Social Issues (fighting/arguing with friends)
John's Most Recent Articles
The Blessing of Being Unpopular
Posted on 8/16/2023
When my daughter Amy entered middle school, she looked two to three years younger than most of her female peers. That was a blessing to me, of course, but from Amy's perspective, it was a curse....
Read MoreWe Shouldn't Always Shield Our Children From Pain
Posted on 6/6/2023
The depraved excepted, parents do not enjoy making children unhappy. Nevertheless, sometimes it is in a child's best interest that parents - while not deliberately trying to induce unhappiness -...
Read More'The Doctor' Prevails Again
Posted on 1/17/2023
Regular readers of this column are no doubt familiar with my imaginary friend, The Doctor. I often call upon him to solve behavior problems of various sorts concerning young children. Well, The...
Read MoreDon’t Just ‘Settle’ Dispute, Solve It
Posted on 5/3/2022
Q: Our sons are six and four. When their same-age cousins, come over, they all go down into our basement to play. Invariably, within thirty minutes my youngest comes upstairs crying because his...
Read MoreCure for Kid Who Hits
Posted on 10/26/2021
A 4-year-old – I’ll call him Popeye – had a habit of hitting other children in his preschool program. His teachers tried various approaches, including rewarding him with a treat on days when he...
Read MoreRecent Questions
Mom Concerned About Neighborhood Playtime Discord
Posted on 8/18/2024
I have four children in elementary school. They play with a neighborhood boy that is a few years older—so the neighbor boy is the oldest. I don’t get involved with their play, but I do...
Read MoreMicro Mom-Ager Neighbor
Posted on 3/30/2024
We live on a street where there are a lot of kids. My boys, 9 and 11 years old, are outside all the time playing and my house tends to be the place where all the kids play. If my kids or other...
Read More6 Year Old Boy Can Put Bully To Bed
Posted on 9/12/2023
Good afternoon, my 6yr old son is being bullied in kindergarten. Day 1 a little girl came up to him, randomly and said she didn’t like him, the following week she did the same, and also said she...
Read MoreFive Years Old: The Age of Fine Whine
Posted on 9/21/2022
My youngest, who is 5 years old, is feeling left out, saying the neighborhood kids don’t want to play with him. However, I don’t blame them! He is very whiny, tattles constantly, and doesn't share...
Read MoreNatural Consequences Are EffectiveTeachers
Posted on 7/9/2022
My 9 year old boy frequently acts like a baby and very odd in a socially unacceptable way like a feral child. When leaving his friends he will say “bye friends” in a silly voice. He also was...
Read MoreIt's Not About the Makeup: Time for a Garden Kick
Posted on 3/20/2022
15-year old daughter very obsessed with make-up. Used our Amazon account to buy makeup Products without our knowing till I looked up order history. Took away all her makeup products, went...
Read MorePerfect time for a reset
Posted on 1/18/2022
Our 9yo girls currently rule the roost. They speak to us flippantly, complain constantly, whine and pester after receiving a "no" answer, expect others to fetch/carry for them, ignore directives...
Read MoreShy 7 Year Old
Posted on 12/31/2021
My 7 year old first-grader has trouble joining into social situations. He plays well with his 5 year old brother, but with peers, he goes off on his own, and will tell stories to himself (I...
Read MoreAdopted Daughters Crave Adult Attention
Posted on 10/28/2021
Daughters want too much attention from adults, and are too touchy with them. We have two adopted daughters, ages five and six. Both seem to want an unnatural amount of attention from adults....
Read MoreWho Are You? (And what have you done with our daughter?)
Posted on 10/26/2021
Since June 2020, my daughter (who is now 14) has become someone I no longer recognize. When school was closed due to COVID-19, I made the terrible choice and let her have her phone 24/7, which has...
Read MoreTopics Covered
- Academic Issues
- ADHD and other disorders
- Adoption/Foster Parent
- Aggression
- Allowances
- Alpha Speech
- Anxieties, Fears
- Arguments with Children
- Audio Files
- Bedtime/Sleep
- Bedwetting
- Behavior Modification
- Biblical Parenting
- Bill of Rights for Children
- Bonding With Baby/Child
- Boundaries
- Bullies/Bullying
- Character/Values (teaching)
- Chores/Responsibilities
- College
- Consequences/Punishment
- Daycare/Preschool
- Depression/Self-Harm
- Developmental Issues (e.g. late talking)
- Discipline Methods (e.g. time-out)
- Disobedience/Defiance
- Divorce/Custody
- Drugs (marijuana, cocaine, etc.)
- Education
- Electronics (Computers/Video Games/Television/Cell Phones)
- Elementary School
- Emotions
- Extracurricular Activities/Hobbies
- Fatherless Homes
- Fathers
- Food/Eating Problems
- Gender
- Gender Identity
- Gentle Parenting
- Grandparents/Grandchildren
- High School
- Homeschooling
- Homework
- John's Discipline Methods
- John's Speeches
- Juvenile Antisocial Behavior
- Learning Disabilities
- Lying
- Manners
- Marriage Issues
- Mealtime/Eating
- Mental Health
- Middle School
- Miscellaneous Discipline Problems
- Miscellaneous Editorial Columns
- Mothers
- Nouveau Parenting
- Only Children
- Pacifiers/Security Blankets/Thumbsucking
- Parent Leadership and Authority
- Play
- Podcasts
- Post Modern Psychological Parenting
- Preschool
- Psychiatric Diagnoses
- Psychiatric Drugs
- Psychology
- Rebellious Behavior
- Respect
- Rewards
- School Behavior Issues
- School Issues
- Seasons of Parenting
- Self-Esteem
- Seven Biggest Mistakes Parents Make
- Sexual Identity
- Sexual Issues
- Shyness
- Sibling Conflict
- Single Parents
- Social Issues (fighting/arguing with friends)
- Socialization/Social Skills
- Spanking
- Step-Families
- Strong-Willed Child
- Tantrums
- Teenage Issues
- Terrible Twos
- Therapy
- Toilet Training
- Videos
- Violence (Looting, Stealing)
- Webinars
- Woke Parenting