Posted on 3/9/1986
HEAD OFF CHILD'S BEDTIME BATTLE Q. I have two sons. The first is 3, the second is 15 months. When the first was a baby, I rocked him to sleep. As he got older, I began lying down with him...
Read More3-Year-Old Girl Rough With 10-Month-Old Baby
Posted on 9/29/1985
3-YEAR-OLD A BIT TOO ROUGH WHEN SHOWING AFFECTION Q. How can we keep our oldest, a 3-year-old daughter, from hurting our 10-month-old? Ever since the baby started crawling, our daughter...
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