John's Articles
4-Year-Old Refuses to Take Nap
Posted on 7/22/2003
INSTEAD OF 'TAKE A NAP,' SET RULES FOR 'QUIET TIME' Q: For the last six months or so, my almost-4-year-old son has refused to take a nap for me. I know he's tired because he will fall asleep if...
Read More2-Year-Old Sleeping Issue
Posted on 7/8/2003
'FAMILY BED' MORE CHAOTIC THAN COZY Q: My 2-year-old grandson has slept with his parents since he was born, but with the birth of a third child (he has a 4-year-old sister), he moved to a bed...
Read More7-Year-Old Sleeping with Parents
Posted on 2/4/2003
PERMISSIVE PARENTS NEED TO SHOW BOY WHO'S BOSS Q: How do you get a child out of your bed? Six months ago, I allowed our 7-year-old son and only child to sleep with me a few nights while my...
Read More5-Year-Old Afraid of the Dark
Posted on 12/17/2002
MASTERING THE 'ACT' OF DISCIPLINE Many, if not most, of today's parents are convinced that nearly every child-rearing circumstance is fraught with apocalyptic psychological ramifications....
Read More28-Month-Old Waking Up During the Night
Posted on 11/12/2002
NO NEED FOR PARENTS TO LOSE SLEEP OVER 2-YEAR-OLD'S NIGHTTIME WAKING Q: Our 28-month-old is waking up anywhere from two to five times a night (on a bad night, about every two hours). She comes...
Read More3-Year-Old Having Nightmares
Posted on 10/22/2002
HOW TO CHASE AWAY SCARY COWS Q: Our 3-year-old has recently started having nightmares involving cows. We haven't a clue as to how this got its start, but within three weeks, she's gone from...
Read MoreParents and Children Sleeping Together
Posted on 9/24/2002
Q: I recently read that a study has shown that children who sleep with their parents suffer no ill effects. You don't believe parents and children should sleep together. Are you going to revise...
Read More10-Year-Old Frightened by Certain People
Posted on 9/17/2002
TV IS THE ROOT OF YOUR BOY'S FRIGHT Q: Our 10-year-old son thinks certain people look frightening. When he sees one of these supposedly frightening people, he can work himself up to the point...
Read MoreToilet Training and Bedtime Issues
Posted on 11/20/2001
PARENTS ARE GOING BACK TO THE BASICS An analysis of the 3,000-plus questions submitted to date to my Web site suggests the two biggest problems besetting American parents concern the toilet and...
Read More4-Year-Old Bedtime Issue
Posted on 10/16/2001
DON'T FORCE SICK CHILD INTO YOUR BED Q. We have an unusual problem: Our 4-year-old daughter refuses to sleep in our bed. Under normal circumstances, this is fine. We are not "family bed"...
Read More5-Year-Old Bedtime Fears
Posted on 5/29/2001
AS USUAL, COMMON SENSE TRIUMPHS OVER PSYCHOLOGY One of contemporary parenting's stumbling blocks is the tendency to "think psychologically" about child-rearing difficulties. Doing so often...
Read More4-Year-Old Sleeping Issue
Posted on 4/10/2001
FORCING CHILD TO SLEEP ALONE IS PAINFUL, BUT YOU MUST DO IT Q. My 4-year-old daughter cannot go to sleep unless I lie down with her, and she has rarely slept through the night in her own bed;...
Read More4-Year-Old Waking Up During the Night
Posted on 2/20/2001
LET 4-YEAR-OLD HAVE MOTIVE TO GET PAST IRRATIONAL FEARS Our normally very easy going 4-year-old daughter has started waking us up several times a night, wanting us to lie down with her so she...
Read More26-Month-Old Diagnosed with ADHD
Posted on 12/5/2000
DON'T MEDICATE A 2-YEAR-OLD FOR NORMAL RASCALITY A friend of mine participates in a national network of pediatricians who share information and advice with one another through the World Wide...
Read More32-Month-Old Waking to go Potty During the Night
Posted on 5/16/2000
'THE DOCTOR' CAN HELP YOUR POTTY TRAINEE Q. Our 32-month-old daughter has been daytime toilet-trained since 26 months. At 29 months, she started getting up once a night to use the potty even...
Read More3-Year-Old Twins Bedtime Issue
Posted on 11/9/1999
WHOSE NIGHTMARE IS BEDTIME, ANYWAY? Q. I am the grandmother of twin 3-year-old girls. My daughter has asked me to solicit your advice about two problems. First, the girls, who get along...
Read MoreStill the Best Choice: Children Sleep in Own Beds
Posted on 6/10/1997
Q. In one of your books you say young children, even babies, should sleep in their own beds. What law or reason, other than "society,'' demands that children sleep alone? You are obviously unaware...
Read More5-Year-Old Bedtime Issues
Posted on 2/6/1997
CURE FOR BEDTIME FUSS EMPHASIZES CHILD'S INDEPENDENCE "Wendy will go to sleep peacefully only if one of us lies down with her,'' her parents said. "That's not always convenient, though, and...
Read More13-Year-Old Has Fears, Problems Falling Asleep, Obsessions and Compulsions
Posted on 10/3/1996
OBSESSIONS, COMPULSIONS ARE COMMON IN EARLY TEEN YEARS Q. Our 13-year-old son, Brian, has recently started having problems falling asleep. As soon as he closes his eyes he begins having...
Read More2-Year-Old Bedtime and Sharing Issues
Posted on 9/12/1996
THIS MOM-IN-LAW MAY BE ADDING TO PARENTS' WOES Q. We have a 2-year-old and a 10-month-old, and three problems - all concerning the older one. First, he still wants a bottle when he's put to...
Read MoreOK for Children to Get in Bed with Parents Occasionally
Posted on 1/25/1996
SOMETIMES IT'S OK FOR CHILD TO GET IN BED WITH PARENTS Q. Having read your books, we know you advise against letting children sleep with parents. Do you feel the same way about letting young...
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 MoreChildren Sleeping with Parents
Posted on 7/9/1993
A CHILD NEEDS TO SLEEP IN A SEPARATE BED Q. What do you think about letting children sleep with their parents? A. Generally speaking, I don't think it's a good idea. Sleeping in his or...
Read MoreHow to Move 2-Year-Old from Parents' Bed to His Own Bed
Posted on 7/9/1993
Q. What's the least disruptive way of moving my 2-year-old son, who's been sleeping with me since he was a baby, to his own bed? A. No doubt about it, a 2-year-old who's been sleeping with a...
Read More2-Year-Old Climbing Out of Crib
Posted on 1/15/1993
WHEN 2-YEAR-OLD LEARNS TO CLIMB OUT OF THE CRIB, GET READY Q. Our 2-year-old started climbing out of his crib several months ago. Since then, we haven't been able to get him to stay in his...
Read More6-Year-Old Bedtime Battle
Posted on 5/22/1992
BEDTIME BATTLES? DISCIPLINE HELPS CHILD, PARENTS Bedtime. Children usually don't like it, parents are intimidated by it, professionals make careers out of speaking and writing about it. But...
Read More4-Year-Old Wants Bedside Lamp On at Night
Posted on 8/11/1991
GO AHEAD, LEAVE THE LIGHT ON IF THE CHILD NEEDS IT Q. Our 4-year-old goes to bed easily, but wants us to leave his bedside lamp on until he falls asleep. We've tried making Egbert go to...
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 MorePut Baby on Schedule
Posted on 1/6/1991
PUT BABY ON SCHEDULE SO 3 FAMILIES CAN RELAX Q. We are three families being tyrannized by one small infant's sleeping habits. One-year-old William is a generally sunny, happy little person,...
Read MoreRegulate Bedtime for 5-Year-Old
Posted on 12/16/1990
TRY THIS PLAN; IT WORKS TO REGULATE BEDTIMES "Suzette will go to bed peacefully only if one of us lies down with her until she goes to sleep," her parents said. "That's not always convenient,...
Read MoreKids Sleeping with Parents
Posted on 5/20/1990
PARENTS SHOULD AVOID SLEEPING WITH KIDS Q: Having read both of your books, we know you advise against letting children sleep with parents. Do you feel the same way about letting young...
Read More8-Year-Old Bedtime Fear
Posted on 2/4/1990
CHILD'S FEAR OF MONSTER' AT BEDTIME IS NORMAL Q. Our 8-year-old son will not go up to his room alone after dark because he's certain there's "something" up there that's going to get him....
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 More22-Month-Old Sleeping Issue
Posted on 10/18/1987
TODDLERS MAY NEED REASSURANCE Q. Our 22-month-old son has recently developed a sleeping problem. He's always been easy to put to bed and began sleeping through the night at an early age....
Read More30-Month-Old Bedtime Issues
Posted on 11/23/1986
CREATE PICTURES' OF BEDTIME TO GET YOUR CHILD TO SLEEP Q. Our 30-month-old won't let us out of her bedroom at night. We begin getting her ready for bed around 7:30. After her bath, a snack...
Read More3-Month-Old Bedtime Issue
Posted on 8/17/1986
KEEP NOISE UP WHEN BABY'S DOWN Q. We just spent a week of "vacation" with my parents, during which my mother and I got into it over the way I put our 3-month-old first child to sleep. I...
Read MoreChildren Sleeping in Their Own Bed Aids Development
Posted on 4/13/1986
SLEEPING ALONE AIDS CHILD'S DEVELOPMENT Q. I enjoy reading your column, and your advice has often been helpful in raising our 12- and 4-year-old children. However, I have to disagree with...
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...
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