Questions
Not getting his way head banger.
Posted on 3/16/2023
Hi, My 18 month old son will bang his head against me when I am carrying him if he is angry or does not get his way. For example after playing outside, I will announce it is time to go inside and...
Read MoreUnsolicited 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...
Read MoreProgress isn't Linear
Posted on 2/16/2023
After a wonderful 2 hours of the morning, my son was sent to his room again around 8am for jumping on and scratching his dad while dad and the baby were on the couch. However, we had to go to a...
Read MoreSilly in school and aggressive at home
Posted on 2/16/2023
Hello- my son is six years old and in the first grade. With his birthday he’s a little younger for the grade but seems very immature. He makes weird noises in class and tries to be silly when most...
Read More3 YEAR OLD BITING, REDUX
Posted on 2/10/2023
My 3 year old son has many of the misbehaviors possible for his age. Before I found your books I assumed he would "grow out of them" and now I laugh at my past self for thinking that. Hitting...
Read More3 YO BITING
Posted on 2/9/2023
My son will be 3 in 10 days. Hitting and biting has become a large problem since my second son was born 5 months ago. It seems he hits the baby when the baby to get attention. He also hits and...
Read More3 YO BITING REDUX
Posted on 2/9/2023
I put my just about 3 year old in his room for the first time today for hitting his 5 month old brother. He keeps opening the door and/or coming out of the room. Each time he does, I bring him...
Read More10 Year Old with Violent Fits, Divorced Parents and "trifecta of diagnoses"
Posted on 10/13/2022
My 10 year old son has the adoptive trifecta of diagnoses: "on the autism spectrum", oppositional defiant disorder, and ADHD. Sometimes he has violent fits - although now they're down to 1 or 2...
Read MoreAggressive 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...
Read More3 Year Old boy Testing the Limits
Posted on 6/20/2022
My 3.5 year old boy has responded very well to the card system! 3 cards lost and spend the rest of the day in your room. He also knows that hitting/kicking a person /the wall would be game over...
Read MoreFIFTEEN YEAR OLD SCREEN ADDICT
Posted on 4/15/2022
Our 15-year-old threw a fit, including punching, cursing and breaking things during following incidents: 1) Took away make up after sneak purchase of $200 worth of make up without our...
Read More8-Year-Old Needs the Ticket to Self Control
Posted on 4/4/2022
My 8-year-old has a severe temper. He is the third out of six children, and we are homeschooling the other five. He will spend a week at my mother's house and is calm there, but when he gets back...
Read MoreHow to Stop Toddler From Hitting Younger Sibling
Posted on 3/11/2022
Hi. Our oldest daughter is 3yrs 2mo old. Our youngest daughter is 11mo. Within the past month or so, our oldest daughter has started hitting and pushing our youngest daughter. Oftentimes this...
Read MoreHow To Keep Your Child in His/Her Room
Posted on 2/1/2022
We are trying the ticket system with our 3 yr old son. Tonight, he went to bed early after throwing something at me (a major offense). At first we left his bedroom door open but he kept coming out...
Read More10-Year-Old's Hitting Needs to Hit the Road for Good
Posted on 1/28/2022
We are currently using the ticket system to deal with two target behaviors. Hitting is not one of them. My 10-year-old daughter hit her four-year-old sister. This behavior does not happen very...
Read MorePerfect time for a reset
Posted on 1/18/2022
Our 9yo girls currently rule the roost. They speak to us flippantly, complain constantly, whine and pester after receiving a "no" answer, expect others to fetch/carry for them, ignore directives...
Read MorePosted on 12/30/2021
We have an 8-year-old son who throws violent tantrums. He has always been “a handful” so these fits aren’t anything new, they’re less frequent but much more destructive. In the past, we had a...
Read MorePut the Brakes on 2.5-Year-Old Thrower
Posted on 12/27/2021
My non verbal 2.5 year old is a thrower. Especially at the face. She will throw toys in my face. She will throw her food and cutlery at my 8 year old son in the face. I don’t know what to do,...
Read More8-Year-Old Ruling the Roost (Follow-up)
Posted on 11/24/2021
Okay in regards to my prior question. I purchased the book. Thank you. Can you please tell me some examples of what you mean right now so I can start turning the tables ASAP! Instead of...
Read MoreA Sock in the Crotch: Focus on the Sock, not the Crotch
Posted on 11/12/2021
I did not find this on the very long list of topics so here goes: got a call from the teacher of my 6-year old grandson who said he is super bright- math and reading ( not sure if this is relevant...
Read MoreFive Year Old Slugger
Posted on 11/1/2021
Hello! We have a 5 year old who has been having some big problems hitting his parents and tutor. Although we have been using the ticket system for several months, his yelling and physicality have...
Read MoreWho 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...
Read More15 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...
Read More19 Month Old Laughs When Hitting and Pulling Mom's Hair
Posted on 9/24/2021
My 19 month old is very advanced for her age, other than her language which is on track. But she’s already entered her “terrible” two phase and she hits and pulls my hair and laughs about it. I...
Read More4 year old terrorist wearing out her family
Posted on 9/23/2021
Our 4 year old daughter has become a complete terrorist. She has always been difficult and challenging but it’s only getting worse by the day. We have always been strict parents and have...
Read MoreGranny is Tired of 7 Year Olds Nightly Walks
Posted on 8/21/2021
My granddaughter lives with me, along with her two children The 7 year old boy is a tough case. His mother and I do NOT parent anything alike. This boy gets up almost every night and roams the...
Read MoreConsistency is the key to success
Posted on 8/10/2021
I have a 6 yo daughter and 3 yo son. Daughter is often "mean" to son verbally. His 3 yr old talkativeness bothers her, and she frequently shouts at him ("be quiet!" etc.) My and wife's approach...
Read MoreDo What You Can Do
Posted on 7/30/2021
My stepsons are 12 and 14. We also have a 4 and 2 year old. Their mother has been generally uncooperative and at times hostile to us, and treats the boys very differently. She doesn’t seem to like...
Read MoreThings You Can't Change
Posted on 7/25/2021
One of the moms in our play date group does not believe in disciplining her children. Her 4 year old son has meltdowns, takes toys from other children, and BITES when he doesn’t get his way. When...
Read MoreToddler's Hitting Problem
Posted on 7/13/2021
My 2 almost 3 year old daughter has a problem with hitting how can I help her ?
Read MoreAggression Toward Family Pet Is Unacceptable
Posted on 6/15/2021
Help…my 5 year old kicked our 6 month old puppy so hard I think his leg may be broken. I am disturbed beyond words. Heartbroken and feel like I’m a horrible parent. She first lied and said he...
Read MoreThe Preschooler: in her Untamed Primal Glory--Part 2
Posted on 5/19/2021
Hi, I am submitting a follow-up response in regard to my question from 5/6/21 entitled "The Preschooler: in her Untamed Primal Glory". This was answered by Mike Smart. Thank you for your...
Read MoreThe Preschooler: in her Untamed Primal Glory
Posted on 5/6/2021
My 3.5 year old daughter is having issues at Preschool and nothing we do seems to help. She will have days where her behavior is good and then other days she gets in trouble (throwing things,...
Read MoreShe's Got an Arm!
Posted on 4/13/2021
My 2 year old daughter is throwing anything and everything she can find when she feels upset or does not get her way ... any advice? We have tried ignoring it but she just grabs more things to...
Read More2-Year-Old's Aggressive Behavior Is Unacceptable
Posted on 2/15/2021
Hello! I have two kids. Boy: Almost 3 (in May) Girl: 1 and 2 months old Boy is hitting girl, knocks her over and laughs when he does it. How can I approach this adequately?
Read MoreGrandson 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...
Read MoreTwo Year Old is a Whole Different Animal!
Posted on 12/11/2020
Good morning. My husband and I have six children, ranging 3 months to 9 years. Our first son Ryan Samuel is 2 years old as of October 4. He is a whole different animal compared to the girls. We...
Read MoreLoss 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...
Read MoreTwo-Year-Old Shows His Ugly Side
Posted on 11/20/2020
My 24 month old is usually pretty good. I previously used time outs to train him out of hitting and food throwing. However, he will get into this “drunk” state, where he is simultaneously...
Read MoreTaming Hitting Between Younger Siblings
Posted on 11/4/2020
My two year old and my 4 year old are constantly hitting each other what should I do ?
Read MoreHow 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...
Read MoreSibling Warfare
Posted on 10/2/2020
My 6 year old son is bullying and hitting his 4 year old brother behind my back and telling him not to tell and lying about it to me. The 4 year old is acting out in daycare, already being kicked...
Read MoreAdjusting to a New Pre School Can Be Hard
Posted on 9/25/2020
We are struggling with our 3-year-old at school. She started in PK-3 this year at a new school. The past 3 years she has been in daycare/pre-school. Where to begin... and by the way all of these...
Read MoreTIme to work with a coach.
Posted on 8/18/2020
Hi there. My husband and I have twin boys who will turn five years old at the end of October. Over the past few weeks, the competition between the two of them has really increased. I know that...
Read MoreNipping the Kicking During Diaper Change
Posted on 8/4/2020
Recently my 20 month old grandson has begin kicking and generally screaming whenever his clothes/diapers are changed. He basically objects to the entire process. His kicks get hard and violent....
Read MoreToddler Tests the Car Seat Limits
Posted on 6/13/2020
My 18 month old always gets a short time out when he hits or throws food. Consequently, he almost never hits or throws food any more. However, since we have been going out more, he is now testing...
Read More"Battle of the Wills" with 2 Year Old is Frustrating
Posted on 5/21/2020
How should we handle a 23 months old that has been hitting us or attempting to hit, for a few months now, when angry or not permitted to do what she wants? Such as not being diaper changed or not...
Read MoreConquering a Three-Year Old Quarantine Quagmire
Posted on 5/5/2020
my son is 3 yr and 3 month old,he was very careful and neat. recently he started to get very aggressive especially during the quarantine in the house. He has been staying home for a month now. He...
Read MoreHitting Needs to Stop for 3 Year Old
Posted on 4/19/2020
Lately my just turned 3 year old hits a lot, but he does it playfully and often even says it, "I'm going to hit you." I am not sure how to get him to stop. We have been firm in telling him he...
Read MoreHands Off!
Posted on 3/29/2020
My 7 year is always making stupid annoying loud noises and shouting and he keeps doing this in his 8 month old sisters face. He also constantly grabs her hands and smothers her. They seem to get...
Read MoreShowing results 1-50 on page 1 of 7.