100
votes
Accepted
An incident happened at school and child didn't (want to) tell the parent
My friend obviously did not react well when she found out about the incident. How should she make up for it to her daughter?
She should apologize. You say your friend didn't react ideally, I'd say ...
- 8,755
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
53
votes
Accepted
How to deal with my 2-year-old daughter crying and getting angry when we don't give her what she asks for?
This is a difficult problem for parents because we hate making our children cry, but it seems to me that you use 'the naughty place' / timeout and that can be effective. I don't call it 'the naughty ...
- 17.4k
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
30
votes
An incident happened at school and child didn't (want to) tell the parent
No parents are entitled to be told by their children about things they would want to know. It may be right for their kids to tell them, it may be good and helpful, it may be reasonable and all sorts ...
- 1,982
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
17
votes
Child with ODD and ADHD
Someone will probably comment that ODD and ADHD can't be diagnosed reliably in a preschooler. Not only is that unhelpful, it's also untrue. I can't speak to your child's ADHD, but it sure sounds like ...
- 72.2k
15
votes
What to do after my nephew showed a graphic video to my 9-year-old son?
Am I overreacting??
Possibly. Probably. To adults this act - showing a young person a beheading - is horrifying, because we know all that it means. But a child might not see it that way, especially ...
- 72.2k
13
votes
How to deal with my 2-year-old daughter crying and getting angry when we don't give her what she asks for?
It sounds like what you have is a breakdown in communication. It's especially difficult around this age since she is trying to make use of her newly acquired language skills.
Look at it from her ...
- 1,242
13
votes
An incident happened at school and child didn't (want to) tell the parent
1a. Is it the fear of re-living the trauma that kept the child quiet?
Possibly. It might also be that she didn't want to betray what she saw as a confidence. Or she might have been worried that her ...
- 10.4k
10
votes
Accepted
How do I explain the reasons behind protesting and rioting to my children?
As others remarked, the riots are puzzling to us adults as well — that's the reason you are asking. We are struggling to explain it not because there is a truth so terrible that it is unsuited ...
- 2,037
8
votes
How to deal with my 2-year-old daughter crying and getting angry when we don't give her what she asks for?
My feeling is that this is not directly about the phone. The outburst is symptomatic of an unmet need, and it's not the need for your phone.
Your child is two.
You are on your phone.
The message to ...
- 81
7
votes
My daughter tells me her teacher slapped her. How should I proceed?
First off, when it involves your children being physically assaulted, always believe them. Children (especially so young) don't tend to have a strong concept of consequences. Because of this, it is ...
- 2,532
7
votes
How do I make my girlfriend's 4 year old stop hurting my dog?
It's pretty clear to me that the boy's behavior isn't about the dog. It's about YOU. He's testing boundaries and trying to see what he can get away with, and has discovered that hurting the dog ...
- 7,894
6
votes
What to do about a 5-year-old girl being violent and insulting?
There's something going on here, and it's your job to figure it out. :-/ That's usually best done by talking once the child is calm. But there are a lot of things you can try to improve the immediate ...
- 72.2k
6
votes
Should I let my child play with gun toys?
One of the purposes of toys is to give children a safe way to learn about dangerous things. So yes, you should not only allow, but encourage your children to play with toy guns, knives, hammers, saws,...
- 171
6
votes
How to change a 4-year-old's violent and defiant behavior when his parents made him our responsibility?
Spanking doesn't stop (or even seem to influence) the behavior, so you might as well stop. Besides, it sends a pretty bad message to the child, and using the strap can get you involved with Child ...
- 72.2k
6
votes
Is "slapping a badly-behaved child" against the law in US?
It depends on the state and the circumstances. State law trumps federal law in most cases.See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporal_punishment_of_minors_in_the_United_States. In this case, it is ...
- 3,697
6
votes
An incident happened at school and child didn't (want to) tell the parent
My questions are:
Is it the fear of re-living the trauma that kept the child quiet? Something else? How can my friend ask her daughter, and get her to
talk about this? Should she even try to ...
- 169
6
votes
Accepted
Found loaded gun after son threatened to kill the family
I concur with @AskAboutMonica: your first priority must be to keep yourself and the rest of your family safe. In addition to your own safety a murder conviction is not going to do your son much good.
...
- 10.6k
5
votes
How do I explain the reasons behind protesting and rioting to my children?
There's a whole bunch of moving parts, and some are beyond explaining, even to adults. I'll aim for the pre-teens with this. Let me caveat this by saying that I understand the George Floyd situation ...
- 733
5
votes
Should I tell my 2.5 YO son to stay away from another kid?
The most important reason not to warn your son to stay away from the boy who bit him is that doing so makes it your son's responsibility to stay safe. It's not. (It's not the same as running into the ...
- 72.2k
4
votes
What to do after my nephew showed a graphic video to my 9-year-old son?
I am of the opinion that we raise children as a family. This nephew is a minor child who has perhaps actually harmed his even younger cousin. Your son may have nightmares or fears that you may find ...
- 17.4k
4
votes
Should I let my child play with gun toys?
I think that the correct answer to this problem is entirely contingent on locale. I grew up in Alaska, where guns are so prevalent that my school actually took us to the range for a day during middle-...
- 229
4
votes
How to help my 18-year-old who may be the victim of bullying?
I'll assume you read the other answers about bullying.
Forty days is not long if everything is okay -- however, it's a very long time to be abused.
Have you or your son discussed this with a teacher ...
- 17.4k
4
votes
What to do about a 4 year old abusing animals?
I'm not a doctor of any kind.
even "obvious" answers shouldn't be withheld.
Torturing animals is often a sign of serious psychopathic personality disorders. This point is made clear in every ...
- 1,388
4
votes
Accepted
How to handle a child who acts out trying to reunite separated parents
I suppose that much depends on how old your child is. I'll assume for the sake of an answer that he's in the 8-11 age range (if he's younger, then I think possibility a -- see below -- becomes more ...
- 8,755
4
votes
My 11 year old step daughter is making troubling comments about my newborn twin daughters, her half sisters
That is indeed very concerning behavior and should be dealt with
It's probably (and hopefully) an attempt for her get attention. If she doesn't get, she may turn it up until she gets it and the last ...
- 7,502
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