386
votes
How do you raise an intelligent and happy daughter in a sexist world?
Firstly, I have to admit that while reading your question I was wondering if you're being serious. For me (as a hopeful future father with the same questions in mind), your solutions sound shocking ...
- 3,354
206
votes
What to do with my pre-teen daughter who has been out of control since a severe accident?
I've tried and tried to get her to go to counseling but only response I get you can make me go but don't expect me to say a word.
So, make her go. Therapists have a way of getting people to talk, and ...
- 68.1k
90
votes
What to do with my pre-teen daughter who has been out of control since a severe accident?
My daughter...was only one in our vehicle that didn't sustain any life threatening injuries (only a broken foot)
Your daughter suffered a severe trauma. Such events don't necessarily leave physical ...
- 1,502
67
votes
How do you raise an intelligent and happy daughter in a sexist world?
Wow!
Well, it sounds as though you want to be the perfect family, and the perfect parents.
And it's easy to understand why. Who wouldn't want the best of everything for their children?
I have a couple ...
- 4,570
66
votes
Accepted
How to help my 2.5-year-old daughter take her medicine when she refuses to?
I don't like using strength or force to do things, and I am afraid to cause fear or trauma on my little one
This dislike of using force speaks for you. However, in this case, it might be the only ...
- 8,635
61
votes
Accepted
Should I tell my 10-year old son, how screwed-up Cinderella is?
What you should not do is to simply talk badly about a favourite story of his.
What you could do instead is put the story into perspective - and don't do this with this fairy tale alone, but with as ...
- 18k
60
votes
My 15-year-old son is gay. How do I express my feelings about this?
How do I express my feelings towards him being gay without actually hurting his feelings?
Right now, you don't unless he asks. Even then, I'd equivocate ("Give me time to gather my thoughts. This is ...
- 68.1k
56
votes
How do you raise an intelligent and happy daughter in a sexist world?
We homeschool our kids, so perhaps I can provide a unique perspective. A lot of the other answers seem to be primarily worried about friends. People sparked friendships for millenia before ...
- 36k
42
votes
How do you raise an intelligent and happy daughter in a sexist world?
You lack one key: To be wonderful, to be amazing, to be successful, she must not be locked in this overwhelming strategy.
Sadly, you are contributing to "this sexist world".
It seems the motivation ...
- 712
37
votes
How do you raise an intelligent and happy daughter in a sexist world?
While I think your intentions are good, I think that some of what you are doing will actually have negative effects. Dolls are a perfectly healthy toy - both my son and my daughters played with them. ...
- 26.5k
36
votes
8-year-old daughter is obsessed with books - escaping from something?
Hmm, apparently my eight year old has a twin sister nobody told me about! Basically everything up there would word for word work to describe him.
This is totally normal at this age. It's hard to ...
- 60.3k
34
votes
Accepted
I don't like my mom and she is coming to stay with me, how to prevent it or handle in the best way?
It looks from your post that you have very good reasons not to let your mother stay at your place.
It seems that in spite of seeing all the reasons why this is a bad idea you are still hesitant. A ...
- 646
31
votes
How to help my 2.5-year-old daughter take her medicine when she refuses to?
Let her moan, cry, and delay the inevitable, showing respect for her feelings, but set a timer for these activities. When the timer goes off, it's time to take the medicine.
Refusing medicine ...
- 68.1k
30
votes
5-year old goes to pieces when talking about her/seeing pictures from when she was younger
My daughter went through this, and it took a few years until she was old enough to articulate what made her sad about the old photos and stories.
While we were all reminiscing and fawning over her ...
- 483
29
votes
Should I tell my 10-year old son, how screwed-up Cinderella is?
Is there any possible harm, if I tell my kid now about the hidden meaning of Cinderella?
To a certain extent the "hidden meaning" you describe is a somewhat dystopian outlook on relationships.
In ...
- 947
27
votes
My 15-year-old son is gay. How do I express my feelings about this?
Well, how do you feel about your son? I suspect, whatever your feeling are about homosexuality, in general, or in this specific case, you love your son very much, and want him to be happy.
THAT is ...
- 2,159
24
votes
How to ask a child what's wrong, without suggesting things to worry about?
A child that I am close to (7) has had some events in her life that made her a bit closed off, but she loves to draw so her mother taught her to express herself through drawing.
She asked her to ...
- 1,993
23
votes
Should I intentionally lose a game to make my daughter happy?
My experience with this (and a 7 and 5 year old child) is that you should not let the child win, but rather adjust the scenario so that the child can win. This ensures there is still a sense of ...
- 60.3k
23
votes
How to ask a child what's wrong, without suggesting things to worry about?
One classic trick that I've used in the past with my kids is to talk to favorite toy instead of the child directly. The goal is to bait the kid into either talking to the toy or best of all talking ...
- 231
22
votes
I don't like my mom and she is coming to stay with me, how to prevent it or handle in the best way?
I agree with Ola M. You have to draw the line and then stick to it. "Sorry Mum, you can't stay with me." If you make excuses, she is going to be able to find 'solutions', so the only way is to tell ...
- 17.5k
22
votes
How can I help my children who just found out my wife left us?
Apologize to them.
This reaction may be even more about you lying to them, than about the separation. Kids are not stupid, and may have suspected something is up already. Put yourself into their ...
- 6,921
21
votes
How can we help our son deal with his girlfriend's emotional issues?
There are several people here who should be involved, and there are two people to consider whose lives are being impacted in an unhealthy manner. I think there needs to be some adult intervention here....
- 68.1k
21
votes
Accepted
How to tell my son to uninvite a friend without lying or giving the real reason?
Leaving aside the moral issues (as hopefully you are aware of those), and leaving aside whether you should intervene (a very good question itself), in their mind, this is something between the other ...
- 60.3k
20
votes
How do you raise an intelligent and happy daughter in a sexist world?
My daughter is about to turn 11, and I have similar hopes for her. Each of the paragraphs below is a category that her father and I have found to be influences on her in some way, and ways we try to ...
- 22.6k
20
votes
Accepted
How to convince an adult son that pot and LSD, even used sparingly is not acceptable
If he brings in studies, you can always do the same... but they should be balanced ones, that nevertheless support your point: that yes, compared to most legal drugs, it may be harmless: in moderation ...
- 3,109
18
votes
What to do with my pre-teen daughter who has been out of control since a severe accident?
I agree with everything that has been said about counseling - do that first and foremost.
Her situation
But let me add this: it is not unheard of for children in puberty to act like your daughter (...
- 2,540
15
votes
Should I tell my 10-year old son, how screwed-up Cinderella is?
There potentially could be harmful outcomes of going into detail that is ahead of a ten-year-old's comprehension/experience/understanding:
At that age, children are still children, and despite the ...
- 26.5k
15
votes
If a baby is accidentally dropped by a parent, does the baby lose trust in the parent?
But I'm more worried about the emotional effects. I'm her mother, she
should feel safe and secure with me, but I've completely destroyed her
confidence in me. How will she trust me again?
This is ...
- 2,698
15
votes
Why am I hurt by my toddler saying she wanted to throw all her toys in the garbage?
Children say hurtful things. Sometimes they know they are doing it and sometimes they don't. Since they are so young and have limited vocabulary and ways to express themselves, they often grasp onto ...
- 13.4k
14
votes
Accepted
Why does 2 hours in front of the TV make my kids grumpy?
--- Disclaimer: Some might feel this answer to be hard to digest. ---
Have you ever thought about what is happening in your kid's brains while they are watching TV?
I mean, from a neuroscientistic ...
- 18k
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