How do we speak to our child about touching private parts so that they feel safe and open with us enough to share?

Our child has had two incidents at school in the past two weeks that we are very concerned about. The first time they exposed themself at dismissal to their classmates after being dared by others. The second time they were sitting in a circle with their peers and reached a hand up another child’s shorts. The child was very alarmed and upset of course.
There is no open access to the internet. We are starting to look at the time that has spent on FaceTime with the best friend that moved away.
Could this other child have been exposed and shared this with our child?
How do we speak to our child about this so that they feel safe and open with us enough to share?

My almost 4yo had an epic tantrum. What could I have done better?

Today my almost 4-year-old had an epic tantrum at a store and although I was able to be calm and did not care about the looks I got from everyone around me, I was exhausted after his tantrum.
At the end he fell asleep at home exhausted from his tantrum and I am thinking ..
What could I have done better?
Should I have bought the toy?

I am struggling with my children's sleep and letting them know the nanny is leaving. Helpo!

I would love some sleeping advice. My oldest child 5.5yo and my youngest 2.5yo share a room at night. They each have their own bed. They fall asleep fairly normally… book, tucked in, rub back, fall asleep, I sneak out.
Somewhere around 11:45pm-2am my youngest will call me in to put the blanket on her, or my oldest will come and get me to rub her back or snuggle. This will continue through the night.
We are also in search of a new nanny. How do we tell our children?

My 4yo says she has stomach pain when she is scared of something or someone. How can we help her?

My 4 year old would say she has stomach pain from time to time, and recently, she verbalized that when she is scared of something/someone (unfamiliar adults in general) or excited about something, she would have a stomachache.
We wonder how we can help her manage this?
What are some skills/techniques we can equip her with to manage this feeling?

How can I help and support my 12-year-old with phone addiction?

I would like to have an approach that is collaborative with her and empowering rather than punishment based, or forced... Help!

How can I help my son have a better relationship with his dad?

In my son's transition from one school to another, his relationship with his Dad has deteriorated. 
My son refused to go to his home, see him or talk to him.  When forced, he engaged in fight or flight, refused to eat, yelled and refused to come out of his room at his dads. 
Dad has allowed him to stay with me for the last three weeks, hoping that giving him time would help. I am at a loss how to help them with this relationship or at least get my son to the table. Please help!  I'll pass on the tips. Thank you!

I hesitate introducing video games to my son. Is there a healthy and safe way to do this?

All of my son’s friends at school have some type of gaming system. We have been really firm about not introducing this into our home mostly because of safety. Our main concern is that he has a tendency to fixate when he likes something. I am worried if we allow video games in our home this will get out of hand really quickly.

My 13yo has become very challenging. How do I discipline them?

My 13 yo has been very challenging at home and at school.  When he does not show appropriate behavior, I start to put restrictions on the phone/take away the phone.  However, I feel like this is being done daily to the point sometimes he says he doesn’t care (but really he does). 

Any suggestions ?

Should I pull my daughter out of Girl Scouts or stick with it?

This afternoon we had our 2nd Girl Scout meeting. It’s about 15 girls and moms that I don’t really know (combo of K & 1st graders). I told my daughter before the meeting that her vest may look a little different than the other girls as her yellow flag pin hadn’t arrived. When we got there and it was time for all the moms to pin a gold pin on the yellow flag my daughter had a fit and ran out of the room. I coaxed her back in but then she said “girls scouts is so stupid, it’s so boring, all we do is draw. I hate Girl Scouts.” I was mortified.
I am tempted to just quit. Should I just pull her out of Girl Scouts?

My soon to be 6yo daughter needs us with her in order to sleep. How do we shift this?

My daughter will be 6 in December and we are now going on 2 years of needing to sleep with her, not just lay with her at night but sleep with her all night so that she does not wake up multiple times a night calling for us. How do we shift this?

How do I know if I am being too harsh or too lenient?

Yesterday, I took the three kids to the movies and to a park.  Before we left, my daughter grabbed her socks and I told her, she didn’t need socks because I was going to have them wear water shoes in case the sprinklers were on at the park and she wanted to get wet. She said she wanted to wear her regular shoes because she didn’t want to get wet.  I asked if she was sure and she told me yes. Once at the park, she eventually began leaping through the sprinklers, telling me she wasn’t getting her shoes wet, only her clothes, which was not the case.  Her shoes were getting wet. 

My 6.5yo wants purple hair. Should I let her go for it?

My 6.5yo daughter wants to dye her hair purple! All because she’s been watching this show, the Descendants, and the main character has purple hair. From my experience, I know it’s just experimenting and a phase.  But, is it OK for a 6-year-old to have such freedom or should I wait till she’s a little older to experiment?

Can you help guide us with winning and losing? 

We often play board games, card games or have pool races at our house and are trying to teach my daughter to manage her disappointment when she loses and honestly she has been doing pretty well with it.  But Saturday we were in the pool and she and her dad were racing and I was the judge calling out the winners (in hindsight I probably shouldn't have been doing that).  In one of the races, dad won and she had a total meltdown saying "daddy cheated, I hate Daddy, etc. etc. etc." 

My daughter creates alters with her toys. Should I be worried?

My daughter has a few toys that she has on her bedside table as a permanent fixture and refuses to have them moved. She also doesn't play with them but she likes to look at them, occasionally touch them, keep them in the same place always and no one can touch or move them. I find it freaky but I try to respect and not touch it. I worry that she may develop (more of) OCD if we do not show her that it's ok to move things and that toys are meant to be played with.

How do you help your kid when they are doing their best but it’s not enough?

My son has had a rough few days at nature school this week with impulse control and focus. He has been separated from the group a few times to try and calm his wiggles and lost privileges because of his behavior. Sometimes he just can’t sit, stay, listen, or complete a task. His brain just seems to override occasionally and I totally get it.

My oldest may be feeling jealous of his younger brother. How do I talk to him?

My younger son has been invited to train and be a guest player in a tournament for the soccer club every boy in south Florida wants to get in. He is doing great and excited with the opportunity. On the other hand, I have my older son that also plays soccer in a local club and he is very happy for his younger brother but at the same time, my older one has been very edgy, moody, “grosero” lately. How do I talk to him?

My daughters are clashing. How can I handle it better?

Both girls play better together at ages 6 and 8 but my 8yo tends to always talk over and correct her sister constantly. My 6yo gets offended whenever her big sister corrects her.
This is where they are both clashing now as one likes to fact check everything and say "you are wrong" and the other one just falls to pieces. How can I better handle this situation with both of them?

My older son screams at his 2yo sister and she screams right back. How can I break this cycle?

The sibling relationship in my home between my son and my daughter (2yo) has become unbearable. My son doesn’t want his sister near him but when she is playing or doing something else he goes and bothers her, screams at her - so naturally she “fights back” and screams at the top of her lungs. Help! I don’t know how to break this cycle…

How do I know if I am adding too much to my little ones schedule?

This year we have the option of extending my son’s usual PreK day by an hour, taking him from 1:30pm to 2:30pm, where instead of that hour continuing to serve as his quiet/decompressing time from school at home, it would be replaced with an active activity like gymnastics/sports/dance.
Should I give him another semester where we honor his usual "quiet time" block and try adding that extra hour next semester, giving him a little more time to navigate his energy levels?
Or just proceed with the extra hour of school, knowing that kids are adaptable and will eventually adjust?