John's Articles
Grandparents, Hold Onto Your Hats
Posted on 3/7/2023
Our Question of the Week is, “Pray tell, what is ‘outdated’ about obedience, respect, proper manners, and humility?” Said QOTW is prompted by numerous grandparents who have...
Read MoreParents Can Recover From Not Getting Over the 'Hump of Parenting'
Posted on 10/20/2020
Q: In a recent column, you identified toddlerhood as “the hump of parenting.” As a grandmother who managed to raise five kids who were out of the house in their early twenties and are responsible...
Read MoreGrandparents Are the Glue That Bonds the Family
Posted on 5/7/2019
“When are you going to write a book on grandparenting?” is a question asked of me by lots of folks, most of whom – no surprise here – are grandparents. My stock answer: “I...
Read MoreWhat Should Grandparents Do When Children Won’t Listen to Good Advice?
Posted on 1/16/2019
Q: We have ten grandchildren, spread between three of our kids. They all live within an hour’s drive, so we see them often. We want to be involved in their lives and to be good influences. Our...
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 MoreGrandparents Raising Grandson
Posted on 12/29/2015
Q: Our daughter died last year—long, sad story—leaving behind a 2-year-old boy. The father—not named on the birth certificate—is not and never has been a factor in the child’s life and gave us...
Read MoreGrandma Needs Advice
Posted on 5/12/2015
Copyright 2015, John K. Rosemond Q: My husband and I need your advice. We are parents to one adult daughter who has three children ages 10, 7, and 4. They live about three hours away...
Read MorePull-Ups & Adoption Age
Posted on 9/16/2014
Q: My 23-month-old son does well with potty training when we’re at home. We use a “potty bell” and he goes every 90 minutes or so. When we’re away from home, however, he seems clueless. He...
Read More8 year old Grandson is Lying
Posted on 6/17/2014
Q: We are very concerned about our 8-year-old grandson’s lying. He always pleads innocence and wonders plaintively why no one ever believes him. When someone confronts him with some misdeed...
Read MoreGrandparent Boundaries
Posted on 7/30/2013
Q: Our daughter and son-in-law have consented to be the guardians of our first grandchild, due in a few months. In preparation for this momentous event, we want to understand what our boundaries...
Read MoreNanny Interaction
Posted on 7/9/2013
A mom asked me a most interesting and currently pertinent question the other day: "How much one-on-one interaction should take place been a nanny and a child under her supervision?" The...
Read More3-Year-Old Boy Being Raised by Grandparents
Posted on 8/16/2011
Q. My 3-year-old grandson lives with his grandmother and me. He sees and speaks to his mother on the phone only occasionally. His birth father has never been in the picture. In fact, we don't know...
Read MoreTelling 3 YO about real parents
Posted on 8/15/2011
Q: My 3-year-old grandson lives with his grandmother and me. He calls me "Poppa" and his grandmother "Nanna." He sees and speaks to his mother on the phone only occasionally. His birth-father...
Read MoreGrandchildren's Behavior at Grandparents' House
Posted on 12/7/2010
Talk to adult kids about grandkids Q. Whenever our two adult children, their spouses and our four school-age grandchildren (tweenagers, all) visit us, chaos reigns. The children are wild. They...
Read MoreAround My Grandkids, I'm Just an Old Softy
Posted on 8/11/2009
Two of our grandchildren spent the night at our house last night. At some point in the evening, I suddenly realized that an alien had taken over my brain. Either that, or I'd developed late-onset...
Read More14-Year-Old Girl's Inappropriate Clothing
Posted on 7/22/2008
TEEN'S TARTY CLOTHES Q: I have legal custody of my 14-year-old granddaughter. Her mother is in no position to deal with a child. She frequently criticizes my values and attempts to undermine my...
Read More33-Month-Old Girl Being Spoiled by Grandmother
Posted on 7/15/2008
LET GRANDMA CATER TO TODDLER IF SHE LIKES Q: My daughter is 33 months old and has been potty-trained for a year now. When my mom comes to visit, or when we go to her house, she still reads my...
Read MoreGrandmother Undermining Parent Authority
Posted on 11/6/2007
Q: My boys are 7 and 2. I have always been an "I tell you once" type of mom, which is how my mother raised me. Ironically, when I try to discipline my kids when my mom is around, she becomes very...
Read MoreGrandma Giving Gifts to Grandchildren
Posted on 8/22/2006
LET GRANDMA ENJOY THE FUN OF BRINGING GIFTS FOR THE CHILDREN Q: Should I stop my mom from giving my three preschool kids presents every time she visits? She is usually here once a month for...
Read More6-Year-Old - Do Consequences Carry Over to Grandparents Home Over Holidays?
Posted on 12/2/2003
MUST GRANDPARENTS ENFORCE BAN ON TV? Q: After a particularly bad week in school our 6-year-old lost TV for a month. His younger brother hasn't lost his TV privilege, so our older son goes to...
Read MoreDisciplining 4- and 8-Year-Old at Grandparents for the Holidays
Posted on 11/11/2003
GRANDPARENTS WHO LET CHAOS REIGN YOU CAN'T CHANGE THEM, SO JUST LIMIT THE TIME THEY'LL INDULGE YOUR KIDS Q: It has become tradition that every year, during the holidays, my entire family...
Read MoreRules for Grandparents
Posted on 4/15/2003
RULES FOR GRANDPARENTS EXPAND If my mail is an indication, my recent column on the role grandparents should occupy in their grandchildren's lives - a nonmaterialistic one - made a lot of...
Read MoreGrandparents Should Give Time and Attention, Not Many Gifts, to Grandchildren
Posted on 2/11/2003
GRANDPARENTS CAN SPOIL KIDS, TOO As I write this column, our 2-year-old grandson, Thomas, is in residence at our N.C. home. His mom, en route from San Francisco to Raleigh, dropped him off for...
Read More7-Year-Old's Misbehavior Frustrates Family
Posted on 8/20/2002
HERE'S TICKET TO BETTER BEHAVIOR Q: My husband and I are raising a 10-year-old grandson and a 7-year-old granddaughter who was a "crack baby." She is very hyper, oppositional and interrupts...
Read MoreParents Leaving 18-Month-Old with Grandma for Trip
Posted on 5/23/2000
ENJOY YOUR TRIP - CHILD WILL WELCOME YOU BACK Q. My husband and I are about to take a four-day trip, during which we plan to leave our 18-month-old daughter with my in-laws. Grandma works, but...
Read MoreDriving Force of Most Sibling Rivalry is Greed
Posted on 12/22/1998
GREED, FED BY PARENTS, CAUSES SIBLINGS TO FIGHT If I had to choose, I'd rather talk to grandparents than parents. I'm sure the fact that I'm a grandfather myself - albeit a relatively young...
Read MoreGrandparents Indulge 2-Year-Old
Posted on 3/30/1997
GRANDPARENTS WHO INDULGE GRANDKIDS DO THEM NO HARM Q. We are grandparents to the world's most wonderful child, a boy who just turned 2. When his parents leave him with us, which happens at...
Read MoreA Job Description For a Grandparent
Posted on 10/27/1995
I've been a grandparent now for nine months, and I think I'm successfully figuring it out. It helps that Nancy, Eric and Jack Henry live but 5 miles away and Nancy is our office manager. She...
Read MoreRules of Grandparenthood
Posted on 6/9/1995
GRANDPARENTS OFFER A GREAT GIFT TO A CHILD My wife, Willie, and I have been grandparents now for six months. John McHenry Rosemond - or Jack Henry, as he is called - is doing marvelously, as...
Read MoreGrandparents Understand: Parents Must Learn
Posted on 2/10/1995
GRANDDAD IS KEEPING HIS MOUTH SHUT By the time you read this, I will have been a granddaddy for slightly more than a month. Suddenly I find myself the object of greatly increased attention...
Read MoreFirst Grandchild
Posted on 1/13/1995
NOT TO BRAG, BUT LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT MY NEW GRANDSON My grandson, John McHenry Rosemond, was born at 7 a.m. on New Year's Day. I know all grandparents - especially those who, like my wife...
Read MoreGrandparents
Posted on 11/25/1994
HOW AN EXPECTANT GRANDDAD FEELS YOU SUSPEND ALL THE RULES AND PREPARE TO BECOME A STUDENT Two years ago, upon the occasion of my son Eric's marriage to the lovely Nancy, I published a...
Read More30-Month-Old Will Be Fine When Parents Are on Vacation
Posted on 5/15/1992
GRANDPARENTS MUST CARE FOR CHILD WHO'S NEVER HAD A SITTER Q. We are grandparents to a very sweet but spoiled 30-month-old whose parents recently won a week's vacation in Tahiti. They asked...
Read MoreLet Grandparents Spoil 4-Year-Old
Posted on 5/11/1986
LET GRANDPARENTS SPOIL CHILDREN Q. My parents live relatively close, and we see them about once a month. In addition, spending the night with Grandma and Grandpa is a big thing for both them...
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