Is it wrong to tell children what they should believe about God? Isn’t that a form of “indoctrination?” I’m thinking it’s better to allow kids to make up their own minds.
Parenting Q&A
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 …
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 know whether my child’s fever is serious? It’s the middle of the night, and he’s running a high temperature. What should I do to treat the fever until we can get him to a doctor?
Do you have any advice for handling toddler who wanders into our room in the middle of the night screaming, moaning, thrashing wildly, and jabbering incoherently? He doesn’t seem to know us when these Night Terrors get a grip of him. When we try to comfort him, he just pushes us away. Is there anything …
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.
How can I find a trustworthy source to diagnose and treat my young child’s deficient speech and language skills? He’s way behind his peers in this area, and I’m especially concerned because he’s supposed to start school next fall. How do I talk to him about this without making him feel abnormal?
Should we force our teen to relocate to a new state with the rest of us? A job change is requiring our family to move, but our adolescent son, who is currently a student in high school, doesn’t want to go with us. He’d rather move in with some friends and graduate from the school …
How do I answer my preschooler’s questions about his father who left the family when I was three months pregnant and hasn’t been in touch since? Lately my son has been asking why his dad doesn’t live with us. What should I tell him?
Should we have kids if my spouse is emotionally unstable and has been physically abusive with me? We’ve been married for four years and are in our mid-thirties. My wife has become physically and verbally abusive with me on several occasions. We’ve seen counselors about this and other issues, but the problem persists. A trusted …
Should I allow my 14-year-old son to smoke electronic cigarettes? He’s been hounding me about it and claims that they are medically safe and that there is no reason I should not let him engage in and enjoy this activity. I’ve been telling him “no” even though I know nothing about e-cigarettes and have no …
Am I being too sensitive about the put-downs and insults my daughter and her boyfriend toss back and forth at each other? She acts like it’s no big deal, but I’m alarmed and don’t consider this to be healthy behavior. What do you think?
How do I talk to my teen daughter about the danger of date rape? I’ve heard that it’s becoming more common, and this worries me as a parent. My daughter has already been involved in several dating situations. I want to know what I can do to prevent her from becoming a victim. How should …
What should I do now that I’ve discovered that someone in the family has been coercing my child to participate in sexual acts? Where do I turn for help? As you can imagine, this shocking revelation has sent me reeling.
