Parents often wonder how much privacy their children need and ask me if it's okay to violate it. Personally, I believe there should be a direct link between the amount of responsibility, consistency, and honesty that kids show and the amount of privacy they're allowed to have. But, before we get to the subject of... Read more »
If your child acts out in public, and you don't respond effectively, your child learns they can blackmail you and hold you hostage with their behavior. Their mindset is, "Give me my way or face my acting out." Their behavior may involve yelling, screaming, and tantrums. It may be angry faces and a disgusted tone, disrespectful... Read more »
Amber* got onto Facebook when she was 12. “It was easy," she said with a shrug. "All you have to do is lie about your age and give them your email address.” The teen, who is now 15, said, “I guess I accepted a lot of ‘Friends’ to my list without really knowing who they were.”... Read more »
When kids act out, they have an arsenal of backtalk they fire at you in order to put you on the defensive—a secret language that's designed to win them control and absolve them of responsibility. If you take those comments at face value—or take them to heart—you'll always be on the defensive, constantly reacting to... Read more »
As the start of the school year approaches, have you seen your first grader go into meltdown mode at the mention of school, or watched your soon-to-be kindergartner regress back to baby talking and thumb sucking? Rest assured that you’re not alone. Each fall, millions of parents deal with their children’s beginning-of-the-year anxiety. For younger children... Read more »
When your child lies to you, it stirs up a potent mix of emotions. You might feel angry, hurt, and offended all at once. Lying is extremely upsetting for parents because it shakes the foundation of trust we have in our child. So it's understandable and normal if you have an emotional reaction to lying—whether... Read more »
Some parents go to conferences expecting glowing reports, but many of us dread them. Maybe it’s because, like me, you’ve had a prior bad experience. I remember going to my first parent-teacher conference when my oldest child was in kindergarten and having the teacher run through a long list of complaints about my son. He didn’t... Read more »
Sarah is trying to get her 3-year-old son Sam into the car to go to the library, when he suddenly decides that not only is his car seat a form of torture, but that he doesn’t want to go to the library after all. While trying to maintain her composure and calmly get Sam buckled,... Read more »
Do you feel like your teen tunes you out—or just plain ignores you—any time you make a request or try to have a real conversation? If you’re feeling this way, it’s probably not your imagination. This is a weapon adolescents have in their arsenal, and many use it to manipulate their parents passive-aggressively. Keep in... Read more »
As we all know too well, name–calling, cruel taunts, cyberbullying, and physical bullying happen every day to kids across the country. When your child is being bullied, it’s hard to concentrate on anything else—all you want to do is make it stop immediately. At some point, your child will be picked on or will have... Read more »
