208
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 ...
- 69.8k
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
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 ...
- 8,675
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 ...
- 69.8k
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 ...
- 61.8k
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 ...
- 69.8k
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
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
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 ...
- 61.8k
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 ...
- 2,093
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 ...
- 7,204
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 ...
- 61.8k
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 (...
- 2,810
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 ...
- 2,758
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
12
votes
Accepted
Should I try to reconnect my 16-year-old daughter with her father?
Do NOT do anything without her consent. This will damage trust in your relationship and is likely to make things worse
As long as neither your daughter or you ex ask you specifically to get involve, ...
- 7,204
12
votes
What to do when my 3.5-year-old says “I don’t love you, I love mommy.”?
When it comes to words that don't have very concrete meaning to a young mind (such as "love" and "like"), children learn to associate those words (and phrases) with the contexts that they're used in ...
- 791
11
votes
Should I be concerned about this poem?
A person can be moved, or touched by a poem without necessarily sharing the feelings expressed therein.
I don't think you need to be concerned if your daughter is otherwise doing fine.
Your daughter ...
- 3,775
10
votes
Why am I hurt by my toddler saying she wanted to throw all her toys in the garbage?
I just want to add to @SomeShinyObject's excellent answer. But first, I'll actually answer the question.
Why am I taking such offense to her request?
Because you love her, and what she feels ...
- 69.8k
10
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.
Calmly, of course. After some deep thought about what your feelings really are.
Because we sure don't know ...
- 357
9
votes
How do I help my husband see that his feelings of being a terrible parent to his son are unfounded?
First, you need to remind your husband that your stepson is a human being. And try as we might, we can't always get other humans to make the choices we want them to. We can teach, advise and ...
- 13.3k
9
votes
How to instill sensitivity in kids?
Children sometimes react in counterintuitive ways to things that bother them. A fascination or inappropriate response to things that are scary, or gross, or otherwise boundary-pushing is not uncommon,...
- 6,143
9
votes
Should I intentionally lose a game to make my daughter happy?
On average, kids need to win about 1 in 3 times in order to stay interested in a game. They must win fairly, not by default. It sounds like she is well on her way to becoming a ranked player - she is ...
- 3,697
8
votes
How to deal with a preteen's sudden unhealthy obsession?
I don't have a lot of experience with pre-teen girls, other than having been one once upon a time, but since I was asked to elaborate on my comment.
I agree with your assessment that making it '...
- 4,584
8
votes
How to help my 10-year-old daughter who is upset because her dad is not in her life?
Her situation is very similar to that of children who were adopted, except that one of her parents is her biological mother. Adopted children ask many of the same questions that your daughter is ...
- 8,987
8
votes
Accepted
How to not to feel igry for children's behavior?
Ok J Doe. Assuming you basically meant to say "my child makes me mad. what do I do?" Let's break some things down here:
First of all, who cares? You were a kid once. You might have had a favorite ...
- 4,576
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