Letting It Go – Escape the Icy Grip of “Frozen” and Other Childhood Obsessions
Q. Our 4-year-old daughter Lucy is obsessed with princesses and everything about them. She has princess dolls, a play castle and storybooks about princesses, which she wants us to read to her every night. She imagines she was born a princess, and we are not her real...
Help Grandma Shine as a Sitter
Q. We have a 3-year-old daughter and a 6-week-old son. I need to go back to work to help with our bills and to save up for a house of our own. We currently live in an apartment that doesn’t offer much room for children to play. I am thinking of asking my mother to...
Give “Scary” Boyfriend a Chance to Prove Himself
Q. Our daughter Sara is 15 and a sophomore in high school. She is a good student, and up to this point, she has been an easy child to raise. However, recently she seems to be attracted to kids who pride themselves on looking different and not being well-engaged in...
Resolve to Choose Happiness This Year
Q. My fourth grade son Elijah’s class has been talking about New Year’s resolutions, so he brought it up at dinner last night. His sister Sienna got excited and immediately wanted us all to come up with resolutions. I fear that if we make resolutions, we’ll make...
Give “Busy-ness” the Boot, Make People your Focus this Holiday Season
Q. I love my three children, and I want their holidays—and my husband’s and his family, who join us—to be memorable. I tend to get stressed out with so much baking, cooking, addressing cards, buying and wrapping presents, etc. I remember the holidays years ago when my...
When “How was your day?” Meets Silence
Q. How do you get a child to talk about his day at school and about his feelings? Our son Joshua is eight–years–old and in the third grade. He rarely says anything to his father or me about school. I ask him how his day was and he replies “fine;” that is the end of...
Help Your Child Learn to Love Reading
Q. My daughter Emily is 10 years old and doesn’t like to read. Emily’s mother also avoids reading and says she doesn’t like to read. I tried to encourage Emily to read by taking her to the library to check out a book. She kept procrastinating and then lost the book...
Missing Mommy – Separation Anxiety is a Normal Phase
Q. I know that separation anxiety is normal, but my two-year-old son’s behavior seems extreme. He wants to be in the same room with me at all times, and he throws a fit if he can’t see me. After spending some time as a stay-at-home mom, I plan to go back to work soon...
Are Sugary Drinks Okay for Kids Who Aren’t Overweight?
Q. This summer I took my daughter, Stacey, and granddaughter, Kendra, on a trip. During layovers in each airport, my granddaughter would ask her mother for permission to buy a sack of candy and get a sugary drink. Stacey never said, “No.”During our vacation, Kendra...
Does “I’m Bored” Get You Down?
Q. My kids are bored. I get tired of hearing, “It’s so boring here at home.”Michael and Jennifer, who are 6 and 8, go to summer camp, but that’s for only a week and then they want me to keep them entertained. I’m a stay-at-home mom, but I seem to be somewhat depressed...
Is “Affluenza” the Path to Narcissism?
Q. Our daughter married a man with money and a big salary. Our grandchildren are growing up accustomed to having everything they want and more. They get expensive things they don’t ask for. My wife buys them expensive gifts, and they don’t even thank her. I don’t buy...
Would You Like Some Cheese with That Whine?
Q. It seems like my kids are always whining: they badger me incessantly until I give in to whatever they want. I try redirection and even saying “No,” but it doesn’t stop. Why do my kids whine and how can I get them to stop? A. Kids probably start to whine...
