John's Articles
Home Alone: Is Your Child Ready?
Posted on 3/9/2017
For some folks, the phrase "latchkey child" rings of parental neglect. Yet, unlike in the movies, most kids who are left unattended in an empty house do just fine, emotionally and otherwise....
Read MoreMake American Parenting Great Again!
Posted on 3/8/2017
The problem in American parenting is the 1960s. Among other things that defined that very interesting decade was the replacement of rationality by emotionality. It was during the 1960s that the...
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 MoreObedience: It's All in How You Ask for It
Posted on 3/1/2017
I’ve said it many times, but it bears repeating: A child’s natural response to the proper presentation of authority is obedience; as in, the first time the child is told to do something, he does...
Read MoreAdopted Son Wants to Live With Biological Mother
Posted on 2/21/2017
Q: Our 14-year-old son, who was adopted by open adoption, now wants to go live with his birth-mother. She was completely out of the picture until a couple of years ago when she suddenly showed...
Read MoreTeaching Children Manners
Posted on 2/20/2017
Teachers with 30 years or more experience say that today's child is, in general, much less respectful and much less mannerly than the typical child of a generation ago. Unfortunately, unless...
Read MoreWhen Good Kids Go Bad
Posted on 2/7/2017
I'll never forget the morning of July 5 several years ago. A police car was parked outside my neighbor's house, and the crackling radio sounds pierced the quiet air. Someone, my neighbor said, had...
Read MoreRemove the Smart Phone, Regain the Child
Posted on 2/7/2017
As regular readers of this column already know, I am completely, one hundred percent opposed to children, including teenagers still living at home, being in possession of smart phones. No parent...
Read MoreHow Much Homework Is Enough?
Posted on 1/26/2017
One of the most unfortunate things that the never-ending rollout of "education reform" has spawned is an overemphasis on <i>quantity</i> where homework is concerned. The following letter, sent to...
Read MoreManners More Important Than Resentful Child
Posted on 1/25/2017
“People almost invariably arrive at their beliefs not on the basis of proof but on the basis of what they find attractive.” So said 17th Century French mathematician and philosopher...
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 MoreUse Practical, Not Psychological, Approach to Childrearing
Posted on 1/3/2017
One of the biggest problems among today’s parents—especially mothers—concerns their tendency to think in psychological terms about their children’s behavior problems. Mothers are more prone to...
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 MoreAccommodate Dietary Choices During the Holidays?
Posted on 12/14/2016
Q: My husband and I are looking forward to hosting our children and grandchildren over the Holidays—or were. We were recently informed that our 30-something daughter and two of her children...
Read MoreWhen Enough Is Not Enough
Posted on 12/6/2016
The following true story was recently related to me by a credible individual who for obvious reasons will remain forever anonymous. I pass it on because it is a quintessential example of the...
Read MoreDo You Suffer From Egalitarian Parenting Syndrome?
Posted on 11/30/2016
Some of the sources that inform today’s parenting do not come to immediately to mind when one thinks of raising children. Take Karl Marx (1818 – 1883), for example. Along with his buddy Friedrich...
Read MoreBe Consistent in Attitude and Unpredictable With Consequences
Posted on 11/8/2016
One of the disadvantages of this job is that I rarely have enough space in which to say all that I’d like to say. Take last week’s column in which I said “Consequences should be employed whether...
Read MoreNew School Year, New Babble on What's Wrong With Your Kids
Posted on 10/25/2016
The new school year is still fresh and “it” has already begun, “it” being the ongoing effort on the part of schools to persuade parents that there is something wrong with their kids’...
Read MoreRestoring Peace to the Family Dinner Table
Posted on 10/11/2016
Q: Dinner with our three kids always, and I mean ALWAYS, turns into a disaster. Typically, the oldest, 11, begins to needle the youngest, 6, and then, when the middle one, 9, figures out which of...
Read MoreThe Effects of 'Parenting' on Child-Rearing
Posted on 10/5/2016
In 1971, a psychologist named Fitzhugh Dodson published a book titled How to Parent. It did so well that he came out several years later with How to Father. By 1971, Dodson was one of a handful,...
Read MorePostmodern Psychological Parenting Is Causing More Harm Than Good
Posted on 9/27/2016
In the late 1960s, America came to a fork in the parenting road and took the road never traveled. My generation did what no generation in any culture at any time in history had ever done: we broke...
Read MoreDoes Successful Child Rearing Have to Be Joyful?
Posted on 9/22/2016
During a stint as a guest on a nationally syndicated radio talk show, the host remarked that he didn't hear me talking much about the "joy" of parenthood. He asked if I had, indeed, enjoyed being...
Read MoreKudos to Catholic School's 'Problem Solving' Sign to Parents
Posted on 9/7/2016
Just when I am teetering on the edge of despair concerning the state of child rearing in America, dwelling much, much too obsessively on the damage being done to children and the nation by parents...
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 More3 Rules for Taking Kids to Restaurants
Posted on 7/19/2016
The Wall Street Journal recently interviewed Daniel Eddy, a New York City chef, on how to have a mutually-successful experience with a young child in an upscale restaurant (“How to Take Your Kids...
Read MoreYour Child Doesn't Need a Smart Phone
Posted on 6/21/2016
Q: Our 12-year-old has a smart phone. I know you don’t approve, but all—and I do mean all—of his friends have them and texting is how they communicate. I don’t think, under the circumstances, that...
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 MoreUnconditional Love and Leadership Can Change a 'Bad' Child
Posted on 5/24/2016
True story: I sent one of my more recent books to a radio talk-show host who, in turn, gave it to one of her “readers,” asking him to extract appropriate questions. Said reader, a...
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 MoreA Hardly-Ever-Fails Thumb-Sucking Program
Posted on 4/12/2016
Q: Our 7-year-old son has sucked his thumb forever and more or less constantly. He has recently switched to sucking his index finger and putting his right hand down the back of his pants at the...
Read MoreIt Is Not a Parent's Job to Solve All of a Child's Problems
Posted on 3/29/2016
Q: We have a 7-year-old son and two girls ages 9 and 6. The girls are gifted academically and athletically. He simply can’t keep up with them. They’re even better at bike-riding. As a result, he...
Read MoreParents Opposed to Sleepovers Should Reconsider
Posted on 3/22/2016
Q: My husband and I have decided that we do not want our children to participate in sleep-overs. We recently moved to a new community and are just making new friends and meeting new families. All...
Read More'No' Is Best Answer When Mom and Dad Disagree on Parenting Issue
Posted on 3/15/2016
Q: Is three hours of one sport once a week too much for a 7-year-old? This sport meets from 6 - 9 PM. It is nearly 10 PM before child is in bed (as opposed to usual 8:30 bedtime). My husband...
Read MoreAuthority Is About Unequivocal Expectations, Not Persuasion
Posted on 3/8/2016
Actress Charlize Theron recently caused a media stir when she wrestled her adopted four-year-old son Jackson to the ground when he began throwing a public tantrum. For this, Theron was labeled a...
Read MoreRaising a Can-Do Kid
Posted on 3/2/2016
Can-do kids are make-do kids. They usually have several traits that distinguish them from dependent, underconfident children: <b>1. Resourcefulness</b> Today, resourcefulness may mean turning...
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 MoreToday's Grandparent's Deserve Well-Behaved Grandchildren
Posted on 2/23/2016
A recent article on grandparenting.com says that many baby boomers are experiencing difficulties in their relationships with adult children, including “not enough time together, not enough regular...
Read MoreChildren Have the Right to a Steady Balance of Love and Leadership
Posted on 2/17/2016
“Do children have any rights?” is the question of the week, submitted by a 30-something reader. Yes, children have rights. First and foremost, there is their right to be loved...
Read MoreElectronic Devices Do Children No Favors
Posted on 2/10/2016
A 4-year-old boy informed his preschool teacher—a friend of mine—that he’d broken his iPad. “Oh!” my friend said. “What a shame. Did you drop it?” “No,” the boy said,...
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 MoreParenting Memes
Posted on 12/15/2015
According to Wikipedia, a meme is "an idea…that spreads from person to person within a culture". A meme is analogous to a mental virus—although not necessarily bad—that “catches on” relatively...
Read MoreParenting Experts Part III
Posted on 12/8/2015
This is the third and final installment of my “Wrong Things Experts Have Said (and Still Say)” series. Thus far: I’ve debunked the myth that a consequence must be delivered immediately in order...
Read MoreParenting Experts Part II
Posted on 12/1/2015
Copyright 2015, John K. Rosemond This is the second installment of my three-part series on wrong ideas disseminated by so-called parenting experts. All three columns will be posted...
Read MoreParenting Experts
Posted on 11/24/2015
Copyright 2015, John K. Rosemond The subject of today’s lesson is so-called experts who don’t know what they’re talking about. As the reader might already have...
Read MoreIn the Good Old Days...
Posted on 11/3/2015
In the 1960s, as part of an overall, culture-wide paradigm shift, a sea-change took place concerning our collective understandings concerning the rearing of children. The two fundamental questions...
Read MoreIt's the Little Things That Count
Posted on 10/27/2015
Copyright 2015, John K. Rosemond It’s the little things that count…always That’s true when it comes to being a citizen, an employee, and a spouse. It’s also true of being a...
Read MoreQuick Questions from Parents
Posted on 10/20/2015
A collection of “shorties”—questions from parents that require less than 100-word answers: Q: Can you tell me why my 34-month-old daughter is throwing so many tantrums? A: She...
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 More5 Tips for Teaching Your Child Humility
Posted on 10/6/2015
A mother who attended a recent presentation during which I described the differences between high self-esteem and humility writes asking “What should my husband and I be doing to help our children...
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