91
votes
What's an appropriate age to involve kids in life changing decisions?
I have to challenge your entire premise, which may get this post deleted, but I hope you get a chance to read this before it is deleted.
In simple terms this is a case of, Majoring in the minors and ...
- 3,368
67
votes
How do I explain the reasons behind protesting and rioting to my children?
To answer the question as to "why protests turn to riots" it often comes down to people not feeling like they are heard. Think about if you (or your child) is asking for something, something you ...
- 13.3k
61
votes
9-year-old received tablet as gift, but he does not have the self-control or maturity to own a tablet
Let's recap the question from a more objective viewpoint... as right now the premise for the actions which have been taken seem to be incorrect (at best.)
The boy has been behaving well academically ...
- 5,130
57
votes
Accepted
What do I do to get my nine-year old boy off books with pictures and onto books with text content?
So it looks like you have two questions, how to foster a love of reading and how to get your son to start reading more reading-level appropriate books (that phrasing was chosen carefully, I'll get to ...
- 13.3k
55
votes
Accepted
How to help a bullied child (without involving parents or teachers)
I have been the bullied child.
What my parents tried to teach me was being able to stand up for myself. Trusting in my self-worth and independence. A parent can help with the first steps on this way, ...
- 1,446
52
votes
How to protect my child from friend's over protective father?
Can you talk to your son's friend?
Honestly, I think the belief that you can't judge another person's parenting is not true. Certainly there are things where it doesn't much matter - table manners, ...
- 2,995
51
votes
What's an appropriate age to involve kids in life changing decisions?
Whatever you and your spouse decide to do, please please do not ask your kids to decide who their primary guardian will be or what their living arrangements will be. I found this approach terrible ...
- 1,575
51
votes
Accepted
How to get my younger sister to listen?
You're in a complicated position, but if it helps, so are most of us parents!
What works will likely be the same sort of thing that works for me with my eight year old.
Treat her like an adult, for ...
- 63.5k
43
votes
Accepted
Should I correct my daughter's pronunciation of ballet terms?
My approach to pronunciation issues is simple: pronounce them correctly myself, but only correct my children when it's relevant (meaning, if they're saying something that's actually a different word, ...
- 63.5k
42
votes
How to instill scepticism towards authority, albeit in a healthy way?
"Healthy disrespect" for authority has a wide definition. Based on your question, I'm going to define it as "not accepting blindly what authority figures tell him, but not doing it in ...
- 63.5k
42
votes
Accepted
How can I handle kids telling me extremely boring stuff?
To some degree, kids need you to act interested when you aren't; you can't fully avoid their 'boring' talk without it leaving them feeling unheard or unappreciated. There have already been two great ...
- 4,265
42
votes
How can I get permission to take my child to Zambia against the wishes of the father?
In a shared custody situation, it is kidnapping for one parent to move the child across an international border without the other parent's permission. It is a very common type of kidnapping, and as ...
- 3,189
36
votes
How do you as teacher deal with children who like to hug you?
I liked @Willow Rex's answer quite a bit, and I think it can solve your problem. However, there's another aspect to your question that I think can be addressed if you so desire. Since you already told ...
- 72.2k
36
votes
Accepted
9-year-old received tablet as gift, but he does not have the self-control or maturity to own a tablet
From a more general angle. We allow kids in the family to use tablets, but of course this is under supervision.
There is a dedicated docking station where the tablets are.
Tablets must be used ...
- 392
36
votes
Accepted
What's an appropriate age to involve kids in life changing decisions?
I will address only one issue:
At roughly what age levels is it appropriate for the kids to have what levels of say in their upbringing?
At every age, a child should have a voice about their ...
- 72.2k
35
votes
How can I handle kids telling me extremely boring stuff?
You don't have to be interested in the subject. Nobody is interested in everything in a conversation. But if you back up a level and think about teaching your kids how to interact with people, that ...
- 1,992
33
votes
I don't know if my step-son hates me, is scared of me, or likes me?
so I decided to just work through it with him
Children are not miniature adults. Their brains literally do not work the same way. They're no more capable of reasoning in the same way as an adult ...
- 2,995
31
votes
What's an appropriate age to involve kids in life changing decisions?
Children should be involved in, and have input on, life changing things - but while they get an opinion that should be considered they do not get a vote; that is why they are children not adults.
You ...
- 411
31
votes
How do I explain the reasons behind protesting and rioting to my children?
You could use it as an example of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crowd_psychology - what can happen when people feel like they are a part of a crowd. Their individual responsibility is diffused, things ...
- 410
31
votes
How can I handle kids telling me extremely boring stuff?
First: show an interest, but do it authentically, when you can. Listen to their conversation about Minecraft, and listen well enough that you can ask intelligent questions. This is a useful skill ...
- 63.5k
29
votes
Accepted
Is it good or bad to correct a child's spelling online?
YouTube comments, phone auto-correct, someone looking over your shoulder ... all of these could definitely annoy someone. Think of how you would feel if someone did it to you. Don't treat this child ...
- 2,532
26
votes
What do I do to get my nine-year old boy off books with pictures and onto books with text content?
Your son sounds like my son! A few years ago I went through the same struggle. Bright kid, reading way above grade level, but spends all of his time reading Dogman and Captain Underpants. Tried a ...
- 63.5k
24
votes
How can I handle kids telling me extremely boring stuff?
This might help you. Or not, but it doesn't hurt to try:
See if you can change your mindset.
You don't have to listen to your kids talk about their current favourite thing. You get to listen to them ...
- 341
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 ...
- 7,502
21
votes
Overcoming an irrational fear of long guns
I like Chris' answer, but consider that there is a difference between spiders and guns. Guns are actually dangerous, while many spiders we encounter daily aren't. So while your daughter's anxiety ...
- 8,755
21
votes
How to get my younger sister to listen?
As a father of a now 15 year old boy I have the following advice that seemed to work well:
Don't enter power struggles.
That's hard already for parents; it is probably harder for a big sister. You are ...
- 2,037
20
votes
Accepted
How to protect my child from friend's over protective father?
I think 9 is old enough to have a conversation about honesty and difference in cultures - the two things in play here.
Difference in culture angle :
Explain to your son what his friend's father views ...
- 3,431
19
votes
Separated parents. As a dad, how do I exercise tough love without being the bad guy?
I am going to comment and answer each paragraph.
(Keeping it civil and not fighting in front of your son is absolutely the way to handle it. You aren't 'fooling' your son, but you are modelling how ...
- 17.4k
18
votes
How do I explain the reasons behind protesting and rioting to my children?
It seems from your question fairly evident that you don't know yourself why people would behave this way
as members of the privileged majority it's not easy to intuit why people feel a more ...
- 329
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