Questions

Teenager Refusing to Go to School

Posted on 2/21/2022

We have transferred our 14-year-old son from his high school of 1500 students to a charter school which has under 300 students. Now, he's refusing to go to school, and we don't know what to do....

Smartphones and "Smart-mouthed" Teen

Posted on 2/18/2022

Mr. John: We need your advice. My son just turned 15 and never had video games or a smartphone. He had a flip phone, and watches Tv on weekends. This school year we gave him a Smartphone for him...

Avoiding a checkmate requires change.

Posted on 2/16/2022

We have transferred our 14-year-old son (9th grade) from his high school of 1500 students to a charter school which has under 300 students. His grades were declining rapidly, we noticed he found...

Parent 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...

Teen leaders in the home means chaos

Posted on 2/1/2022

"My Perspective" I'm a stepfather to 2 girls ages 15 & 12. Also, I have a 13 year old daughter of my own. We have all lived together for 4 years. Before combining families I had fears of being...

Parent Apologies: Choosing Relationship Over Being Right with Adult Child

Posted on 1/19/2022

This question builds off of a prior one answered by Gretchen Slover. Last summer, my 18-year-old daughter lost about 15-20 pounds. She was at about 130 at her peak and in good shape. My ex-wife...

What to Say, What to Do?

Posted on 1/4/2022

How much to say of what we know? We randomly review our 15 year old daughter's school laptop. We just did so for the first time this school year a few days ago. We found screenshots of messages...

Clarifying the Garden Kick

Posted on 12/4/2021

Does kicking out of the garden mean the child is confined to their new boring room for the duration of the time? Do you restrict them from playing outside with sibblings or friends? Can they...

Reading in the Morning or Reading in the Evening? Raising a Reader with Learning Challenges

Posted on 11/18/2021

I am homeschool my 7 year old child/grandchild. His Mother was diagnosed at age 7 with dyslexia and an auditory processing disorder by Dr Lucia Karnes which made me confident the assessment was...

Chronic quitter

Posted on 11/1/2021

My 15 year old grandson went to his first high school swim tryout. He came home from practice and told his mother (our daughter) he did not want to go back for the next three days of tryouts...

Who 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...

Do I Nag Him O'er and O'er? Quoth the Mother: Nevermore!!

Posted on 10/26/2021

We are having major problems getting our 15 soon to be 16 year old out of bed in the mornings for school. We have changed his bed time to an earlier time and he still will not get up. We have to...

15 year old Daughter in Fistfight

Posted on 10/8/2021

15 year old daughter in a fistfight at school. Her story changes but the gist of it is that a girl she hadn't seen in 3 years wanted to talk to her (I doubt they hadn't spoken to each other in 3...

Teen Changing Clothes After Leaving the House

Posted on 10/8/2021

15 year old daughter on video wearing short shorts at school. Our expectation has always been that pants are worn to school. She is changing clothes at school then changing back before she comes home.

Time for A Garden Kick

Posted on 8/27/2021

We have our 12 year old son's phone locked for certain reasons. If his grades slip below a B we lock it so he can only call family, if he is disrespectful or doesn't complete his chores, his...

When Your Teen Cancels God

Posted on 8/1/2021

Our 15 year old (High IQ) grandson recently informed his mother (our daughter) that he does not believe in God. This has devastated her and us.She is divorced from his father and they have 50/50...

Coping with the pain of losing a parent

Posted on 7/19/2021

My daughter recently died of brain cancer. Her husband works full time and I am with the kids (ages 8, 9, 11 and 15) most of the time. I would like to know how to help them through the grieving...

Who's in Charge?

Posted on 5/10/2021

I gave my son (15) liberty to listen to music via YouTube. He likes rap and for awhile listened to clean versions of songs. But that recently changed. He told me that the song Rap Star by Polo G...

Turn Wasting Time into Making Time

Posted on 5/6/2021

Our 14 year old son has been home schooled this year with a combination of online classes with teachers and online self paced classes. He is struggling with time management. He is behind in most...

Coaching Kids Through Frustrations

Posted on 4/23/2021

My 11-year-old boy has Aspergers . He gets frustrated easily. What should I do?

Use family meetings to address and solve problems.

Posted on 1/6/2021

Hello - I need some advice for dealing with moody and temperamental behavior in my 14 year old. I've read Teen Proofing and recognize that I may be a micromanager and am trying to step back and...

Fostering responsible decision making in your teen

Posted on 12/29/2020

Dear Mr. John. My almost fourteen years old is a very musical talented boy. He can play piano and guitar by ear. However, he barely play the instruments, or practice enough to learn a complete...

Avoid Micromanaging Tweens Peer Group

Posted on 12/15/2020

What should I do if my daughters only friends are bad influences on her and not people I want her being friends with? One is a lesbian, one has anxiety issues and they both are obsessed with Tik...

Honest Conversations

Posted on 12/12/2020

My nephew has confided in my son (11yr old- cousin), that he is Bisexual. His parents have recently divorced- March will be 2 years (mother left) and my brother is a single parent of 4 children....

Loss of Grandfather Angers 13 year old Granddaughter

Posted on 12/5/2020

My 13 year old grandchild has been mad about everything since her grandfather died last year. Her grades are suffering and she has no interest in anything except playing on her phone. She has...

Daughter's Dating Unsettling For Parent

Posted on 11/18/2020

Do you have any advice on teen dating? Specifically how to handle an unhealthy relationship that you are watching your teen daughter engage in?

Time to Take the Bull by the Horns

Posted on 11/2/2020

I strongly suspect my son (almost 16) has stolen money from me on a few occasions recently. A month ago $300 disappeared from my purse while we were away on a trip. At the time I thought it must...

Normal? Problem? Normal Problem?

Posted on 10/31/2020

Hello! I'm worried about my almost-14-YO daughter. Her grades remain good and she is still on her soccer team. She does not have a smartphone or tablet. Our wifi is off every night starting at 10...

Keep Delicate Conversations As Simple as Possible

Posted on 10/22/2020

Hello! I am wondering how, when the topic comes up, should I address same sex relationships with my kids (mainly my 8 year old son for now; I also have a 4 year old daughter). We are Catholic...

Teens and Technology: Education is Key for Safety

Posted on 10/14/2020

We have not allowed our 3 children ages 12, 14 and 15 to have cell phones. They also do not have Social Media accounts. They are allowed to text or FaceTime friends or cousins using our phones. ...

Parenting a Disrespectful Teen with Divorced Parents

Posted on 10/10/2020

Almost two years ago my husband left (affair) and we are in a very difficult divorce. We are not friendly and don’t communicate other than texting. We have four children together and have 50/50...

13-Year-Old Lacks Motivation

Posted on 10/6/2020

Dear Mr. Rosemond, My son is 13 years old. Our concern is that he does not seem interested in setting a goal and dedicate time and effort to any activity. He has music talent, is a good...

Address the elephant in the room with teens.

Posted on 9/1/2020

Your previous advice has been very good and I am seeing improvements. Thank you. But my question today relates to school holidays and if I should leave my 2 kids home alone (age 13 & 15) while I...

Music Matters

Posted on 9/1/2020

My son is 14. I let him have Spotify music not realizing the horrible explicit music. Rap. I recently found where he was listening to it. We don’t allow that in our home. I’m going to block the...

Night Owl Habit

Posted on 8/28/2020

Still a daily struggle here and school is about to start. I gave in and allowed the computer back, but I cannot get this kid on a schedule of getting up for the day and sleeping at night. He is...

Weed-be-Gone

Posted on 8/16/2020

My 15yo son admitted to me that a few months ago he took weed (THC) for about a week. Yesterday he and a friend took some more weed. I found out when his friend started feeling nauseated and dizzy...

Tween Not Playing By the Rules

Posted on 8/10/2020

I have sent in a request for a coach, as you can see I have been having a difficult time with my 13 year old. I just experienced a tantrum again, it’s nightly for about a week now, how he is still...

On-Fleek Slang a bit too Woke for Momma

Posted on 8/8/2020

I have a 14 year old boy that talks nonsense incessantly. He is a good-natured kid, and I don’t think he speaks out of malice. He picks on his sister and me almost constantly. For example, I will...

What to Do About Screen Addiction?

Posted on 7/5/2020

My 11-year-old son is obsessed with screens. If we tell him to do something while he is on his phone or iPad he huffs and puffs or we are told, “in a minute." Then he only gets 2 out of 3 chores...

Insistence Will Lead To Resistance From Teenage Boy

Posted on 6/27/2020

I am a single mom with only one child, my 15yo son. He has recently started saying that he "isn't hungry" at dinnertime, or will "eat later", and says he doesn't want to eat with me. He often does...

Navigating the grieving process.

Posted on 6/23/2020

My spouse recently died at home under hospice care. He had been ill for 5 years. Our grandchildren live close and have been partially living with us since they were born. We all are devastated. I...

Teen drug use is complicated.

Posted on 6/15/2020

My 14 yr. old son had sleep over with classmate. During the evening the boys contacted an older boy & arranged to meet him to buy edible marijuana. After the adults went to bed, they left the...

Emotional Intelligence Begins With Good Manners

Posted on 6/14/2020

Are you familiar with the term 2e kids? Or twice exceptional? Our 10 year old son appears to fall into this category. He is at above average intelligence, but his emotional iq is lacking and a...

Teen in charge spells disaster.

Posted on 6/2/2020

15yr old daughter is only happy if everything is going her way. If something doesn’t suit her she ignores the family at dinner and on picnics And other family outings. But when her friend comes...

Parenting Material is for Parents, Not Kids.

Posted on 6/1/2020

Is it ok to go through your material with our 12 year old son listening? It seems like he would understand better this way?

Disrespectful Tween

Posted on 5/22/2020

My 11 year old daughter gets upset when I correct her and calls me names in her heart not aloud; but she later tells me those rude things and apologises. (The most recent name she called me...

Don't take it personally

Posted on 5/2/2020

My 14 year old got a phone for christmas this year much to my regret. We put guidelines and restrictions in place to monitor her. I have her phone after bedtime and in looking at her texting...

Establishing boundaries with 15 yo about boyfriend

Posted on 4/16/2020

I want to know how to establish boundaries with my 15 year old female teenager about the boyfriend. What resources do you recommend I read?

Disrespectful 15 YO Daughter

Posted on 4/3/2020

My 15yr old daughter always stomps her foot when someone in her family cough or burp. It has become worse where if I make a tiny sound clearing my throat she bangs or hits whatever she is doing. ...

Co-Parenting precautions continued

Posted on 3/29/2020

My 7 year old son has picked up on some terrible slang while with his father. Everything is “banging mate” as one example. It sounds horrendous. How do I stop this?

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