Q My husband and I have three young children. My parents have asked me to host a meal for our extended family. Organizing a dinner like that feels overwhelming. What would be the value of doing this, when everyone, kids included, is addicted to screens?  ...

    Q My children always seem to pass around illnesses during the fall season. It seems like one of them is always home from school due to illness. Do you have any ideas for having a healthy and happy 2025–2026 school year or jump-starting their immune...

  Q My ex-wife Julie and I share equal custody of our two children—Violet, 9, and Weston, 11. We each have the kids for two weeks out of the month. We both care about their success and want their homework done well and turned in on time. But we handle it...

  Q. Our 9-year-old daughter, Bonnie, has been invited, along with two other friends, to her best friend’s sleepover, but she’s extremely anxious about being away from home for the first time. She says she wants to go but becomes tearful and panicked as the day...

  Q Our 7-year-old daughter, Stacy, doesn’t have any friends to play with—either at home or at school. At home, she plays alone with her dolls or on the computer. At school, she sits by herself during lunch and recess. What can her father and I do to help Stacy...

    Q I’m a single mom with two boys. George is 8-years-old. His brother Larry is 10. While Larry seems happy, George has been irritable lately. He used to want to play with friends but recently he seems to have lost interest in everything. The school nurse...

  Q Our 10-year-old son, Scott, is negative about his abilities. He says he is not smart enough. He often claims assignments are too difficult, so he doesn’t try do them. There is a lot of complaining. He wants help with assignments he is capable of completing....

  Q My wife and I have a blended family. We each have kids from previous marriages and a child together. Our children range in age from 6 to 13. I want the children to do something special to honor my wife on Mother’s Day. Mother’s Day can be busy, stressful, and not...

  Q  Our 8-year-old daughter Olivia saw a television program about the environment. The show stressed the need for everyone to do more to save the environment. Olivia seems to feel an urgency to help the earth. She becomes angry when she sees people throwing...

    Q Can you tell my husband and me exactly what imaginative play is? Are there benefits of this type of play? If so, what is our role as parents, to encourage imaginative play for our 4-year-old daughter Kara?   A Imaginative play also called pretend...

    QI overheard our daughter Lisa, age 12, and her friend Patty talking about how they hate two boys in their class. Hate is such a strong emotion. Why would they hate these boys? Lisa also claims to be in love with a boy in her class.   A I have...

Q. We have two boys, ages 13 and 16. My husband leaves early for work, so it’s my job to get the boys up, ready for school and out to the car for the drive to school. I have to call them several times before they finally get up. By then I’m frantic, because we barely...