Questions tagged [relationships]

This refers to relationships between a child or group of children and other children, their siblings, or their parents. This could also refer to a relationship between parents in regards to the rearing of a child.

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6 votes
2 answers
719 views

My child's best friend's parent thinks my child is a bad influence

I have a middle schooler who is a nice but very introverted kid. She's smart, never gets in trouble at school, is nice to the kids who don't have a lot of friends, and is generous. Because of her ...
Antonia12345's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
895 views

As a father, should i allow my 5year old son to see me nude?

In July it will be 5years that I will have been a father. My son and I have a good relationship. I am a very cultured man and I really respect and appreciate the privacy of people. Sometimes whenever ...
Yaqub Omofoyewa's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
332 views

How to let the new 13 year old sibling of my honorary niece/nephew know I'm willing to be an 'uncle' for them too?

I'm an honorary uncle (amongst other things, see below) to my friend's two children. I visit them once a month and spend the day with the two of them and they seem to really enjoy these visits. My ...
dsollen's user avatar
  • 3,886
0 votes
1 answer
361 views

How do I help my child to love her mother more than her grandmother?

I've got a doozy here. When my first kid was born we were living at home with my parents. My wife and I were very overwhelmed being new parents and my mother (who was over the top excited to have her ...
Dan Anderson's user avatar
11 votes
7 answers
9k views

I don't know if my step-son hates me, is scared of me, or likes me?

My partner and kids have had issues in the past with previous partners/father figures, being abusive, selfish etc., which has left a mental scar on the 3 of them. I have not pried into it yet, as they ...
Ben's user avatar
  • 611
3 votes
3 answers
355 views

what do i do if he says i'm harder on her because she isn't my biological daughter

My boyfriend of 2 and a half years loves my daughter and my daughter loves and looks up to him as a father figure, but he said that “i'm harder on her because she isn't my biological daughter” and ...
user43197's user avatar
3 votes
4 answers
1k views

Can it be appropriate for a 9 year old to hang out with a 17 year old?

Note: I want to try not mentioning sex/gender to see how answers may depend on this. Consider 2 children Ashanti Smith, 17 years old, and younger sibling Bidatz Smith, 9 years old. Ashanti has ...
BCLC's user avatar
  • 111
2 votes
3 answers
253 views

Absent Father of 6 years from birth with alcohol, drugs and gambling addictions

My child's father has been completely absent since the first week of my child's life. There has been no contact until now (6 years later). He lives around the corner and passes us everyday, he has not ...
Caoimhe Messitt's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
600 views

How to tell my son to uninvite a friend without lying or giving the real reason?

I'm a single mother raising a son. My son is 17 years old and is planning a small week-long vacation to Las Vegas. He is bringing just his close gay male friends from high school on the trip. My son ...
Vicky's user avatar
  • 33
4 votes
1 answer
1k views

How do I deal with my college-age son's celebrity crush?

I reveal many details already, and for privacy, I don't want to reveal any more like ages. My son currently attends university in USA. Since Son was 14, he's had huge crush on Tiffany Young, a ...
Kim's user avatar
  • 49
1 vote
1 answer
195 views

what should I do with my stepfather [closed]

It all started when I first meet my stepfather when I was 11 years old. at first, I thought he was a good person and I can trust him. After one year I meet him again when he already married my mother. ...
blackflower's user avatar
3 votes
3 answers
1k views

5 year-old (divorced parents) tells dad he doesn't love him

My 5-year old son lives with his mum, 20 minutes down the road from me. Our arrangement is he comes to me Fridays to Sundays. We've been living apart around 1 year. He always tells me he hates coming ...
bamford's user avatar
  • 31
17 votes
11 answers
5k views

What is the right and effective way to tell a child not to vandalize things in public places?

This is the setting: I'm with my 6-7 years old son in a dinosaur park (in a day not busy at all, so he will not behave as a good boy just because there's people around him who could make him feel ...
Enlico's user avatar
  • 286
2 votes
1 answer
769 views

Avoiding kids calling me Daddy when playing without making a big deal about it?

I'm a known sperm donor, meaning I've donated sperm to a few women to help them have children, and I'm lucky enough to get a chance to visit and play with some of the children I donated for. Most of ...
dsollen's user avatar
  • 3,886
26 votes
4 answers
7k views

Get around peer's mind games gracefully

What shall my 2.5-year-old son do in the situation when his peer plays naughty games with him? My son meets regularly with a toddler girl (3yo); his friend, our neighbor and a follow-mate in ...
David's user avatar
  • 369
14 votes
5 answers
10k views

Is placing my child in the same class as a close cousin a bad idea?

My son is going to be starting preschool this Fall. He has a first cousin close in age that's going to be attending the same school. Is it a bad idea for close cousins to be in the same class? Does ...
bigO's user avatar
  • 241
4 votes
1 answer
240 views

Earning your kid's trust and getting them to confide in you and "complain" about getting bullied

How can one get their kid to trust them and confide that they are getting bullied when the kid knows the parent is dead serious, earnest, direct and will vigorously seek to resolve the matter with the ...
George Ntoulos's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
610 views

How to overcome a broken relationship with my son?

My son is 20 years old. He is about to be father soon. He lives with his girlfriend and is doing very well for himself. He is in college, works fulltime and is a great partner. Now here comes the ...
Dre U's user avatar
  • 31
2 votes
2 answers
236 views

How to be a good listener when problems occured?

I recently have a quarrel with my kid who is about to get in his youths. The arguments happen more and more frequently. So I don't want to spoil the relationship with him. I love my kid. How can I ...
Momo Zhong's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
570 views

How to talk to my 8-year-old daughter about her absent father?

My 8-year-old daughter hasn’t seen her father since she was 5 months old. It was an mentally and physically abusive relationship, so we moved to a different province and he hasn’t attempted to see her ...
Elizabeth28's user avatar
9 votes
4 answers
10k views

What to do when my 3.5-year-old says “I don’t love you, I love mommy.”?

Recently, my 3.5-year-old daughter started saying, “I don’t love you, I love mommy.” Also the same phrase with "like" instead of "love". It’s killing me to hear her say that. But, I know she’s little,...
Robert's user avatar
  • 91
4 votes
3 answers
991 views

How can I fix our relationship after falsely punishing my son?

I am a bad father. I punished my son for something he did not do as it turned out that his friend broke the china plate. Because I punished my son he did not get to go to his favorite band's final ...
Anonymous's user avatar
10 votes
4 answers
632 views

How to build a relationship with my 14-year-old son I was stopped from seeing and who now just looks for money from me?

My wife cheated on me right after our son was born and she decided to start a life with her lover. I tried to keep seeing and supporting my son, but she got pregnant a year after and asked me to stop ...
user35664's user avatar
  • 101
4 votes
2 answers
1k views

How to make my 15-year-old daughter want to meet her 39-year-old sister?

Background 39 years ago, a good friend and I had sex and she got pregnant just before I went into the Navy. After three months, I came back from boot camp. I found out she also had slept with my best ...
Scott Reuthinger's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
181 views

How do I refresh my children's memory after long time of being away from me?

I have not seen my children since the beginning of October. There was no goodbye and they have moved to another city. They are 4 and 6 years old, both have mild autism, both non-verbal. What is the ...
user23471's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
258 views

How can I help my nieces who suffer under their mother's behavior?

My brother-in-law (let's call him Mark) has 3 kids but it turns out the mom (let's call her Alice) is not very "maternal". She is clearly bothered by the kids and tries in every way to avoid her ...
algiogia's user avatar
  • 847
2 votes
1 answer
144 views

How can I help my 2-year-old son adapt to his biological father?

I found out today, that my soon to be ex husband is not my son's biological father (which is what I was hoping for, as he is mentally, emotionally and physically abusive). The BF (biological father) ...
Shannon Jeanne Oosthuizen's user avatar
14 votes
4 answers
24k views

Is it inappropriate for young teens to cuddle and sleep together if there is no sign of it being sexual?

I'm trying to decide if I should intervene and would very much appreciate some feedback. I am Japanese btw and my English may not be perfect, sorry. My son and his best friend are both 13 years of ...
TokyoMom's user avatar
  • 141
2 votes
2 answers
378 views

How to help my 7-year-old son socialize in school and learn to fight for his rights?

My son is 7 years old. He's very polite, shy, sensitive and honest. Unlike other kids in his class who tend to be more selfish and mean. I wonder why don't they like to play with him. Although he's ...
Dorthydo's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
426 views

Friend kid problem

My friend and I have been friends for about 9 years. She has a son who has severe ADHD and my daughter is 5 and she has mild autism. When my friend is around with her son, her son is very ...
Tiffany Rini's user avatar
6 votes
2 answers
1k views

How do I tell my 9-year-old son that my now ex husband is not his biological dad?

I'm in a situation where I became pregnant with the wrong person and decided to raise my child by myself. Since before his 3rd birthday the biological dad disappeared and hasn't had anything to do ...
Yanica's user avatar
  • 61
11 votes
4 answers
5k views

I'm tired of living a double life with my parents. How can I set boundaries with them?

I am very stressed and tired. I feel this weight on my shoulder, and recently because of several factors have built moderate fibromyalgia and am anxious, with weekly crying spells. One of those ...
sparksatnight's user avatar
13 votes
4 answers
574 views

How to help 3-year-old stop playing so hard with 1-year-old?

My 3.5 year old son most of the time loves his 1 year old sister a lot. However, he can get very aggressive in playing with her, sometimes treating her more like a doll than a person. Examples ...
NeutronStar's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
948 views

Handling husband’s 15-year-old daughter with Reactive Attachment Disorder

Two years ago, I met my husband. We are both in our 30s. He’s been married before. I have not been. He has a teen daughter from a relationship he had in college. The mother of the girl abandoned the ...
Mata Hari's user avatar
4 votes
3 answers
1k views

Why is my eight year old daughter trying to hurt my feelings - and how should I respond?

I am the father of two children - an eight year old daughter and a four year old son. I have been very close to them, in that they both play,share and trust me. Both also have special activities ...
SGo's user avatar
  • 400
47 votes
13 answers
19k views

My partner's pregnant with her second child (my first) and shows no emotions. How can I help bring that excitement out of her?

I'm a 32-year-old man expecting my first child in September. I imagined having my first would come with all the joys of that experience. My partner already has a son of 2, who I've taken as my own ...
BennyC85's user avatar
  • 471
7 votes
6 answers
6k views

What to dow when my 13-year-old son still wants to hold my hand?

My 13-year-old son still wants to hold my hand. Holding his dad's hand has been drilled into him since he was able to walk as a safety thing and I assumed as he got older he would not want to anymore,...
Andy's user avatar
  • 73
-1 votes
1 answer
217 views

Bad attitude from my 12yr old

My son has a bad attitude, and I can't even have a discussion with him without him kicking off. I try my hardest to not get cross but sometimes it's so hard not to. The way he is being is splitting my ...
lindsey's user avatar
5 votes
3 answers
632 views

How do I get my parents to let me vacation by myself?

I'm planning to take a vacation next month. Since I started planning for it, my parents have continually expressed doubt and concern and generally interfered in the plans. They want to know where and ...
Bytewave's user avatar
2 votes
0 answers
696 views

How do I tell my parents that I want to leave Catholicism and become a Protestant? [closed]

I was raised as a Catholic--which I now believe supports idol worship (e.g. the saints and Mary). I simply want to leave and convert to Protestantism. However, my parents especially hate Protestants. ...
Jasmine Law's user avatar
76 votes
11 answers
34k views

Four year old started calling me by my first name. Is this problematic?

My four year old daughter recently started calling me by my first name. She's only doing this to me, not her mother. I found this to be a little strange and don't want to encourage it for practical ...
Scribblemacher's user avatar
2 votes
5 answers
633 views

Can a “magic answer box” backfire? Is it ok?

I’m a fresh father (4 months old daughter) and I’m sometimes visualising the future. I was thinking of implementing a system for when she’ll be a little older (7+ years old) in which: she posts a ...
Adelin's user avatar
  • 123
5 votes
2 answers
785 views

How can I ensure my 14-year old's safety on a major trip away from home?

Brace yourselves, it's going to be a long one... I hope this is an acceptable question here; if not I wonder if the Interpersonal Skills board might take it? TL;DR: My 14-year old daughter wants to ...
TwoPointThrowaway's user avatar
10 votes
2 answers
1k views

"Mommy doesn't like daddy" - What to do about my 4-year-old daughter crying for 20 min everytime I pick her up from my ex-wife?

I have had a shared parenting agreement for nearly 2 years now for my soon to be 5-year-old daughter. She switches houses every other day during the week and every other weekend. This has been going ...
Sad Dad's user avatar
  • 101
1 vote
5 answers
3k views

How do I change my son's views, after he confessed to me that he rather be with prostitutes over having an actual girlfriend?

Last weekend, me and my 18-year-old son, who just recently enrolled in college, were having a conversation about dating and relationships. I would have never expected this from him in a million years, ...
ExplorerOfMyst's user avatar
12 votes
3 answers
9k views

How to help parents cope with me moving out

Let me preface by saying I'm not entirely sure if I'm asking this in the right place and I'm very emotional right now, I apologize if my post is in disarray or if this question is not within scope of ...
Tracy Nguyen's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
1k views

Am I really just taking advantage or is my mom abusive?

I am a 34-year-old single mother of 4. My children are 14 years old, 13 years old, 5 years old, and 9 months old. Just to give a little background, in March of 2016 my brother died suddenly on my ...
Krystal LaForce's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
844 views

What should I do if my mother belittles me?

I see an unpleasant situation between my younger sisters, V - 8 and K - 2 years, where V is guilty. I try to teach V and say that she is not right but then my mother starts speaking from another ...
Elena Kolumba's user avatar
5 votes
8 answers
2k views

Allowing teen daughter to take two day trip with her girlfriend?

My daughter is 17. Her girlfriend is the same age. Long story short, my daughter asked me today if she could take a camping trip with her girlfriend before the school year started. The camping grounds ...
tinymine's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
322 views

Strong-willed child? What am I missing?

My 6, almost 7 year old is so strong-willed that it's crushing me and destroying our relationship, as I'm getting to the point that I dread being around her. She can be so fun and nice one minute but ...
Jessica 's user avatar