Posted on 9/20/2020
A mother in California seeks her pastor’s opinion on allowing her fifteen-year-old son to have a smartphone. The boy claims that if he can’t use social media, he will have no friends. Mom is...
Read MorePosted on 10/2/2019
Q: We held off giving our oldest daughter a smartphone until she was fifteen, the age at which we allowed her older brother to have one. We read your column weekly in our hometown newspaper and...
Read MorePosted on 4/16/2019
Julie Jargon is a reporter with the Wall Street Journal. Heretofore, she has written about food companies like Starbucks and McDonalds. As of April 2, however, Ms. Jargon is writing a WSJ column...
Read MorePosted on 12/4/2018
Q: Our 15-year-old daughter is very demanding and, to be honest, self-centered. One of the things she does is ask one of us for something and demand an instant decision, as in, “Can I go to the...
Read MorePosted on 2/21/2018
Q: When our daughter, an only child, turned thirteen and entered the 8th grade, it was like a switch was flipped. Almost overnight, she went from being a sweet, respectful and obedient child who...
Read MorePosted on 9/6/2017
Responding to my recent columns on video games and smart phones, a reader asks what the problem is, thus proving that these devices can and do cause serious harm to one’s cognitive hardware. He,...
Read MorePosted on 8/9/2017
When I was a child, a popular comic strip was "There Oughta Be a Law." It ran in the paper that came to our doorstep every morning and was one of the first things I went to when it was my turn to...
Read MorePosted on 7/26/2017
Have you ever heard of an addict who was cured of his or her addiction because someone limited, but did not eliminate, their access to the substance or behavior in question? No, you have not. Is...
Read MorePosted 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 MorePosted 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 MorePosted 2 weeks ago
We have not allowed our 3 children ages 12, 14 and 15 to have cell phones. They also do not have Social Media accounts. They are allowed to text or FaceTime friends or cousins using our phones. ...
Read MorePosted on 9/19/2020
I am really unwell at the moment and my son is being kept home from school, I also have a 1 year old. I am trying to look after both while I get through this illness. Discipline has slided and...
Read MorePosted on 9/1/2020
Your previous advice has been very good and I am seeing improvements. Thank you. But my question today relates to school holidays and if I should leave my 2 kids home alone (age 13 & 15) while I...
Read MorePosted on 9/1/2020
My son is 14. I let him have Spotify music not realizing the horrible explicit music. Rap. I recently found where he was listening to it. We don’t allow that in our home. I’m going to block the...
Read MorePosted on 8/28/2020
Still a daily struggle here and school is about to start. I gave in and allowed the computer back, but I cannot get this kid on a schedule of getting up for the day and sleeping at night. He is...
Read MorePosted on 7/12/2020
Our 19 year old daughter is living at home and working full time as a nursing aide at a local hospital. She has quit nursing school (the co-vid online situation did not work out well for her). In...
Read MorePosted on 7/5/2020
My 11-year-old son is obsessed with screens. If we tell him to do something while he is on his phone or iPad he huffs and puffs or we are told, “in a minute." Then he only gets 2 out of 3 chores...
Read MorePosted on 6/18/2020
When my son loses his tv privileges he starts hitting himself, screaming, saying he’s stupid, he hates himself etc and beginning he will do anything to earn tv back (I say no). There clearly is an...
Read MorePosted on 3/29/2020
My 7 year is always making stupid annoying loud noises and shouting and he keeps doing this in his 8 month old sisters face. He also constantly grabs her hands and smothers her. They seem to get...
Read MorePosted on 1/28/2020
I asked a question about cell phones last June; “Going With Your Gut.” I have allowed my daughter, now 18 to have a tracphone with internet capability. Could you give some boundaries I should set?...
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