John's Articles
Why Hanna Sleeps With Us
Posted 4 weeks ago
My wife, Willie (nee Wilma), and I are the happy caretakers of a happy seventeen-month-old pure white toy schnauzer, Hanna. Hanna occupies the center of our attention. If you spent a day in our...
Read MoreDon't Turn Little Issues Into Big Problems
Posted on 4/11/2023
Q: My almost-3-year-old, when I begin to do something, will yell, “I WILL DO IT!” When it’s something he can do, fine, but if it’s not, then I just say, “No, Mommy will do it” and that’s the end...
Read MoreDrama-Free Bedtime
Posted on 11/29/2022
Q: Several months ago, my husband and I allowed our five-year-old daughter to sleep with us for a couple of nights. We thought this was innocent, but she began crying hysterically when we...
Read MoreIf Bedtime Routine Invites Trouble, Shorten It
Posted on 7/12/2022
Q: We have a 3.5-year-old and each night we have a routine that we go through with her--bath, pajamas, brush, choose two books and read them, sing a couple of songs, and pray before lights out....
Read MoreJust 'Stop It!'
Posted on 10/12/2021
I often find myself telling parents that they need to stop doing something that is counterproductive and, in most cases, contributing significantly to whatever parenting problem is bedeviling...
Read MoreHow To Ensure Your Children Sleep on Their Own
Posted on 5/12/2021
Q: I’m a working single mom with a 4-year-old daughter who won’t go to sleep unless I lie down with her. Plus, if she wakes up in the middle of the night to find I’m no longer in her bed, she...
Read MoreWhy Isn't Your Child Sleeping in Her Own Bed?
Posted on 2/2/2021
Q: In a recent column, you described our five-year-old daughter. She is in bed at 6:30 in the evening but usually wakes up during the night and wants to talk to us about whatever is on her mind....
Read MoreWhen It Comes to Phases, Don't Make Mountains out of Molehills
Posted on 2/25/2020
Q: Our daughter, our first and only, is just short of three-and-one-half. She has recently started coming into our room in the middle of the night and making a request of one sort or another. She...
Read MoreCo-Sleeping Is Detrimental to Marriage
Posted on 9/11/2019
A New York writer named Jonathan Daniel Stern, writing in the August 7, 2019, issue of the e-zine “Fatherly,” laments that co-sleeping has destroyed his marriage. As best as I can figure, Stern...
Read MoreComfort, Not Counseling, Is the Treatment for Nightmares
Posted on 12/21/2016
Q: Our 5-year-old has suddenly started waking up with nightmares. He's not able to describe them with any clarity, however, so we don't know what the content of them is. The most he's able to...
Read MoreRescue Yourself and Your Child With Bedtime Routine
Posted on 5/11/2016
Q: My daughter, who just turned three, has a surge of energy after dinner and can take hours to fall asleep. I try putting her down around 8 o’clock, but there are nights when she doesn’t fall...
Read MoreMore on Attachment Parenting
Posted on 8/18/2015
Copyright 2015, John K. Rosemond In a recent column, I referred to “attachment parenting babble,” which is to say, I called a spade a spade. The column in question concerned...
Read MoreMaking a Change
Posted on 8/4/2015
This is a story about how quickly parents, if they are determined enough, can make significant change in parenting policy. The family in question consists of two boys, ages 9 and 8,...
Read MoreBedtime Fears
Posted on 3/10/2015
Copyright 2015, John K. Rosemond Q: About six months ago, our four-year old daughter began complaining of being afraid to be alone at bedtime. Upon questioning, she told us she was...
Read MoreTeens & Sleep
Posted on 9/2/2014
New research finds that teens whose school days begin later than the national norm of approximately eight o’clock achieve at higher levels than teens who start school earlier. The researchers in...
Read More"The Doctor" Makes House Calls
Posted on 4/28/2014
Shortly after I finished graduate school, a friend of mine shared with me a book called Indirect Hypnosis, written by Milton Erickson, a most unorthodox psychiatrist if ever there was one....
Read MoreToo Old to Cuddle?
Posted on 4/15/2014
Q: My 11-year old son, an only child, continues to ask me to "snuggle" with him and scratch his back at bed time. This is a time for us to read aloud, chat about concerns or questions, and say...
Read More3 Year Old has bedtime problems
Posted on 1/22/2013
Q: For the past several weeks, our just-turned 3-year-old has been waking up and coming into our room at all hours of the night with the usual excuses. He's scared, hungry, thirsty, lonely, can't...
Read More3-Year-Old Boys Bedtime Issues
Posted on 10/18/2011
How to quiet down boys' bedtime antics Q: My twin boys will be 3 next month. They sleep in the same room. They've recently taken to getting out of their beds (together, although one seems to be...
Read More28-Month-Old Girl Naptime
Posted on 2/15/2011
Kids give up naps when ready, no matter the age Q. Over the holidays, our 28-month-old daughter stopped napping. A couple of days we were so busy with Christmas that a nap simply was not...
Read More15 Resolutions For Parents
Posted on 1/4/2011
15 resolutions for parents Given that this is the first column of a new year, I'm proposing a number of parenting New Year's Resolutions for my readers to consider. The list is by no means...
Read More2-Year-Old Sleeping in Parents' Bed
Posted on 11/30/2010
Time for the really bad parenting advice award Every so often, when I'm feeling in an especially mischievous mood (as opposed to my typically mischievous mood), I award a RALPH - Rosemond's...
Read More2 1/2-Year-Old Girl Nap Time
Posted on 5/18/2010
Toddler exercises her will at naptime Q: My 21/2-year- old is still sleeping in her crib. When we put her in for a nap, she begins jumping up and down, holding onto the side. (She was also...
Read More13-Month-Old Girl Sleeping Issues
Posted on 7/21/2009
BABY WILL FALL ASLEEP IF YOU LET GO Q. My 13-month-old has become used to napping while I hold her, which I started when she was a small baby during a horrible bout of teething. Now she will...
Read More4-Year-Old Boy Sleeping Patterns
Posted on 7/7/2009
TIMING IS KEY TO FIXING KIDS' SLEEP PATTERNS Q. Under normal circumstances, which are rare, our 4-year-old son goes to bed uneventfully by 7:30 and is usually asleep before 7:45. He never...
Read MoreThe Family Bed
Posted on 6/23/2009
The Family Bed, Revisited: Lots of folks have responded, pro and con, to a recent article in which I said the "family bed" is a poor substitute for a healthy marriage. Several respondents...
Read More10-Year-Old Girl Crying at Bedtime
Posted on 6/9/2009
*Good News from California: A mom from the Bay Area writes that after her father passed away last year, her 10-year-old daughter began crying every night at bedtime. The child's distress escalated...
Read MoreChild Sharing Bed with Parents
Posted on 6/2/2009
SHARING YOUR BED? PARENTS, WHAT ARE YOU THINKING? The second question: "Why should a child not be found sharing his parents' bed?" In this case, the issue is boundaries. Parenting is a form...
Read More2 1/2-Year-Old Boy Overly Tired From Waking Up During the Night
Posted on 1/6/2009
LATE BEDTIME MAY MEAN YOUNG CHILD WON'T SLEEP AS WELL THE BIGGEST BENEFIT OF PUTTING A CHILD TO BED EARLY IS THAT COUPLES GET TO SPEND TIME TOGETHER. Q. For the last month, our 2...
Read More13 - Year - Old - Girl - Micromanaging Bedtime
Posted on 12/4/2007
TEEN RESISTING SCHEDULED BEDTIME Q. We enforce a 10 p.m. bedtime for our 13-year-old. She has to go to bed one minute earlier the next night for every minute she is to bed later than 10 the...
Read More3-Year-Old Girl Having A Hard Time Falling Asleep
Posted on 9/4/2007
LET 3-YEAR-OLD TAKE HER SWEET TIME FALLING ASLEEP Q. It's 10 p.m. and my 3-year-old daughter just fell asleep. She used to sleep 12 hours a night, from 7 to 7, but she hasn't done that in...
Read More3-Year-Old Girl Naptime
Posted on 7/3/2007
Q. My 3-year-old daughter still takes an hour nap in the afternoon. My husband's parents keep telling me that their children stopped taking naps before age 2. My daughter is a mess if she doesn't...
Read More3-Year-Old Sleeping Issue
Posted on 2/20/2007
ALLOWING KIDS TO SLEEP IN YOUR BED CAN LEAD TO A NIGHTMARE Sometimes I wonder if parents understand the concept of robbing Peter to pay Paul - that taking the easy way out of a parenting...
Read More5-Year-Old Twins Playing Instead of Sleeping
Posted on 2/6/2007
TWINS PLAY WHEN THEY SHOULD BE SLEEPING - IS THIS A PROBLEM? Q: After I put my 5-year-old twins to bed at 7:30, they get up and play in their room, sometimes for a couple of hours. How can I...
Read More7-Year-Old Sleeping Problems Leads to Marriage Issues
Posted on 1/2/2007
Mom sleeps alone Q: My husband and I are older parents of a 7-year-old. From the very beginning, our son slept with us because my husband couldn't stand to listen to him cry. That has since...
Read More30-Month-Old Twins Won't Go To Sleep
Posted on 12/12/2006
Bedtime turns into playtime The problem: 30-month-old twin boys who have learned to climb out of their cribs, thus turning bedtime into a two-hour play-fest. (Note: beds have been ordered and...
Read More5- 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...
Read More5-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....
Read More19-Month-Old Sleep Issues
Posted on 10/3/2006
TODDLER WON'T SLEEP IN HER OWN ROOM Q: I am adopting a 19-month-old child who has had problems going to sleep on her own since the day I brought her home. At first, I sat next to her while she...
Read More3 1/2-Year-Old Likes Crib Instead of Bed
Posted on 9/19/2006
TODDLER LIKES CRIB INSTEAD OF BED Q: My 3 1/2-year-old daughter still sleeps in a crib, loves it and has no interest in sleeping in the big bed in her room. She's a great sleeper, even though...
Read More28-Month-Old Sleeping Issues
Posted on 8/8/2006
STAY CALM ABOUT TODDLER'S CHANGING SLEEP PATTERNS Q: Our 28-month-old recently started waking three or four times a night and coming into our room crying. We respond by telling her it's still...
Read More6-Year-Old Fear of Sleeping Alone
Posted on 5/23/2006
IT'S TIME FOR 6-YEAR-OLD BOY TO CONQUER FEAR OF SLEEPING ALONE Q: When we had our first child, his pediatrician encouraged "attachment parenting" and especially that we all sleep together....
Read More3-Year-Old Bed Wetting Issue
Posted on 1/17/2006
SPANKING IS NOT SOLUTION TO BED-WETTING BY 3-YEAR-OLD BOY Q: Our 3-year-old son has been day- and night-potty trained for nearly a year. Several months ago, just after starting preschool, he...
Read More2-Year-Old Does Not Want to Sleep in Bed
Posted on 11/29/2005
Son prefers chair to bed Q: When our son turned 2, my husband and I converted his crib to a toddler bed. Since then he has refused to stay in his bed, even his room, so we installed a...
Read More4-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...
Read More4-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...
Read More10-Year-Old Separation Anxiety
Posted on 6/29/2004
HELP CHILD TAME SEPARATION ANXIETY Q: Our 10-year-old daughter has a problem with separation from me. After I put her to bed, she gets up numerous times to make sure I'm still in the house. She...
Read More5-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...
Read More18-Month-Old Refuses to Sleep in Bed
Posted on 11/4/2003
ADVICE FOR PARENTS OF TODDLERS Q: My 18-month-old son made the transition from crib to toddler bed almost seven weeks ago. He did wonderfully for the first couple of weeks, but now he refuses...
Read More5-Year-Old Scared During the Night
Posted on 10/28/2003
Q: Our 5-year-old daughter has recently been getting out of bed in the middle of the night and coming into our room telling us she is scared. When we question her, however, she can't tell us what...
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