Posted on 1/19/2021
Making children happy became a parenting goal in the early 1970s. The paradox, as everyone with a modicum of commonsense knows, is that the more effort parents put into making a child happy, the...
Read MorePosted on 10/27/2020
Living with an emotionally dramatic child is no fun. They throw wet blankets over nearly every family gathering or outing. Little is right in their lives and attempts to cheer them up generally...
Read MorePosted 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 MorePosted on 10/13/2020
Q: Our first child, a boy, just turned two. Per your advice, he is toilet trained and eating whatever I serve. Before he was born, we determined that we were not going to raise a picky eater. Our...
Read MorePosted on 8/25/2020
My profession, psychology, began demonizing traditional childrearing in the late 1960s. I was in graduate school at the time and on fire for the promise that the proper use of psychological...
Read MorePosted on 5/26/2020
I have come up with a new psychological diagnosis, one that I won’t, however, be submitting for approval to the powers that be: simply, odd. My “odd” is to be distinguished from ODD, the acronym...
Read MorePosted on 2/11/2020
This is the second in a series of three columns on the Biggest Mistakes Parents Make (and How to Stop Making Them!). Last week, I identified giving children explanations for parental instructions,...
Read MorePosted on 1/15/2020
Q: Our ten-year-old granddaughter lives with us. We have custody of her but her father, our son, is now asking us for visitation privileges. I probably don’t need to tell you that both he and his...
Read MorePosted on 10/22/2019
Q: My normally happy 6-year-old son has recently started incorporating death and war-like games into his imaginative play. He isn't and has never been a mean-spirited child, but his dad and I just...
Read MorePosted on 10/15/2019
I have good news for parents: You do not need more than a few tools in your disciplinary tool-bag. One especially valuable tool, one that belongs in every modern home, is the “Doctor.” The Doctor...
Read MorePosted 6 days ago
My 3 month shy of 7 year old boy won’t wipe when he goes to the bathroom which results in poop in his underwear. I’ve taught him how to wipe, but he says he doesn’t like it. I make him clean out...
Read MorePosted 1 week ago
So my daughter and son-in-law have read the book John recommended and have agreed to a consultation with him. I will be paying for this consult. How do we proceed? He wanted to speak with both of...
Read MorePosted 2 weeks ago
Our 3.5 year old daughter has been difficult with finding things to play with by herself. She’ll say things like “I’m bored” or “what time is it right now?” Because she wants me to tell her what...
Read MorePosted 3 weeks ago
I have a high misbehaver and he has been on the ticket system for many months with two target misbehaviors of disobedience and fighting with his brother. I need some advice of how to switch him...
Read MorePosted on 3/9/2021
My two year old daughter has developed a habit of screaming. She scream when doesn’t get what she wants or her brother takes something from her. How do I address this misbehavior? I know she is...
Read MorePosted on 3/7/2021
Hi! My daughter will be five in May. Her attention-seeking behavior when she's escalating are easy to deal with at home. We don't feed into it. However, when we're in public, it's a challenge....
Read MorePosted on 3/4/2021
Would love some feedback on chores for my 6 and 8 year olds. Every Saturday they are expected to each clean their own mirror and sink in the bathroom, clean either the play room or their bedroom...
Read MorePosted on 2/16/2021
Hi, my daughter, will turn 3 in 2 months recently started defying us when it comes to changing her clothes. Whenever she is told it’s time to do it, she thinks its some sort of game, runs away or...
Read MorePosted on 2/12/2021
My 4 year old daughter is scared and I'm wondering if it's something we should be concerned about. She goes to bed fine (sleeps with the covers over her head because of her fears) but she ends up...
Read MorePosted on 1/23/2021
Hello! We have stealing problem in our family. We read the information from your website, but we still cannot find the proper answer. Our 5-year old tries to sneak into the kitchen (usually moring...
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