Recently, there have been several stories in the news about violence in children and what can—and should—be done about it. A five-year-old boy was taken out of his Kindergarten class in handcuffs in Indiana, and the same thing happened to a six-year-old girl in Louisiana. Talk shows and the news media have been hosting shows on... Read more »
Do you have a “good” kid who’s starting to act out? All of a sudden, he’s pushing your buttons, failing to comply with rules and his bad attitude has soared through the roof. You start to wonder what happened to your child—and where you went wrong. Your parenting hasn’t changed, so what’s going on? What’s... Read more »
In part 2 of this two-part series, James discusses exactly what to do when your children get in trouble for fighting at school or at home—and the right kinds of consequences to give them so they learn to use appropriate behavior instead of lashing out when they feel like hitting someone the next time. Read... Read more »
Self-esteem, self-worth, and self-respect are interchangeable phrases we use to identify our kids' confidence in their ability to handle life's problems. I think of it as the feeling that things are going to work out all right, that you can manage the bumps in the road, and that you respect yourself. Each time a child... Read more »
You thought the terrible twos were bad. Now you’re dealing with the terrible thirteens—and it’s even worse. When she was two, she cried, kicked, and screamed. At 13, she’s yelling, slamming doors, storming out of the house, and screaming, “You can’t control me!” You can reduce and eliminate teenage tantrums by taking these six steps. But... Read more »
When I answered the phone, I heard the shrieks immediately. It was obvious that a child was having a nuclear meltdown on the other end of the line and the mother, exhausted and frantic, was calling parent coaching for help. As the mother tried to explain what was going on, I struggled to hear her... Read more »
What do you do if you find out that your child is a bully? Perhaps you received a phone call from your child's school. Or maybe from another parent. Either way, if you think your child is bullying others, it’s very important to start working with him or her now. This behavior is already hurting... Read more »
When we think of peer pressure, we typically have a picture in our minds of a kid handing your child a cigarette, a joint, or a beer and saying something like, “Come on, just try it.” But at times peer pressure can be felt without a single word being spoken, like when a clique excludes... Read more »
Have you gotten "the call" from your child's school? Janet Lehman, MSW talks frankly about how she and her husband James handled things when their son had trouble at school. During our son’s third-grade year, we received a phone call from his teacher saying that she was concerned about our child’s chances of passing that year.... Read more »
Q: What do the other children in the family experience when they have a brother or sister who’s hostile or acts out chronically? James: It’s traumatizing when something hurtful happens to you, and you can’t control it, you can’t stop it, you can’t predict how hurtful it’s going to be, and you can’t predict when or whether... Read more »
