Can a toddler with Down syndrome be taught to use the toilet? Given my son’s special developmental and mental challenges, I’m not sure whether he has the capacity to understand what I’m asking of him. I’d really appreciate any practical advice you might be able to offer.
Family Q&A
How can our family make time to eat together when we’re so busy? I’d really like to achieve this goal, but we face so many obstacles in making it happen, I’m almost afraid to try. Busy schedules are the rule in our household, and mine is no exception. By the time I get off work, …
How can I have a better relationship with my stepchild? She resists my attempts at friendship and even screams, “You’re not my dad! Leave me alone!” Have I done something wrong? How do I get past this barrier?
As a single mom with three young children, is it okay for me to want another person around to help carry the load? I used to feel pretty self-sufficient, but the burden of doing it all by myself is getting heavier. I work full time, take online college courses, and I’m active in church. Do …
How do we deal with a defiant teenager? For some reason, our son has recently gone off the deep end. He’s skipping out on school, drinking, smoking, and making all kinds of dangerously bad decisions. Nothing we say makes any difference in his behavior. The last straw came when we had to bail him out …
How can I teach my children good manners? It seems etiquette has become a thing of the past, both for children and adults. This is something I’m determined to instill in my kids, but I can see that it won’t be easy. How do I teach them to treat people respectfully when the rest of …
Does a pattern of persistent depression indicate that my adolescent son may be in danger of taking his own life? I’ve been hearing a great deal about the rising problem of teenage suicide, and I’m wondering whether my son might be at risk. What exactly is the connection between depression and suicide? Where can I …
When it comes to parenting children effectively, are there any truly meaningful distinctions between the contributions of the mother and those of the father? As a dad, I’m actively involved with my kids on the weekends and evenings, and I even go to school meetings when I can. Is there something special I’m supposed to …
Are there times, occasions, and situations when I should simply “chill out” and refrain from “getting tough” with a kid who misbehaves? I’m fairly new at the parenting game, and I need all the help and advice I can get in this area. When should I not discipline my child?
Is there a connection between birth control and abortion? My wife and I would like to have a family someday, but for a number of reasons we don’t feel ready yet. During our two years of marriage we’ve sought the Lord’s guidance and have never questioned our decision to postpone childbearing through the responsible use …
Is it possible to be pro-life and pro-war at the same time? I’m a Christian and a strong pro-lifer, and I’ve wrestled with this issue many times in my mind over the past several years. The biblical commandment is clear: “Thou shalt not kill” (Exodus 20:13). As I see it, killing is killing, no matter …
How can I overcome the bitterness I have about the way my parents treated me growing up? I don’t want these memories to affect my relationship with my own kids. After all these years, I continue to struggle with negative feelings about my mother and father. When I think of them, I remember only their …
As a Christian, how do I sort out the difference between my obligation to family on the one hand and to the work of the gospel on the other? And what’s my responsibility to my extended family as compared with my obligation to my immediate, nuclear family? Is there any distinction between the two? My …
How can my spouse and I resolve our disagreement about starting a family? I’m anxious to be a mother, but he says he isn’t ready to have children yet. My biological clock is ticking away, and the tension between us is growing. What should I do?
Are repeated emotional affairs biblical grounds for divorce? On several occasions my husband has become emotionally involved with other women in ways that have been seriously destructive to our marriage. The most recent incident involved a lady with whom he’d been emotionally intimate in the past. I’m tired of his betrayals, and though we’ve been …
What is Focus on the Family’s position on divorce and remarriage?
What can I do about a husband who won’t get a job?
Is it possible for a married couple to have a healthy sexual relationship in the present even if they’ve had troubling experiences with sex in the past? I was sexually abused as a child and my spouse was promiscuous during adolescence. Now these issues have come back to haunt us and are major roadblocks to …
Now that I’ve found the man I want to marry, how can I help him connect with my three-year-old daughter? He loves her and is genuinely excited about becoming a dad to her (she’s never had a relationship with her biological father). The problem is that he doesn’t understand what toddlers are like, never having …
Our kids are alienating us from our grandkids. What can we do?