What tools does Focus on the Family make available for use in passing the Christian faith along to our kids?
Parenting Q&A
How can we implement a more consistent bedtime schedule for our children, ages 8, 6, and 4? We haven’t been very successful in this area. How many hours do kids this age need to sleep? Do you have any tips for ways to improve bedtime and make it more pleasant?
How do I handle a kid whose behavior ranges from telling me to “shut up” to slamming a door on her younger sister to trying to steal money from my wallet? My daughter is the classic “defiant child.” She hates school, has trouble getting along with friends, and frequently disobeys her teacher. I’m worried about …
Is there any hope for the parent of a defiant, strong-willed child? I go through life feeling frazzled, dazed, and tired to the bone. Every day – almost every hour! – brings another confrontation, and sometimes I feel as if I don’t have the strength to go on. Any suggestions?
Should money play a role in our decision on where to send our kids to school? We don’t feel that the public schools are an option for our children’s education, so we’re left with a choice between home schooling and a private Christian school. Can you help us find our way?
Do you think that couples having trouble conceiving should see an infertility specialist? We’ve tried to get pregnant for over a year, so my spouse and I wonder if it would be worth seeing a doctor.
What should I do if my elementary school child is getting so much homework that family time hardly exists and he has little energy for anything else? He spends hours on his assignments every night. As far as I can see, he isn’t slow at completing his tasks. There’s just too much to do! Is …
How do we stop our two daughters, ages thirteen and seven, from fighting and bickering all the time? I’m concerned that the effects of all this conflict may be potentially harmful. We’re a Christian family, so we’ve talked many times about what it means to be kind, loving, and forgiving. After one of these discussions …
How do I instill an attitude of gratitude in my young daughter? I’m concerned about her selfish outlook on life. She recently had a birthday, and as soon as she was finished unwrapping her gifts she started looking around for more! What can I do to correct this?
Why do dads need to get involved with their sons on an emotional level? My father was a no-nonsense man who did not share much with me in the way of his feelings. He basically taught me how to work hard, be responsible and make my own way in life. My wife gets upset with …
How can we get our finicky four-year-old to eat what we put in front of her? Her highly selective eating habits are driving us up the wall. We never allow between-meal snacks, yet dinnertime has become a major pain. I see this refusal to eat as disobedience, but my spouse is afraid that making an …
How should I talk with my adolescent son about a friend of his who recently took his own life? The boy was hardly more than an acquaintance, but I know that this incident has impacted my teenager deeply. Can you help me figure out the best way to approach the subject with him?
Before we agree to allow our adult child to move back in with us, are there some key things we ought to consider or any safeguards we need to put in place? Our thirty-year-old daughter has just completed drug rehab and we’re giving careful thought to the option of letting her come back home until …
How do I tell my young children (ages eight, seven, and four) that their grandparents – my husband’s mom and dad – are splitting up as a result of Grandpa’s involvement with another woman? Since these grandparents live out of state, we only see them every three to four months or so. We don’t plan …
Should my husband and I spend Christmas morning together with the kids at his parents’ house in spite of the fact that we’ve been separated for four months? He said he wants me to come because he’s hoping to be present next year when it’s my turn to have the kids on Christmas morning. Although …
How can I know if my child has Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD)? I’m an adoptive parent of a high-risk child. I’m beginning to think that some aspects of her behavior might be explained by SPD. In particular, it seems that some of her otherwise unexplainable outbursts and meltdowns might be triggered by sensory overload. How …
Do you have any advice for parents trying to help a teenager who struggles with bad feelings about her figure and physical appearance? Our daughter has a poor body image and a distressingly negative view of herself, but she won’t talk about it. How do we bring this up without smothering her, alienating her or …
What should we do if we suspect that our adolescent son is making plans to run away? Is there something we can do to prevent this from happening?
What are some of the traits seen in children and adults with ADHD?
How should we handle the discovery that our teenager has been sexually active for the past several months? We’re not happy about it, but we want to deal with the problem without alienating our child. What should we do?