Young Teen/Junior High (13-15 years)
John's Most Recent Articles
Solution to Teens Leaving Clothes on Floor
Posted on 1/3/2023
Q: Getting my daughters, fifteen and thirteen, to pick up their clothes from the floors of their rooms requires constant nagging from me. I’m at my wit’s end. Please help me out with...
Read MoreConnect Son With Person You Both Trust
Posted on 12/20/2022
Q: Our fifteen-year-old son has pronounced mental health issues. He deals with multiple anxieties, depression, and is painfully shy. You seem to believe that psychological therapy is of...
Read MoreSchool Principal Asks About Discipline
Posted on 10/25/2022
Q: I am a principal at a private church-affiliated school. Contrary to my graduate school training and most of my peers’ practice, I believe disciplinary actions should "fit the crime."...
Read MoreDon't Enable Entitled Teen
Posted on 4/19/2022
A recent online article concerned a mom who refused to pay her teenage daughter for doing household chores. A poll of readers found that an overwhelming majority of them agreed with the...
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 MoreShould Son Switch Schools?
Posted on 10/5/2021
Q: Our 13-year-old eighth-grader says he doesn’t like the small private school he attends and wants us to put him in public high school next year. His grades are fine, he’s got several close...
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 MoreRecent Questions
Additional Support Needed for 14YO
Posted on 3/27/2025
My 14-year-old daughter got caught using her cell phone in school. The phone was taken, and we have handed out consequences (no phone and extra chores). But later learned she didn't not apologize...
Read MoreNip 14 YO's Unacceptable Behavior in the Bud
Posted on 3/25/2025
Caught 14 yr old son sneaking handheld video games in the middle of the night after bedtime. Upon investigation, found out he has also viewed porn on his school laptop 3x (during daytime hours)....
Read MoreStep-mom blues
Posted on 2/19/2025
I have a 14 yr old stepson that lies, sneaks (had electronics taken away but snuck his school tablet into his room to look at inappropriate things), and has "run away" to his grandparents to get...
Read MoreHelping Daughter Overcome Shyness and Build Confidence
Posted on 2/4/2025
Dear John my name is Tatiana Silva, and I reside in Nassau, Bahamas. We've had a conversation over the phone previously, and I continue to value and follow your work closely. I'm reaching out for...
Read MoreTeachable moments
Posted on 1/25/2025
Wonderful advice. Thank you so much! Your books are amazing; we love them. I just purchased and listened to The 7 Biggest Mistakes Parents Make. Our problem is that we were more "buddy buddy"...
Read More13 YO STEALING MONEY FROM PARENTS
Posted on 9/25/2024
My 13 year old son is stealing money from us. Both from my purse and our envelope system. I was suspicious for a long time, but now I am confident it's him. My guess it's to spend money on junk...
Read MoreCarry On!
Posted on 9/1/2024
We have six kids ranging from 15-5. The oldest is a girl and the last 5 are boys. We are also homeschooling, so we are together ALL the time. It's hard for me to discipline her because I DON'T...
Read MoreMORE SOCIOPATHIC BEHAVIOR FROM 15 YO GIRL
Posted on 8/23/2024
Thank you for your reply. I actually sent both parents a description of sociopathy after the thefts and asked that they send her to counseling. My husband agreed but his ex emphatically disagreed...
Read MoreTEENAGER HAS A PERSONALITY DISORDER?
Posted on 8/20/2024
How can you tell the difference between normal teen rebellion and other personality disorders?
Read MoreSOCIOPATHIC BEHAVIOR IN TEEN GIRL?
Posted on 8/19/2024
I need advise about a situation I am dealing with with my almost 15 yo stepdaughter. She has been exhibiting very bad behavior over the last 1-2 years including lying, stealing, sneaking out,...
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
