Sometimes when he is upset, he will scowl and tighten his fist. For example, he might scowl (and sometimes accompanied with a loud argh) at his little brother if he knocks his Legos down or even at us if he is upset.
My children are having tantrums when having to do something they don't want to do.
My daughter has developed fear of the dark and being alone. Help!
My daughter has returned home with fear. This is a new one for us but it started at my moms house which she said was haunted. She was scared to be in various rooms by herself and would scream out of nowhere, or have dad hold her all night in his arms. Now that we are home she is also nervous to be alone.
My daughter's feelings go 0-60 in 2 seconds! Why?? How can I help her?
Our dog is sick and might pass away. Should I include my children to say goodbye?
We’re in a very weird stage now as we don’t know how much longer our dog has with us.
I've been crying a whole lot lately and the kids know she’s not doing well. Tonight we dropped her off at the er and we don’t know if she’ll come back home though I’m hopeful.
We’ve been talking to the kids and answering their questions as best as we can... but if I’m being honest, I’d love some space to just be sad, which I tell them but I don't think they get it and I don’t know how to help them through this.
My son has been diagnosed with ADHD. Do I tell him and how?
After a long summer we finally got an evaluation from FIU that confirms that my son has ADHD and ODD. To be honest, even though I had a strong feeling he was going to be diagnosed with this, it's still a lot to swallow. So many thoughts come rushing into my head like:
- Will he be able to handle it and live a happy life?
- Is it my fault?
- Is there something I could have done differently?
- Will he be successful?
My 6yo does not tolerate loud noises or singing. What is going on?
At what age do children understand charity work?
The school is promoting a solidarity campaign in which we are supposed to deliver boxes to needy families with some basic goods. Each member of the family should make an outline of their hand as a symbolic gesture of "giving someone a hand", but my 8yo daughter refuses to do it. She also complained that we never buy her the kinds of biscuits that are in the box. She of course is too young to understand the importance of this, but I got pretty disappointed because I was expecting her to engage. What should I expect at this age?
Do I let my child know that I check their devices?
I am starting to struggle a lot lately with my 11 year old boy. He has always been very affectionate with me and lately he has stopped doing it.
There is a girl at school with whom he talks with a lot on the iPad and that girl has a reputation for being a problem. He doesn't know that I get on his iPad (because he still doesn't have a phone) and check his conversations.
How do I help my daughter move away from thumb sucking?
My daughter (9.5) got an expander at the beginning of the summer and will get braces tomorrow! She is pretty nonchalant about all of it, but the orthodontist told us we need to cut out the thumb sucking.
She still sucks her thumb at night and sometimes but rarely in public as a self-soothing gesture (mostly when she is very tired). How can I help her move away from that?
How do I handle a big, loud and physical tantrum in a healthy way?
Yesterday was my daughter’s first day back at school for the full day 9-4. It was a long day and the first scheduled day like that all summer. She is going through a phase where she only wears dresses. During school she got her dress very dirty. She went to get new clothes from her cubby and when she got there she noticed I packed her a bunch of beautiful t-shirts and pants (because they are clothes I figure we won’t use so they could be at school) she was SO disappointed and cried for a while at school.
When I arrived to pick her up, she was clearly upset with me. Once we got down to the parking garage she let it all out! She said she needed a dress and immediately took off her t-shirt and pushed me, hit me, pulled my hair, and pretended to spit on me. She shared she didn’t like me any more and wanted a new mommy.
Is it normal for my 6yo to get anxious from loud noises, specifically, fire alarms?
My son is 6 years old and ever since he started pre-k he has been scared of the fire alarms. He hates them. It causes him anxiety. It was worse when he was younger but even after a year or so of being in school he still hates them and gets anxious. We talk about it often and tell him what they are for but he still does not like them. Today the teacher wrote to us that he has been covering his ears the past few days and today he said he had a headache and we suspect it's because the school administrator told him this morning there will be a fire alarm. We asked the school admin, at my son’s request, to let him know the day there would be fire drills. Is this normal after so long in school, what else could we tell him?
How do I decide if my 9yo should have a cell phone?
My 9yo daughter is generally a rule follower. Though we are at a more progressive school that discourages the use of social media and phones, it happens. Even some of the most like-minded parents have now allowed their kids to have a phone with limited texting, or facebook for kids, etc. My husband and I don't believe children should be on any screens when it can be helped, but now she is starting to feel left out. Where is the line between ”we choose the best values for our family“ and turning our kid into an outcast?
I am not happy with how my 7yo daughters friends are treating her. Do I intervene?
My 7yo daughter has a friend that she's been friends with since she was 3. We're now close to the family and have a group of friends that we all spend a lot of time with. While I love the girl's parents, the little girl can be quite challenging and frankly disrespectful to her own parents as well as others. My daughter has often had conflicts with her over the years, and we've always guided them to "work it out'“.
However, now things have escalated a bit. On about 3 occasions, this little girl has managed to get about 6-7 other little kids from the group we hang out with to exclude her, shutting her out of rooms, and making fun of her. It's horrible to watch and always ends in tears.
I am having a hard time handling my 3.5yo's tantrums. How can I manage?
I've heard you talk about tantrums and toddlers numerous times and it still amazes me how much I need to be reminded of this. So after the summer, it seems like my son’s tantrums (3.5yrs) have become more intense & he's become more demanding. He also doesn't really do what we ask him to do (which is usually very reasonable for a 3.5yr old). He doesn't cooperate. How can I start turning this around?
I am in homework hell every day. Help!
We just moved abroad and our things have not arrived. My kids are restless and irritable. How can I manage their big feelings?
We made it to the UK but our goods have not so we have started our life here with a very minimalistic setup made of basic rental furniture but none of our personal things (including toys and books!!!). My son and daughter have been very restless, complaining about everything and struggling at times to get used to their new (boring?) life with none of the things they need to feel at home (except us parents). I have obviously bought a few new toys and books but it's still not their things... School starts on Sept 8th and by then it will have been more than 3 months without school or summer camp. Help?!?
How do I help my little one transition to a new school and manage his modesty?
I have two questions regarding my little guy:
When should we start to prep him for a new school knowing he leans on anxious?
Also, regarding summer camp, I took him out of the second camp today. He really didn't want to go back after I picked him up yesterday. We found out it is for ages 7-15! No one told us before.
Yesterday he was just sitting around, not wanting to go into the water (and it was a water sports camp!). Later he told me it was because he didn't want to get wet and then change clothes in front of everybody as he didn't feel safe. How do I help him with that?
We are on vacation away from home and we are not doing well. HELP!
I am visiting family on the east coast alone with the girls. We’ve been out here for 2 weeks now. Our schedules have definitely been off even though I have tried to maintain them to the best of my ability.
One of my daughters has been beyond attached the whole trip which is not really like her to this extent. I have not even showered alone to give you some understanding. And my other daughter has just woken up upset many days. She is definitely more moody than normal. Not sure which side of her I am going to get throughout the day.
People here parent way differently than I do and standing my ground and maintaining my parenting has taken a lot of effort. I feel like I am riding a two week anxiety wave internally.
Our vacation time is ending. What can I do to help my children transition back home?
Our time in California is winding down and their camp ends this week. The girls are so incredibly sad and I know there will be tears. They have made good friends over the last six weeks and they are already saying they don't want to go back to Miami, they don't want to go back to school etc.
My daughter feels it a lot more than her sister, she always cries when we have to say goodbye to her grandmother. What can I do to help them with this transition?