Questions

BOYS WILL BE BOYS AND BOYS ARE WEIRD

Posted 1 week ago

We have a 7, 2 and 2 month old. All boys. Sometimes my 7 year old likes to shake his butt (or front side) in our 2 year olds' face. Usually while changing or rough housing. The boys share a room...

7 YO TAUNTS 2 YO

Posted 1 week ago

Our 7-year-old son is home for summer with our 2-year-old and 2-month-old. I've noticed him acting manipulative and greedy. For example, when the two-year-old gets up from his nap he will tell him...

CHILDREN HATE READING OUT LOUD TO THEIR PARENTS, AND I DON'T BLAME THEM

Posted 1 week ago

We have 3 boys, ages 7, 2 and 2 months. Our 7-year-old son has shown patterns of lying and gaslighting. It's very concerning. For example, he was reluctantly reading out loud at bedtime while his...

Troublemaking Siblings

Posted 2 weeks ago

Our two youngest children, when together, are troublemakers. They are 6 and 7, but when they are together they revert to large babies—don’t do their chores, lay around, giggle, tickling,...

Leadership is an antidote for emotionality

Posted 2 weeks ago

Our daughter, whom we have asked about before, is lying more often about small & big things, however we have noticed she pulls away from us and will hardly talk to us or open up. Whenever we...

Call the "Doctor" for Damsel in Distress

Posted 2 weeks ago

Our 7 yo daughter will act like a damsel in distress—getting fake hurt or acting like she can’t do something. My husband and I ignore it, or nonchalantly guide her to her room to ‘rest’. It has...

Time for a New Approach with 6YO

Posted 2 weeks ago

My son turns 6 next month and has hit a stage where if I use alpha speech and he doesn’t like what we’re doing, he follows me around whining or trying to convince me otherwise. If I tell him to go...

No fair rules and personal responsibility

Posted 3 weeks ago

My 10-year-old daughter is insolent and disobedient at home, especially towards my husband, her stepfather for the past year ("you're not my father"). She doesn't like the new rules that have been...

Recognizing the Value of Childhood Chores

Posted 3 weeks ago

Hi there! I am wanting to know what chores I should expect from my three daughters, 3.5yo twins and 6.5yo. They help out here and there, but Dad and I are tired of doing all the clean up and no...

GRANDMA EINSTEIN

Posted 3 weeks ago

Our children are in the ages of 5-10. Their grandmother (my mother-in-law) is employed by the school system, and acts like an expert in children’s health and mental health, although with no formal...

It's Always Something

Posted on 6/21/2024

Good day. My son (7.5) has come a long way on many behavioral issues. One infuriating thing we are still having trouble with is his tendency to break things. I get the impulse to "test"...

How to Build and Maintain Friendships

Posted on 6/15/2024

Hello, how do I help my 7-year-old daughter maintain good friendships? She is homeschooled, so our main source of friends is in church or our homeschool co-op. She is pretty outgoing, but I’ve...

Help! My Son Wants to Quit Swim Team

Posted on 6/7/2024

My 6-year-old son is refusing to participate in swim team, because he says it’s hard and that he wants to quit. In the past, we’ve allowed him to quit activities, but he was told he would do swim...

Posted on 5/27/2024

Our son 10 yrs. began pulling his hair out 6 months ago. Simultaneously began w/ sadness/crying spells. Later became aggression/violence. Bloodwork revealed several nutrition deficiencies. After...

Swim Team Dilemma for 6YO

Posted on 5/18/2024

My 6 year old son is refusing to participate in swim team, because he says it’s hard and I want to quit. In the past we’ve allowed him to quit activities, and he was told he would do swim team and...

Normal to explore

Posted on 5/18/2024

In the past couple of days I’ve noticed my 6 year old daughter playing with her nipple, or sometimes it’s her belly button. When I see it I usually tell her to stop. Should I be concerned or...

Moody Blues

Posted on 4/27/2024

Our 10-year-old son has started having huge mood swings. He gets easily angry, grumpy, and irritable. What is the best way to handle mood swings? We provide consequences for misbehavior, but how...

Time to get their attention

Posted on 4/20/2024

Hi I wrote in 10 days ago and never heard back. We’re struggling with bedtime. We have 2 girls, ages 5 and 3. We moved them into the same bedroom about a month ago. We read another response to...

Micro 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...

The Grass Really Isn’t Greener on the Other Side

Posted on 3/25/2024

My 10-year-old daughter seems always to think the grass is greener somewhere else. For example, we homeschool, which she enjoys, but often expresses her wish to return to regular school, and when...

Legal questions need legal answers

Posted on 3/20/2024

Our almost 7 year old son was caught fingering a 5 year old boy cousin in the butt. Our son said they both were doing this with each other and smelling their finger. Our son deeply regrets the...

Not Listening the First Time

Posted on 3/20/2024

We believe in the necessity of our children obeying the first time they are told-without challenge, delay or excuse. However, we also wish to walk the tightrope of a loving, nourishing home,...

Ask Me No Questions and I’ll Tell You No Lies

Posted on 3/8/2024

Lately, I’ve noticed my 6-year-old daughter telling lies. One day she was playing with her baby sister, and I suddenly heard the baby cry like she was in pain, so I figured she hurt herself in...

Time to Show you Mean Business

Posted on 3/7/2024

Hi! Today, after telling my 9 year old son no, he could not take Pokemon cards to school, he snuck them in his backpack and took them anyway. The teacher called me. She also told me he brought a...

Bluey Blues

Posted on 3/3/2024

I've discovered the Australian kids' show, Bluey. My 7-year-old boy knows about it and has seen some episodes. I'm skeptical of all things aimed at children. I've probably watched 8-10 episodes...

Choices for Children?

Posted on 2/28/2024

Hello, listening to John's podcast. Great stuff. When is it permissible to allow a child a choice? I understand John speaks against 'democratic' parenting but would be good to hear a podcast...

Fill His Glass

Posted on 2/23/2024

My 9-year-old son is very negative lately. He seems focused on the "bad" parts of the world. He is worried and frustrated about big problems in the world like destroying the environment, for...

Require Independent Play

Posted on 2/17/2024

We are trying to promote our kids to be more independent with regards to their play. They are all boys ages 9, 7 and 5. They can play independently, but still want me to play with them and often...

Teaching Manners to a Five-Year-Old

Posted on 2/7/2024

During a recent visit to a private school we are considering sending our daughter to, I found it difficult to have a conversation with the school staff due to my daughter's constant whining and...

Fostering Responsible Decision Making

Posted on 2/3/2024

Our 11 y/o son is in 5th grade at a private Christian school and we pay for him to have weekly trumpet lessons. He doesn't really practice though. I told him that if he wants to keep having mom...

Figure out how to not take it personally.

Posted on 1/29/2024

Hi, we have 4 children. Our oldest is 9 and adopted through foster care. Has been with us since a baby. She has had intermittent food issues like eating until she throws up as a toddler, but that...

Keep the Joy, Lose the Chatter

Posted on 1/25/2024

I have a 7 year old daughter, she should have been named Joy. Always happy, loves people. However, she has a tendency to talk incessantly, and never wants to be alone. She has friends, and cousins...

Help for HIgh Self-esteem Seizures

Posted on 1/24/2024

Six-year-old daughter has been kicked out of the garden twice for nighttime issues: screaming, throwing things, manipulating us to try to sleep with her or give her x,y,z. She was “kicked out” at...

How to use charts/tickets with 3 kids

Posted on 1/13/2024

How to decide to use chart or ticket system for 3 kids? 11 y/o and 9 y/o sons would have same misbehaviors #1 Do things 1st time asked #2 Clean up after yourself #3 Aggravating sibling (Sibling...

Victimhood by a 10 yro

Posted on 1/6/2024

Our son regularly makes excuses, assigns blame elsewhere, etc. when it comes to taking responsibilities for his decisions. He often plays the "poor me" or victim card. What are your best...

7 YO BEDTIME SOAP OPERA

Posted on 1/5/2024

Working on independent sleep 7.5 yo daughter. Follows bedtime routine and falls asleep in own bed. Is waking between Midnight & 5 am constantly. 2 years ago, I gave in and have been sleeping with...

How to Use the Ticket System for Misbehavior at Home

Posted on 1/2/2024

Hello, we have 2 adopted kids (9yr boy/12yr girl). Our son was diagnosed with ADHD by his school at the age of 6. He has an IEP. He is well-behaved at school. However, at home is a different...

Time for a Visit From the Doctor

Posted on 12/29/2023

I'm at a loss for direction. I tried lumping my kids together with a chart just to find how different they are. My 4 y/o loves to relentlessly antagonize my 5 y/o whiner, and my 7 y/o loves to...

Focusing on the right things

Posted on 12/1/2023

Our 8 y/o son (almost 9) was diagnosed a few yrs ago with ADHD and has an IEP. The interventions are not working - I'm not surprised. They say he lacks quality of work/effort and is easily...

Scary movie crisis.

Posted on 11/28/2023

My 7 year old son is afraid of a scary movie (Five Nights at Freddie's). Until 11/17, he had only seen the movie poster at a theater and some kids discuss it at school, which scared him enough as...

Turn to Tickets for Sibling Conflicts

Posted on 11/23/2023

I have 3 children (7, 5 & 4) who play very well together. They don't always get along well, and I'd like to do the chart system for them for the same behaviors (whining/tantrums, misusing...

8 YEAR OLD BOY WITH VICTIM MENTALITY

Posted on 10/29/2023

I have 3 boys (10, 10 and 8). I regretfully admit that I have fostered a victim mentality in my 8 year old to the point where he now plays victim outside of the house. When he is playing sports...

An Inconvenient Phobia

Posted on 10/27/2023

Our oldest daughter just turned six. She’s always had a hard time at the doctor & dentist. At almost 3, she was put under to put caps on her front teeth, and when one of them developed an abscess...

7yr old not doing what is right

Posted on 10/24/2023

Hello, My daughter is seven years old. She is having trouble focusing in school. She moves around in her chair a lot, often skips over reading instructions, frequently leaves big sections of her...

9 YEAR OLD PRACTICING TO BECOME A CLOWN

Posted on 10/18/2023

My 9 year old son is in 4th grade. He has always been good with others but a strong-willed challenger at home. My husband and I always felt that that meant we were doing our job, with good reports...

Calculating 6YO Attention Seeker

Posted on 10/13/2023

How do you teach a 6 year old the difference between expressing your emotions and using your emotions to manipulate people? Ex: If we tell him what consequences to expect, "eat your dinner or you...

1st Grade Son Prefers Silly Play

Posted on 10/8/2023

My 1st grade son who has always preferred oral "silly" play including making rasberry sounds, whistling, and staccato outbursts of word like but unintelligible syllables, and exaggerated laughter,...

2nd Grader Can't Keep Hands to Himself

Posted on 10/8/2023

My 2nd grade child struggles with keeping his hands to himself in school, a problem we've encountered for the past 2 years. We've actively collaborated with his teachers each year and introduced a...

When adults take charge , , ,

Posted on 10/3/2023

I have an 8 year old stepson in 2nd grade, he has equal time between both households. He has had behavioral issues in school on and off since preschool (hitting peers and teachers, destroying...

Classroom Management

Posted on 10/3/2023

Hello! Your straightforward, old-fashioned approach has been a big blessing to me as a children’s minister/teacher! Do you or your team have any classroom management resources for Sunday...

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