Should I get my adolescent daughter started on birth control now that I know she’s been having sex with her boyfriend? Needless to say, I’m extremely upset about this. They’re both Christian believers, and they understand that pre-marital sex is wrong – they’re just unable to control themselves. I don’t want to appear to be …
Parenting
Does your emphasis on the importance of a father’s presence in the home imply that the mother’s role is less crucial in raising children? There are many single moms raising children by themselves, and I can’t help wondering if you view these families as “inferior” or “second-class.” Doesn’t your high regard for the father’s role …
What’s the best way to stop a teenager from using her cell phone to send and receive sexually explicit messages and photos? We recently discovered that our daughter has become involved in “sexting.” When confronted about this, she claimed that this kind of activity is harmless since it doesn’t involve any physical sexual contact. How …
Can you advise me as to how I should talk to my teenage kids about their dad’s homosexual affair? I’ve just been informed that he’s divorcing me and leaving the family for another man. That’s bad enough, but what especially concerns me is the thought of how this is likely to impact my kids. I’m …
What can we do to encourage our school-age son to get away from the television and computer screen and spend more time playing outdoors? We’re getting worried about his health and fitness, and we’d like to know how we can motivate him to become more active. So far all of our “nagging” hasn’t helped a …
How can we help our adolescent son find biblical answers to his deep questions about social justice, the meaning of life, the existence of God, and his own purpose as an individual? We want to point him in the right direction on these important issues and equip him with a solid Christian worldview. Can you …
How can we best relate to our grown child who has completely rejected his Christian faith and upbringing? After graduating from high school he moved in with his girlfriend and became involved with drug and alcohol abuse. Our hearts ache to reach out to him, but we don’t want to appear to be condoning his …
How can I get my daughter to stop lying? I catch her inventing “tall tales” all the time at home, and now she’s complaining that the kids at school don’t believe anything she says. Does she simply have a great imagination, or is this a serious problem?
Is it really important for families to spend time together? Like everyone else, I constantly feel as if I don’t have enough hours in my day. Meanwhile, I’ve read lots of articles and been in on lots of conversations about what’s better – quality or quantity “family time.” Everyone in our house keeps a hectic …
What are some things I can do to help develop a healthy self-image in my children? I don’t want them to grow up thinking the world revolves around them, but I do want to instill in them a proper sense of self-respect and of their own value as persons. How should I go about it?
How should we handle it when a friend’s child kicks or whacks one of our kids? Our best friends have a habitually mean and aggressive preschooler about the same age as our children. We try to keep visits short and supervised, but one of our children always ends up getting hit. Is there a way …
How can I help my child develop healthy friendships? I know how easy it can be for kids to make the wrong kinds of friends or to establish connections with others for the wrong reasons. What can I do to provide some helpful guidance in this area?
How do we manage our deep sense of failure as parents after learning that our son is being held back a year in school? How do we help him understand why he didn’t pass his grade level? What should we do if the other kids start to tease him about it?
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 …
How should I talk to my elementary-grade child about Santa Claus? She’s been asking a lot of questions about him. I am ready to tell her the truth, but I’m hesitant because I don’t want her to think that we’ve been “lying” to her all these years.
What’s your perspective on the safety and advisability of child immunization? Several of our friends, who are also new parents, have very strong feelings against vaccinating children. I want to do what’s best for our baby. Can you give me some guidance in this area?
Can you suggest some disciplinary methods that might be effective in dealing with a fussy baby? My child cries a great deal of the time, and I’m finding it difficult to get anything else done. What can I do to change this behavior?
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?
How can we encourage our child to cooperate and follow his preschool teacher’s instructions? He becomes defiant when there’s a change in the schedule or when the teacher asks him to switch activities. He wants to do things his own way and on his own time. How do we break him of this?
Do you have any advice for disciplining and training strong-willed teenagers? I hear a lot about dealing with strong-willed toddlers, but if you think it’s tough managing a defiant two-year-old, imagine what it’s like when the kid is seventeen and six feet tall! I need help.