John's Articles

Give Teens More Freedom with Responsibility

Posted on 3/5/1989

RESPONSIBILITY COMES ALONG WITH FREEDOM When Eric and Amy were in their early teens, my wife and I made an astonishing announcement to each of them. We said, in effect, "We don't want to be...

15-Year-Old Wanting to Watch Horror Movie

Posted on 12/11/1988

NIGHTMARE' MOVIES AREN'T FOR YOUNG CHILDREN OR DISTURBED TEENS Q. Our 15-year-old daughter wants us to rent the "Nightmare on Elm Street" movies so she and her friends can watch them in our...

It is Not Too Late to Teach 14-Year-Old the Three R's

Posted on 11/6/1988

I recently gave my "Helping Children Succeed in School" workshop to a group of professional educators in Phoenix, Ariz. In it, I explained that if parents want their children to become...

14-Year-Old Rude, Disrespectful and Obnoxious

Posted on 9/11/1988

HOW TO HANDLE RUDENESS IN A TROUBLED 14-YEAR-OLD Q. We are worried about our 14-year-old daughter. She's become extremely rude and disrespectful, and the more of an audience she has, the...

14-Year-Old Doing Homework with Music On

Posted on 4/17/1988

LET DAUGHTER STUDY WITH HER ROCK MUSIC Q. My 14-year-old daughter likes to do her homework with her radio on, turned to her favorite rock station. I don't see how she can do her best with...

13-Year-Old Has Messy Room

Posted on 1/31/1988

GODFATHERLIKE OFFER' WILL KEEP DAUGHTER'S ROOM TIDY Q. Our 13-year-old daughter's room is an absolute disaster! The floor is littered with albums, clothes, magazines and other personal...

14-Year-Old Runaway

Posted on 12/27/1987

RUNNING OFF ISN'T QUITE THE SAME AS RUNNING AWAY Q. About two months ago, our 14-year-old son got mad at us and ran away from home. We finally found him two days later at the home of a...

Steriod Use on the Rise with Teens

Posted on 8/16/1987

IMAGE-CONSCIOUS TEENS TURNING TO STEROIDS During his early teen years, Mickey becomes interested in bodybuilding. For his 15th birthday, his parents buy him a membership in a local fitness...

15-Year-Old Learns Lesson

Posted on 6/7/1987

SOMETIMES, THE FOOL THING' PROVES WORTH IT It was the summer of Eric's 15th year. It was that time in life when boys get too big for their britches and feel compelled to do things to prove to...

Raising a Teenager

Posted on 2/22/1987

COLUMNISTS LEARNS ABOUT HIMSELF WATCHING HIS CHILD GROW UP My son, Eric, recently had his 18th birthday. He will be going off to college next year and I will miss him. Raising him has been...

Rebellious 13-Year-Old Wants to Go Live with Dad

Posted on 12/7/1986

DIVORCE INFLUENCES TWEEN' YEARS Q. I have two children by my previous marriage - an almost 13-year-old boy and a 7-year-old girl. I am remarried, but have no children, nor plans for any,...

Parents Work Together in Parenting Even Though Divorced

Posted on 10/12/1986

DISCIPLINE SHOULD INVOLVE BOTH PARENTS Q: I am a divorced, single mother. My daughter is 14 years old. Occasionally things come up with which I feel I need my ex-husband's support. In the...

14-Year-Old Doesn't Get Along with Parents

Posted on 6/29/1986

WHEN YOU'RE 14, IT ISN'T COOL TO GET ALONG WITH PARENTS Q. Our 14-year-old daughter recently told an adult friend that she didn't get along with us. This came as quite a surprise because...

15-Year-Old's Friends

Posted on 6/29/1986

Q. Our 15-year-old son has a lot of friends. Some are kids we approve of, while some are not. He has friends from the "in crowd" and he has friends from the other end of the social spectrum,...

15-Year-Old Girl Drug Issue

Posted on 11/10/1985

HOW TO RECOGNIZE A DRUG PROBLEM Q. Our 15-year-old daughter is a sophomore in high school. She recently went to a party where some marijuana was smoked. Luckily, the parents were home...

Parents' Responsibility Toward Music

Posted on 10/20/1985

PARENTS' RESPONSIBILITY TOWARD MUSIC I played in a rock 'n' roll band for seven years - from 1965 to 1972. We were not, by the way, your average Top 40 unit. No sir, we played real...

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