Pre-Teen (11-12 years)
John's Most Recent Articles
On Chores, Discipline, Potty-Training
Posted on 3/29/2022
Q: When I give my 5-year-old daughter a chore, she does it, but all the while she is muttering under her breath, huffing and puffing, and so on. Do I discipline that behavior or just let her...
Read MoreIn Defense of ‘Because I Said So'
Posted on 2/1/2022
Q: Concerning chores, another expert recommends giving a child a certain number of chips, like poker chips, every month and if he or she fails to do a chore or doesn’t do it properly, you take a...
Read MoreTeaching Financial Responsibility to Teens
Posted on 9/14/2021
Q: My two young teens are constantly begging me to buy them clothes. It’s become highly annoying. After reading your book on teenagers, I’ve decided to stop buying them any clothing and give them...
Read MoreThe Biggest Problem Teachers Face Is Parents
Posted on 7/13/2021
When I ask a teacher, “What is the biggest problem you face?” the answer – there has never been an exception – is “parents.” That is certainly a recent phenomenon. My parents were...
Read MoreFour Steps To Give Argumentative Teenager the Last Word (and Restore Sanity)
Posted on 6/8/2021
Q: My fifteen-year-old daughter is slowly driving me insane! She argues with me about everything and always wants the last word. No matter how well I explain the “why?” of a decision to her, she...
Read MoreMicromanaging Child Always Produces Conflicts
Posted on 2/23/2021
A therapist takes a 10-year-old boy into what she calls “therapy.” The young fellow is belligerently defiant toward his parents and throws titanic tantrums when things don’t go his way. At school...
Read MoreBeware of 'The Protocol'
Posted on 12/29/2020
Q: Our son is seven years old and in the second grade. His school went virtual this past Spring and we see no end to it, not in the near term at least. When he was going to a brick-and-mortar...
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 MoreThe Realities of Smartphones and Teenagers
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 MoreWhy Small Classrooms Are Overrated
Posted on 5/5/2020
No rational person would argue that the smaller the class size, the better, right?” asked the radio talk show host. “I think I’m a rational person,” I said, “and I can offer proof...
Read MoreRecent Questions
TRANSGENDER TEENS AT FAMILY GATHERING
Posted 3 weeks ago
My children are 13, 11 and 8 years old. We are Christian, and being so, believe in treating others with respect, even when we don't agree with the other's lifestyle. We will be attending a...
Read MoreDealing With Teenager's Attitude
Posted on 4/11/2022
My 12-year-old daughter is not motivated to do school anymore. She is in 6th grade and has always been homeschooled. But now, she is just "dead in the water" and paddling no where. She constantly...
Read MoreDon't bite off more than you can chew
Posted on 4/8/2022
I have a tickets question. Is it still workable to use tickets on three different children and use two target misbehavior issues? I could even reduce it to two children, but I was thinking it...
Read More12 Year Old Daughter Unmotivated to do School Work
Posted on 4/6/2022
My 12 year old daughter is not motivated to do school anymore. She is in 6th grade and has always been home-schooled. But now, she is just "dead in the water" and paddling no where. She just lays...
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 MoreDon't Make a Mountain out of a Molehill
Posted on 3/18/2022
Ten year old son plays with his penis at bedtime. I go to his room at night time and finds him asleep with his hand in his pants. I've told him how wrong this is. Hoe can I get him to stop? He...
Read MoreFocus on Ability
Posted on 3/1/2022
Do you handle children with high-functioning autism differently than siblings who are also on The Program (daily/weekly charts)? We find we are having to "overlook" certain behaviors that would...
Read MoreCorporal punishment dilemma
Posted on 2/18/2022
Hello. We have three boys. They are 6, 10 and 11. We adopted them out of foster care about 3 years ago. When necessary as a tool to discipline our kids (and train them to make better choices next...
Read MoreParent vs. Grandparent Relationships
Posted on 2/15/2022
My husband and I love the John Rosemond way of parenting. We set rules and expect our kids to follow them. When my parents come around, they completely baby them because they "feel bad" and think...
Read MoreLittle Runaway
Posted on 2/10/2022
Our 11 yr old son has been spending a lot of time in room due to behavior and losing tickets. He decided yesterday after losing his tickets that he had enough and was running away. He has said...
Read MoreAudio
Parenting the Strong Willed Teen Audio File
Posted on 1/8/2015
This is an entertaining and informative talk on understanding and managing even the most petulant of today’s teenagers. The talk was recorded live before an audience in San Diego, CA and is based...
Read MoreTopics Covered
- ADHD and other disorders
- Adoption/Foster Parent
- Aggression
- Allowances
- Alpha Speech
- Anxieties, Fears
- Arguments with Children
- Audio Files
- Bedtime/Sleep
- Bedwetting
- 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)
- Extracurricular Activities/Hobbies
- Father
- Food/Eating Problems
- Gender
- Grandparents/Grandchildren
- High School
- Homeschooling
- Homework
- John's Discipline Methods
- Learning Disabilities
- Lying
- Manners
- Marriage Issues
- Mealtime/Eating
- Miscellaneous Discipline Problems
- Miscellaneous Editorial Columns
- Mothers
- Only Children
- Pacifiers/Security Blankets/Thumbsucking
- Parent Leadership and Authority
- Play
- Preschool
- Rebellious Behavior
- Respect
- Rewards
- School Issues
- Self-Esteem
- Shyness
- Sibling Conflict
- Single Parents
- Social Issues (fighting/arguing with friends)
- Socialization/Social Skills
- Spanking
- Step-Families
- Tantrums
- Teenage Issues
- Terrible Twos
- Toilet Training
