Questions

Teenager : Doing a Good Job

Posted on 4/9/2012

Thanks for your common sense, John. Here's my question: Often, my 15-year-old purposely does a poor job with this chores, e.g, when cleaning up his room, he picks up laundry from the floor, balls...

5 year old : Arguing about everything

Posted on 4/9/2012

I have begun 3 strikes for my 2 kids for arguing with each other and being loud during playing. However, now my son has begun arguing with his dad and I over the silliest things. If I say anything...

Teenager : acne issue

Posted on 4/2/2012

Our son has cystic acne. We have been told that he will scar if we don't find something that works for him soon. The dermatologist has recommended accutane. Due to the side effects we have been...

8 year old : WithHolding Food

Posted on 3/13/2012

An eight year old child refuses to clean her room. Mom says nothing to eat until your room is clean.Child underatands clearly what it will take to be able to eat. After two days, she finally...

3 year old : The Terrible Three's!

Posted on 1/25/2012

37month daughter.Always been sweet, obedient.Recently become sassy/disrespectful, with loud/obnoxious behavior. Read Well Behaved Child.Started putting in room right after dinner for rest of...

11 year old : How to deal with 5th grade sexual activity

Posted on 11/22/2011

After a sleepover of 5th grade girls at our home, one child tearfully reported to her parents the next day that the other girls were gay, including our own. When questioned more closely, she said...

3 year old : 3 year-old girl says she's a boy

Posted on 11/9/2011

My three year old girl will say, "mommy, I'm a boy". She does this as she's taking barrettes that I've put in her hair out or when I try and put a dress on her. We have a fight almost every...

What age for Makeup - Follow-up Question

Posted on 11/9/2011

Thanks for the reply. Was thinking of allowing her to wear eye shadow, but unfortunately, this morning dd came downstairs wearing some-2nd time this week. I made her remove it. I'm so disappointed...

Pre-teen : triplet girl creating a personal drama

Posted on 10/20/2011

I have a triplet daughter that is almost 13. She and her sisters are different as any siblings, not looking or acting alike. My daughter does not feel that she "fits in" at school, and is trying...

6 year old : anger at mother

Posted on 10/5/2011

My six year old has recently resorted to saying extremely AWFUL things when she becomes angry at me. I am the only one she does this to. She is able to control her emotions at school and with...

5 year old : Extreme anger

Posted on 8/19/2011

Our close friend's 5 yr old has the propencity to enrage himself and she is fearful of his continuation with this behavior. What can be done?

2 year old : Back-Talk

Posted on 8/16/2011

We have a 32 month old daughter. The past few weeks whenever we tell her to stop touching something or to stop doing something she yells back at us "I'm NOT" even though we just saw her doing...

9 year old : Conflict between friends

Posted on 8/15/2011

One of my best friends and I each have 9 year old sons. These two boys have been friends for years and have recently hit a rough patch in their relationship but seem to have worked things out. The...

11 year old : Borrowing without asking

Posted on 8/12/2011

Our 11 year old daughter borrows our things without asking, such as earrings, bicycles, machetes, etc. We use the strike system, but it hasn't curbed this problem. What would you suggest?

7 year old screams, "I hate you"

Posted on 7/10/2011

What can I do when my son screams, "I hate you"? He's normally well behaved and respectful. It usually happens when he is very tired and gets frustrated with something I won't do for him or when I...

Very strong willed 6 year old girl.

Posted on 6/16/2011

My daughter is very stubborn and answers back.When asked to do something she's not ready or wants to do, she freaks out! She will flop on the floor and kick doors & scream. We get angry with...

Follow up to Youth Missions Trip

Posted on 5/11/2011

Followed our gut, no missions trip. Like I thought, not all that important, he just let it drop. He still wants to go to the church his school is affiliated with, tells his friends he "hates"...

4 Year old Battle over clothing

Posted on 2/24/2011

Hi. I have a 4 year old, every morning there is battle over what she will wear. She doesn't like "anything" in her closet. I tried letting her pick out the outfit the night before so there is no...

Preventative Measures

Posted on 2/10/2011

5 kids;10,8,6,4,7mths.Ironically the 4yr old is our best behaved and cleans up after himself immediately so come chore time he has nothing to do,so hes a floater,helping out the kid with the most...

picking at sores

Posted on 1/12/2011

I could not find any reference to this issue in your archives. Our 9 year old daughter picks at her sores, wherever one will appear, and has done so for several years. They will be almost...

Kids Hate Us

Posted on 7/28/2010

what do you do when your children, 11 and 12 tell you "you hate us" when they are told they cannot do something. they also say to each other "you're right, jimmy, mom does hate us." ignore?

5yo Boy- stating he wants to live somewhere else

Posted on 8/25/2008

My 5 yo has been a very intelligent and verbal boy. Of course I'm dealing with lying but lately he has had a sleep over at my cousins house with girls 14/17 yo. They played with him and let him...

Three Year old angry at mom; Spanking?

Posted on 8/25/2008

My three year old has recently been showing a lot of anger towards me (mom). I just had a baby 6 months ago. She absolutely adores her brother.. but is not too happy with mommy. We use the...

Belt is NOT part of the plan!

Posted on 8/22/2008

I will try to keep this brief so it will get answered. We have a very serious issue with our 13-year old, defiant son. He delights in annoying his three siblings (almost constantly) and he...

Asks if I love her

Posted on 8/12/2008

Our youngest daughter has taken to asking me "Mom, do you love me?" at least 15-20 times a day, anyplace, anytime; when in good mood or not; etc. This seems to be an attention getting ploy and it...

The clothing war-at 6 years old!

Posted on 8/11/2008

I didn't expect this to be a problem already, but it is. I saw this question was posted by someone else and you said to hand her over to the sales lady. But the problem is not finding...

13 yo: disrespect or not?

Posted on 8/10/2008

is it disrespect when a 13 yo seems to make little comments on purpose in front of mother regarding things he knows she does not approve of? he is told about particular rock bands that we don't...

4 YO: Won't take NO for an answer.

Posted on 8/8/2008

My almost 4 yo son always ask me this sort of questions when I say NO to his requests. Since I read your books I do give him his dose of vitamin N daily... but perhaps because I am an...

2 yo says a BAD word!

Posted on 8/5/2008

My 2 1/2 year old daughter heard her uncle say the F word and now she has starting saying it. She doesn't use it appropriately, she just says it, but it's as clear as day. What is the best way to...

Timout Backfire - Irrate 3yo

Posted on 8/5/2008

No form of punishment effects our 3 year old son. I have searched your archives and tried everything! We have currently been doing the ticket method but shortly after administering it, he has...

teen consequence

Posted on 8/4/2008

I gave my 14yr old son permission to see a PG13 movie with a couple of other kids including a girl I know he likes but gets to see infrequently. Unbeknownst to me a 17yr old friend of a friend...

5yo refuses to try new foods

Posted on 7/29/2008

Read your archives of picky eaters. Our 5 yr old refuses to try ANYTHING new. Husband and I were both brought up to try new foods and if you didn't like it - ok, but at least you tried it. ...

Cat and Kids

Posted on 7/22/2008

We have a 10 yo cat. We just moved to a new house. Cat is peeing in 2 rooms and is causing major stress for us parents. I mentioned to my 8yo that we may have to get rid of the cat. She told me...

Ticket System for 4-1/2 yo

Posted on 7/21/2008

My 4-1/2 yo son likes to question authority/talk back, is argumentative and disrespectful. He behaves this way at home and in school. He is also defiant and when told not to do something again,...

husband says the kids embarrass him

Posted on 7/16/2008

My husband and I are having an ongoing debate over using the words "disappointed" and/or "embarrased" with our young teen children when verbally chastising them before we set consequences. I think...

Rude teen cell phone abuser

Posted on 7/14/2008

My daughter is 13, going into 8th grade. All the kids have cell phones. One of her friends has her ego so wrapped up in her cell phone....she can't go the bathroom or come to our dinner table...

New neighbor

Posted on 7/9/2008

We just moved to a new neighborhood. Our old neighborhood had high fences and few children. Great, but not so for the children. We have 2 kids close in age, five and six. They are used to...

Child refuses to Leave

Posted on 7/7/2008

I searched the data base on this one and was surprised there was nothing to be found as it is so common... I am the mother of 4 year old strong willed girl (by nature as I am also a strong willed...

sibling conflict

Posted on 7/7/2008

My 10 month old (Ryan) loves to be wherever my 3 year old (Matt) is playing. In his attempts to interact with his older brother, Ryan will "hit" Matt and usually "destruct" whatever Matt was...

Fighting over clothes

Posted on 7/2/2008

We have 3 teenage daughters who are constantly wearing each others clothes without asking. For the most part they work it out themselves, with an occasional loud argument. The problem is that one ...

Simple apology and get on with it.

Posted on 5/12/2008

I am a great admirer of yours and have requested your advice before and each time it worked. However, in the past I was always frustrated/baffled over my child's behavior. This time I need the...

re:losing battle

Posted on 11/20/2007

I am further confused by conflicting advise from earlier response concerning taking my sons computer from his room. you told me i had only been working on this 3 wks, rome wasnt built in 3 wks to...

Son won't pay back $25.00 he owes me

Posted on 11/15/2007

My son received a small pet w/the understanding that he had to pay for it's food. He's only had it about a month, and as of last week he owes me about $25.00 for buying a year's supply of food for...

8 YO Daughter: Bickering with friends

Posted on 7/30/2007

My wife and I have an 8 yr old daughter. We adopted her at birth - she is black, and we are white. She's a pretty good kid most of the time. My question is of a general nature, and I realize...

sibling rivalry

Posted on 12/20/2006

Our children are a almost 5 yo son and 3 yo daughter. (19 months apart) Our daughter is a super friendly child who worships her brother and wants to be just like him. Our son is downright mean...

compromise

Posted on 12/19/2006

What do you think of the following: A parent who "compromises" with their child who is just shy of 3. For example, during mealtime, the child is picky and won't eat anything. The parent then...

The pickiest eater ever

Posted on 12/18/2006

I have what I feel is a tough problem to resolve involving my 8 year old son (Chance) and his eating habits. I'll try to give you as much background info that would help you to help our...

7 yo brat

Posted on 12/15/2006

what do you think of a seven year old boy who says to his grandma [while babysitting him]after having a lolipop removed from his mouth because supper was near: I hate you, you stupid dumb a.. The...

mother/daughter battle

Posted on 11/28/2006

I'm not the mom, but rather the dad who is only trying to help. We adopted our daughter at birth (no contact with birth parents, per birth parents' request) and she is now 7. She learned early...

6 year old daughter making threats...

Posted on 11/27/2006

I just want to know when these things are idle threats and when I should truly be concerned. I have 2 basic questions: 1. How should I address the comment about killing herself? (read...

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