How can we prepare our child for the arrival of a new baby? I’ve heard some horror stories about this type of situation, and I’d like to avoid trouble if possible. What can my spouse and I do to ease the transition for him?
Parenting Q&As
How do I grant my child increasing freedom without being too permissive? Or, to put it another way, how do I keep her safe without being overprotective? I have a twelve-year-old who keeps telling me that she’s old enough to go places by herself. For example, she wants to be able to ride her bike …
Can you help us decide on a strategy for giving our child the best possible education? Our daughter is ready to start school, and we want her to get her moving in the right direction. What kind of options and alternatives are available to us?
How is a mild-tempered, cooperative child likely to be impacted by the presence of a defiant and strong-willed sibling in the home? My oldest daughter is a model child — pleasant, cheerful, and agreeable. Her brother is the exact opposite. I may contact you about him some other time; believe me, there’s plenty to say. …
What’s the best way to help a child work through the passing of a relative or close family member? My father died this year, and our grade-school-aged son has been asking questions. For example, he wants to know where grandpa has gone and whether he has become a “guardian angel.” How do I respond without …
How do I get my toddler to listen to me and do what I say? He’s right in the middle of the “terrible two’s,” and his favorite word is no. It seems he knows exactly what it takes to drive me up the wall. How should I handle this?
How can we steer our adolescent son away from media that portray gruesome violence and help him make better entertainment choices? He’s fascinated with horror stories – both books and films. We’re concerned that he’s filling his mind with disturbing ideas and images, but he says it’s all just harmless fun. What do you think?
How do we deal with a toddler who resists bedtime? Our 2-year-old recently went from being a great sleeper to suddenly fighting bedtime in an insane way – screaming, hitting, and running around his room. We’ve done nothing to change his schedule – nap from 12:00 to 2:00 p.m., and bedtime at 7:00 p.m. – and we have …
How does your ministry view unmarried moms and their kids? I’m raising a couple of kids on my own. Up to this point my search for a church home hasn’t been too encouraging – I get a strong impression that some Christians don’t approve of women like me and our “illegitimate” children. What’s your perspective?
Do you have any advice for a woman who is about to leave a high-profile career in order to devote all her time to parenting and homemaking? My wife is on the verge of taking this momentous step. How can we make it a smooth transition? We’ve reached this decision together after hours and hours …
Are “pro-ana” websites helpful for those with anorexia and other eating disorders? I recently discovered that my teenage daughter, who has struggled with an eating disorder (anorexia), has been visiting one of these sites on a regular basis. When I questioned her about it, she said that it’s designed to provide girls in her situation …
Can you tell us what changes we should expect as our child goes through puberty and enters adolescence — and how we should deal with them? I realize that this is likely to be a challenging time in our son’s life. I’m also assuming that my spouse and I will have to bear a large …
How can I help my granddaughter who is struggling with her racial identity? She’s the child of an interracial marriage – her mother is white, her father black. Her parents have now divorced and her dad is no longer in the picture. On top of the many other problems that go along with being a …
Is it appropriate to pay our school-aged children for doing household tasks? When I was growing up I always received an allowance, but my spouse says that kids need to work without being paid because that’s part of being a family. What do you think?
In light of our tight financial situation, how should we handle all of the costly “extras” at our child’s school? Here’s the latest example: we received a note from my child’s kindergarten teacher informing us that the school would be producing yearbooks that cost $30.00. We declined to buy one, only to learn that our …
How do we stop our two teenage sons from fighting over a girl? What should we do? The sixteen-year-old, who has always been more outgoing than his brother, has struck up a “friendship” with a girl our seventeen-year-old has liked for over a year. This kind of thing has happened before, though it’s always been …
I’ve heard a lot about the post-partum blues, but is it normal to be feeling emotionally down before the baby arrives? I’m currently about three-quarters of the way through my pregnancy, and lately I’ve been very low and sad. Is there anything I can do about this?
How can I convince my adult son that matrimony is valuable and worthwhile when his own parents couldn’t make it work? My ex-spouse and I split up when my children were still small, and I thought it was all water under the bridge. Now I find that my son blames me and his dad for …
Is it okay for a boy to be gentle and sensitive? Our two young sons couldn’t be more different. The oldest is a typical boy: loud and in perpetual motion. His 4-year-old brother, however, is so quiet I hardly know he’s around. While our oldest son and his dad spend hours on end rough-housing together, …
What are some meaningful and practical ways we can ease the burden of a family who has a child with special needs? My husband and I have friends from church with a child who was recently diagnosed with cerebral palsy. We know this family is juggling a lot of things at once and we want …