Dear Kid Whisperer,
I worry about asking this question because I don’t know if you will think this is silly or not, but because of my faith, I do not want my children to listen to the radio and listen to popular music without adult supervision. Last week my fourteen-year-old was listening to some music on her clock radio that I do not find to be acceptable. She knows she is not allowed to listen to it, but she did it anyway. What do I do about this? -Rebecca, Solon, Ohio
Dear Kid Whisperer,
I have a twelve-year-old son. His mother (my ex-wife) and I made a lot of mistakes with him, especially when he was much younger. He has been really disruptive in the house and even violent with his younger step-brothers. We have a family vacation coming up in a couple of weeks and I’m thinking about not taking him. I would feel terrible to leave him because he loves going to the beach, but his mother is willing to keep him for the week (she’s very supportive). As of now, we think that if he does go on the vacation, he will just terrorize all of us. How should I handle this? -Scott, Columbus, Ohio
Dear Kid Whisperer,
As my eleven-year-old returns to school, I am very concerned. I feel like he was a in a cocoon here at home for much of the last school year because of COVID, and it has affected his social development. He has a tendency to wallow a bit, and I worry about him not having a good year, both because of last year and because of his attitude. How do I avoid him getting bogged down in a funk as we enter the school year? -Trevor, Skokie, Illinois
Dear Kid Whisperer,
My granddaughter has an irrational fear of almost every animal and insect. What can I do to ease this fear? -Jon, Des Moines, Iowa
Dear Kid Whisperer,
I am so stressed out. My sixteen-year-old is going to be the death of me. She has her driver’s license, and she has a car, and is pretty much always one to two hours late whenever we give her a time to be home. She doesn’t even answer her cell when we call. I’m at a loss. -Stacey, Columbus, Ohio
Dear Kid Whisperer,
My seven-year-old is a picky eater. I guess I have gotten lucky with my first three kids: they will eat anything I put in front of them. The youngest is the total opposite. I have been making special meals for her, and I’m tired of it. In addition, my other children have started to request special meals. Once that started happening, I realized how unmanageable this is. What do I do? -Janine, Tipp City, Ohio
Dear Kid Whisperer,
I have a five-year-old who hates being told what to do. Even simple instructions like clearing his plate after dinner or bringing in his things from the back seat of the car are a problem. He not only refuses, he gets angry. Our seven-year-old was never like this. We told her to do things and she did them. I know for sure that he needs to do what we tell him to do, and we have had consequences for his refusal. We need a way of getting him to do what we want without him getting angry, because the consequences are piling up. By the way, asking nicely has no effect! – Matt, Stow, Ohio
Dear Kid Whisperer,
I have three children: 6, 8, and 14 years old. I know I am a pushover, and they know it too. The other moms in my friend group are pretty similar, and they are relaxed in their parenting styles. The difference seems to be that their kids are mostly well-behaved and mine aren’t. We get together at each other’s homes, and two of my kids are particularly poorly behaved. I can see in their eyes and in their behavior that me talking to them doesn’t work. The other parents are starting to get annoyed and judgmental. I am just an agreeable person who doesn’t like conflict, even with my kids. What do I do now? -Kelly, Las Vegas, Nevada
Dear Kid Whisperer,
I’m a single dad and my daughter and I have had an ongoing fight for the last few years about social media. She is fourteen and wants to have social media accounts. I believe that social media is bad for children. I actually think it’s bad for everyone. I don’t even have a Facebook account. She is very distressed about it (all of her friends are on it) and I’m thinking about letting her have a Facebook account, even though I think the negatives of being on Facebook far outweigh the positives. What’s your advice? -Fred, Atlanta, Georgia
Dear Kid Whisperer,
My ten-year-old son is excited to start having friends over again now that pandemic restrictions are lifting, as am I. The problem is that he has issues with anger and impulse control. He used to get in fights with friends he had over, and he just got into a fight with his little brother. I have to make it work so that he can have friends over, because he needs to have this playtime for his own development of social skills, especially after the pandemic. How would you suggest I make this happen? -Kay, Dayton, Ohio