Questions

Unsolicited Advice?

Posted on 2/26/2023

Our son and daughter in law were telling us their 4 year old son (our grandson) hits his mom when he gets angry. She said she puts him in his room and he kicks and screams and throws a fit and...

Time to Turn the Tables on 4-Year-Old

Posted on 2/5/2023

My husband and I own and operate a private preschool. Our son is 4 1/2 years old is currently has been enrolled in our school since September 2021. Over the course of his enrollment, our son...

A TYRANT IN THE MAKING

Posted on 1/23/2023

Any suggestions to tactfully tell your adult parenting children that they are making a monster out of their 4 year old by trying to coddle him at every snag in his day. They are using some...

Attention-Getting Antics Working for 4YO

Posted on 1/12/2023

Our question is about punishment for our 4½ year old girl. Usually we ask her to stand in a circle on the floor, or we send her to her room for the rest of the night, or a fixed amount of time, no...

4 year old crying episodes

Posted on 1/11/2023

My grandson is 4 to be 5 in May of this year 2023. He is in a pre K public school and has been since September of 2022. He has been , we think, behind in his personal growth. During the birth he...

mom worried 4 yo boy is lying

Posted on 12/30/2022

When do children know/understand what lies are? I have a 4 year old, who sometimes tells fantastical stories that I truly believe he thinks are real. But I know that he is malevolently lying about...

Does Chicken Little Make You a Little Chicken? A Four-Year Old's Tantrumizing

Posted on 12/29/2022

Constant power struggle with 4-year old. Our 4 year old son’s behavior has done a complete 180 within the last couple of weeks only at home. Preschool and daycare is constantly telling us he’s...

Who's in Charge?

Posted on 12/29/2022

I have a 4 year old and a 15 month old. About 6 months ago he was misbehaving and we did the card system. It worked well. He is very good at school (just preschool 3 mornings a week) and with our...

Fears, Five Year Olds, and the Doctor

Posted on 12/12/2022

My daughter, age 5 1/2 recently started acting irrational. She refuses to get in the car and will unbuckle herself and jump out. This behavior started a week ago when she refused to sleep in her...

5 yo disrupts bedtime for sibling

Posted on 12/9/2022

My two oldest share a room, unfortunately that is our only option at this time, my son is 6 and my daughter is 5. Every single night our son lays down quietly, stays in bed and does his best to go...

The Doctor is In

Posted on 11/29/2022

Help! Our daughter is 5 and has become defiant and disobedient. For example she will come to us and say "I know I'm not supposed to (enter action) but I did." She said she's being truthful by...

Pest Control

Posted on 11/17/2022

Our 5-year-old daughter has come a long way with her behavior in the last year, but the top two biggest issues still are 1) her never ending pestering and annoying. She pesters and annoys those...

Silly boy, listening is for kids

Posted on 11/13/2022

Our 4 year old was a pretty good listener right up to when he turned 4. We've weathered some big tantrums, which seem to mostly be in decline (frequency & length). Now, he has started to just "be...

When It Comes to Clothes, 4-Year-Old Has a Mind of Her Own

Posted on 11/9/2022

HI! My daughter turns 4 in a month. She has a closet full of beautiful dresses but chooses the same 3 outfits of hand me down play clothes. Am I asking too much to choose her outfits? This was...

Potty Training Setbacks

Posted on 10/24/2022

My 4.5 year old has recently started having accidents in preschool. These include both poop and pee. It doesn't seem to bother her. At first the school nurse would clean her up and send her back...

Adoption questions

Posted on 9/27/2022

We have adopted 2 sons. They are 5 and 3 years old, and they came to us as babies (6 months and 3 1/2 months). They have never had any family member visits, or anyone in their lives other than my...

Working on one behavior at a time.

Posted on 9/26/2022

4 yr old aggressive son, next question: turns out I have come to realise I am enabling bad behavior by being a pushover of a mother. I need to sort out his behaviour, and my responses to it,...

Five 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...

Aggressive 4-Year-Old Boy

Posted on 9/19/2022

My 4 yr old is aggressive, the gentle parenting we have been sold isn't working for this. I have just read your work and as of yestersday have been confining my son to his room if he hits/is...

Raising Believers

Posted on 8/30/2022

We just started the ticket system and we have one target misbehavior for our 4 year old. Following directions. For example, when he loses a ticket because he doesn’t listen when we ask him to...

Time to Reel In 5-Year-Old

Posted on 8/16/2022

We have a 5 year old who has come a long way with behavior but lately hasn't been great at listening when told to do something. She will almost pretend we didn't say it or will just say "I will in...

Sometimes all you need is a hug and a dutch door.

Posted on 8/13/2022

When my 4 year old son loses all his privileges for the day, we cannot get him to stay in his room. What is something we can try? We calmly put him back in his room each time he runs out, but it...

Get Creative

Posted on 7/24/2022

Greetings! Our usually cheerful and happy 4yo daughter does not seem to react normally to punishment. At first she gets upset and cries, but very shortly into a time out or being sent to her room...

Middle of the Night Potty Solution

Posted on 7/16/2022

My 3.5 year old has been potty trained since before he was 2. I read and generally used the Rosemond book. However, I didn’t do the night/nap training as my pediatrician said it was just...

Natural 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...

9 year old's Frequent Night Time Urinating Best Evaluated by Pediatrician

Posted on 6/26/2022

My 9-year-old frequently gets out of bed to go to the toilet at night. I don’t mind but our house is laid out that he has to leave his bedroom, come down the stairs, past our living room, dining...

3-Year-Old in Hyper Mode

Posted on 6/22/2022

My 3.5 year old will get hyper and annoying when he is overtired or overexcited. When he’s in a “hyper mode”, he’s running around, trying to roughhouse, jumping into people, being loud and...

5-Year-Old Is Sore Loser of Titanic Proportion!

Posted on 6/20/2022

My 5 year old son is a terribly sore loser. Everytime he loses he either sobs uncontrollably or stomps of fuming mad. He is the oldest of 4 siblings (in case that is relevant). My husband and I...

The Third Year of Life - A Time to Learn and Blossom

Posted on 5/24/2022

What chores and responsibilities should a 3.5 year old have? Should there be a designate “workbook/learning” time every day?

Youn Boy Wants Answer to Complicated Physiological Question

Posted on 5/21/2022

Hi there, My 4 years old boy asked my wife last night before going to bed why his penis gets large. She managed to delay answering it by asking him to ask me. We both clueless how to answer...

Bedtime Monsters

Posted on 5/15/2022

My 9 year old won’t go to bed at night, constantly crying about monsters etc which has never been an issue before. It seems to be one thing after the other. If he could sleep in my bed he would...

4 Year Old and Grandma need a break

Posted on 5/12/2022

I am a grandparent?! asking the question. My husband and I take turns babysitting my daughter's 2 of 3 kids, their oldest daughter is in 2nd grade. We are baby sitting due to their youngest son,...

4 Year Old Boy in Structured Academic Program? Not on My Watch!

Posted on 5/10/2022

Hello, Our 4 year old son is attending a private school this fall which will have a more structured environment than his daycare. He is a very hyperactive boy and I wondered if there were...

Hearing Voices

Posted on 4/27/2022

"John" is almost 6 and is hearing voices in his head. The voices keep him awake at night and tell him "bad things". He does not try to get up and there are no behavior issues. He simply can't...

Young daughter testing the boundaries

Posted on 4/21/2022

Hi! I am following up on questions I asked about a year ago that were titled "The Preschooler: in her Untamed Primal Glory" Using a parent coach and reading "The Well Behaved Child" (many...

No Response is a Response: Let Them Be Silly

Posted on 4/21/2022

How do we teach our children to stop the constant silly talk/noises? One child is diagnosed with ADHD, autism, etc. I've set up a rule that the first 30 minutes after wakeup and the last 30...

Exhausted and Longing for Peace

Posted on 4/4/2022

Discovering your books has put us on a new trajectory in our family after years of struggle with our "high misbehavior" 5 year old. For several months we've used the ticket system and "kicked him...

Middle of the Night Snacks Prolonging Mealtime Battles

Posted on 3/20/2022

In September I asked for advice on my picky 2-year-old. For 6 months, I have consistently tried the methods recommended. I didn't fuss over meals, just gave him small amounts of whatever I made,...

Don'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...

Parental Leadership is Critical

Posted on 3/10/2022

Good afternoon, My 5, almost 6, year old son is struggling, in school and at home, with impulse control and tantrums. Today, he got in trouble at school for spitting on the carpet and another...

Five year old Frustration

Posted on 3/5/2022

We care for our five year old great grandson and his three year old sister four days a week. He will break down tearfully when he doesn’t get what he wants or is frustrated. It’s improving but...

Difficult parenting can be remedied.

Posted on 2/28/2022

My 5yo son, with whom we have long worked to correct certain behaviors (chiefly rule breaking, obeying, executive functioning, outbursts, needy attention), has begun to bang his head on the floor,...

Saying "Bye-Bye" to Binkie

Posted on 2/25/2022

What age should children stop using a binkie? Our 3-year-old still loves his for night only. Any ideas how to approach taking it away?

Six Year Old Loves to Scream

Posted on 2/20/2022

My 6 year old has screaming fits nearly every day usually related to being told to do something he doesn't want to or when he is mad at his brother. We have gone back to making him go to his room...

Corporal 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...

Silly Bedtime Brothers

Posted on 1/18/2022

Our older two boys, 5 and 7, go crazy at bedtime. They are silly, which is fine, but in being silly they make messes and are often disrespectful. After going to bed, we can hear them laughing and...

Mom Wants to Put a Lid on Son's Potty Talk

Posted on 1/17/2022

Hello, We have a 4.5 year old son. He has been using the word "poop" in everything. Trying to be funny. Or trying to get a rise? Depends. Here are a couple of examples.. I am 33 weeks pregnant...

Importance of Presenting a United Parenting Front

Posted on 1/2/2022

This may be a complicated question: I have a question about my and my husband's parenting styles. I come from a conservative background, my parents were old school and traditional. Lots of...

Shy 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...

Disciplining With Tickets When Grandma Comes to Town

Posted on 12/29/2021

I just got your book, "The Well Behaved Child," and today I began using tickets (and Alpha speech) for my just 5-year-old son who is very loving and sweet but would be considered a "high...

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