Questions

Setting Self Aside--A Teen's Family Obligation

Posted on 4/4/2021

My husband works out of town every other week. He is out of town for the Easter holiday. He does not have a relationship with my older son, who is living at home during this college semester. He...

4 Y/O Won't Greet People Kindly

Posted on 3/28/2021

My 4 year old son does not greet people. He gives them a scowl or growls at them. He sometimes hides behind me. I’ve told him so many times that he can’t make mean faces at people. It takes him...

19 Year-old Son's Girlfriend Glued to Her Phone

Posted on 3/22/2021

My nineteen-year-old son is living at home attending college during COVID. His girlfriend comes to visit on the weekends. She does not engage in conversation with me or make eye contact but is...

Senior Picture Haircut Battle

Posted on 3/22/2021

My seventeen year old son has been growing his hair out. It is time for his senior pictures and I want him to get a haircut. His girlfriend likes his hair, therefore he is reluctant to cut it. How...

Put and End to Nagging Over Chores

Posted on 3/4/2021

Would love some feedback on chores for my 6 and 8 year olds. Every Saturday they are expected to each clean their own mirror and sink in the bathroom, clean either the play room or their bedroom...

Meltdowns, Scratches, and Wrestling Matches: Dealing With the Brothers 3

Posted on 3/1/2021

Over the past year, we have spent more time together as a family at home. While some of this has been good, we have also seen conflict between our oldest boys, ages 4 and 6, increase. Sometimes...

When Getting Dressed Becomes Game of Chase

Posted on 2/16/2021

Hi, my daughter, will turn 3 in 2 months recently started defying us when it comes to changing her clothes. Whenever she is told it’s time to do it, she thinks its some sort of game, runs away or...

Creating a Gratitude Attitude

Posted on 1/29/2021

My son is generally a good eater and has got out of bad behaviour when it comes to the food he is given because He doesn’t have to eat if he doesn’t want to, but he is not allowed to give his...

Flush it away

Posted on 1/27/2021

My 6 year old has been putting small poops down the bathroom sink drain and bathtub. This has just started as far as we know and usually occurs during his nighttime shower time which he does...

It's All About Leadership and Love

Posted on 1/25/2021

Hello, we are over in the UK, back in full lock down, schools closed. I struggle with consistency, tiredness and forgetfulness. Even worse I feel humiliated and pathetic because I struggle with...

She's (M)Asking for Trouble--the 9-yr old and the 3 D's

Posted on 1/21/2021

My 9 year old daughter called me dumb this morning because we had a disagreement about the way you put on a mask. I was very upset and blew up and lost it on her. She was right about the mask and...

Grandson Needs to be Held More Accountable

Posted on 1/15/2021

I just pulled an old John article out of my drawer that I have had for years. It was about how therapy can be detrimental to a child and rarely works. Also talked about kids emotions and feelings...

Pertaining to Private Parts and the Six-Year Old

Posted on 1/2/2021

My six year old son and next door neighbor (also six year old boy) are great playmates. Recently, they and their dads were outside playing. The dads were talking about the landscaping and noticed...

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...

Respect isn't Optional

Posted on 12/26/2020

Hello- I am so glad I subscribed to Parent Guru! I love reading all the questions/answers!! So I have a 9 year old son and unfortunately his father and I have divorced. I moved (with my son)...

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....

She needs to stop talking.

Posted on 12/9/2020

Hello. Our recently turned 5 year old daughter talks nonstop, if we let her. She is very extroverted and appears to verbalize every thought that comes into her mind. Valid questions and...

Difficult is Not Bad

Posted on 12/2/2020

I am homeschooling my Grandson, who is in first grade. He is a bright child, but not motivated for school. He has struggled with handwriting and anything which requires manual dexterity, or fine...

Nap Time and Potty Training

Posted on 11/22/2020

When potty training, you say in your book to put diapers on them at nighttime at first, while trying diaperless a couple of nights a week. So, what do I do at nap time? My twin boys are 29 months...

Toilet training day 3

Posted on 11/14/2020

We toilet trained our oldest at 28 months in two weeks using N75. Now years later, we are on day 3 of N75 with our boy/girl twins who are 20 months old, and I'm already projecting this is going to...

It's Her Problem to Solve

Posted on 11/14/2020

My daughter is struggling in school since grade 2. She's in French immersion. She has failed three tests in a row so far because she didn't study for them.. Her teacher says that she seems to...

Toddler seems angered by the potty

Posted on 11/2/2020

Hi! We’ve been potty training for going on four months now. Daughter is 23 months. She has days where she goes accident free and then others where it’s 100% accident. The past few weeks she seems...

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...

The Time for Tough Love is NOW

Posted on 10/31/2020

My son is 19 years old and has been graduated from high school for 1 1/2 years. His teen years were a struggle with almost not graduating, drug use and getting into trouble with the law. He no...

Patriotic Preoccupation: A Toddler's Flag Fixation

Posted on 10/28/2020

Our 28 month old is OBSESSED with American flags. This has lasted over a year. The flag has become a large issue many times throughout the day as his obsession spans isn’t only with the flag...

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...

How To Apply Discipline Techniques While Not at Home

Posted on 10/19/2020

We are putting into practice a number of parenting techniques mentioned on this site. And overall things are working well when we are in the home. How do I use the "three strikes" method with...

Developing the Skill To Play by Oneself

Posted on 10/15/2020

Any special resources you would recommend for an only child? When I see "play by yourself" I often feel guilty because he is really by himself! I think I overindulge due to guilt that he's alone....

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...

Don't Feed 5 YO's Desire to Acquire

Posted on 10/8/2020

My 5 1/2-year-old boy is greedy. If he gets a present he is excited and laser-focused on it. He is not appreciative once he gets it. He plays with it a bit then wants more. He is a sweet...

Curb Behavior With Alpha Speech

Posted on 10/6/2020

My son is 3-years-old and is a sweet boy and had a pretty good first two and a half years. Three months ago he started bluntly saying "No" to us and being more aggressive towards his brother, and...

3D Snapshot of the Mien of a Tween: not a Pretty Picture

Posted on 9/23/2020

My 12 year old son is stealing money out of my purse. He has a long history of defiance, sneakiness, and lying. He is also disrespectful, and disobedient. We suspect he's been stealing money for...

Normal Kindergarten Boy

Posted on 9/21/2020

Our 5-year-old is struggling in kindergarten because of behavior. He runs around the classroom instead of staying in his seat, refuses to stay quiet (shouts) when the teacher is teaching and...

Disrespectful 8-Year-Old

Posted on 9/19/2020

We have noticed more ungrateful and entitled behavior in my 8 year old son recently. During a trip to the zoo, he became upset and was rude and disrespectful when I would not buy him food and ice...

How to Deal With a 5-Year-Old Who Hits

Posted on 9/17/2020

Our son is 5 and just started kindergarten. He's had so many tough transitions this year with COVID lockdowns. One day in March his friends, preschool, extended family were all taken away and then...

Mean behavior on playground

Posted on 9/10/2020

Advice please for mom of a strong-willed preschool girl age 4 who got into trouble at pre-school for being mean to other children. The teacher said she has tried talking to preschool girl about...

Curing the Bedtime Blues

Posted on 9/7/2020

Our almost 2.5-year-old daughter started to refuse to go to sleep. She doesn’t take naps at home anymore (only at daycare) and was fully sleep trained before age one. It all started with her...

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...

Welcome to the Terrible Twos!

Posted on 8/30/2020

When I get ready in the morning I let my 21 month old play with cotton balls and bandaids and other non harmful bathroom supplies. When I was done I told him to pick up the the cotton balls (he...

How to deal with a frustrated toddler

Posted on 8/12/2020

How to deal with a frustrated toddler

Needy 5 year old

Posted on 8/10/2020

My soon to be ( in 2 months) 5 year old is extremely needy. He doesn't play by himself and if he does it is for a very short time. 20 to 30 minutes maybe. He will not go to sleep without one of us...

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...

Parents Need to Be On The Same Page

Posted on 7/23/2020

What if both parents in the home are not on the same page, can bad behavior be corrected?

Nipping his misbehavior in the Bud

Posted on 7/19/2020

Our 18 month old has gone from being an easy to child to a handful. All of his behavior seems normal, but more extreme than our older boys. He also seems unresponsive to correction. Some of these...

Cutting the Mealtime Cord

Posted on 7/18/2020

Hello! Our second and youngest daughter is going on three in a month. I am wondering about realistic expectations at the dinner table for her; especially if she is able to eat herself and can...

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...

Potty Bell

Posted on 6/29/2020

We’ve implemented potty bell. Sometimes she sits for 3 seconds then pops up and goes somewhere else, and other times she doesn’t want to sit at all. We’ve had zero success on the toilet. We are...

Self-Destructing Son

Posted on 6/24/2020

I am so thankful for this site and your support. I feel empowered and encouraged. It seems very recently that whenever my son is asked to do a chore, he injures himself. These are simple age...

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