Dear Kid Whisperer,
I am at a loss with my nine-year-old daughter. She wakes up in a bad mood and stays in it all day. She mopes. She rolls her eyes when her father and I talk. We try to cheer her up. We talk to her about how to have a more positive attitude. Nothing helps, unless we take her to do something really fun, and that only works briefly. We are not sure what to do now. -Jennifer, Dayton, Ohio
Dear Kid Whisperer,
I have a student in my fourth-grade class who has been diagnosed with severe anxiety and ADHD. These diagnoses are right on: everything I do seems to agitate him and nothing I do gets him to pay attention. What now? -Mary, Bar Harbor, Maine
Dear Kid Whisperer,
I asked you a question a few weeks ago about my third graders coming back from recess most days angry at each other. I told you about how their tattling about what happened at recess was wreaking havoc in the classroom after recess. You answered it, and that answer was very helpful. But now more students are coming to me every day with stories of chaos at recess, even kids getting in fights with no consequences, and sometimes adults not being aware of it. There are not enough adults out there, and the ones who are are not holding students accountable. I’m at a loss. -Mark, Lansing, Michigan
Dear Kid Whisperer,
My students are always coming in from recess angry at each other. Really, there are two boys in particular that cause 90% of the issues. There’s always an argument over a game or some such thing. I do read-alouds with my third graders at that time and lose tons of time most days because I’m always trying to figure out what happened and generally get to the bottom of it. We barely ever get to read at all anymore. What do I do? –Mark, Lansing, Michigan
Dear Kid Whisperer,
I have come up against a behavior with my 8th grade students that I don’t know what to do with, and that behavior has multiplied in one of my class periods to the point that it puts a stop to all instruction almost every day. I call it strategic arguing. I have four students in my fifth period class who have realized that they can stop me from teaching if they argue with me. I can see it in their eyes- they’re messing with me. What do I do? I have to teach, and I don’t want to be messed with. -Jay, Phoenix, Arizona
Topics in this episode include:
What do I do about a nearly 13-year-old that won’t wake up in the morning? Alarm clocks don’t work.
Should my kids have to pay for the game they broke?
My 9th grader refuses to attend any of her Google Meets. We are starting to receive truancy letters. What do I do?
When a student “tattles,” should you deal with it or ignore it?
Dear Kid Whisperer,
I care for my seven-year-old niece two times a week so her mom can get things done around the house and so I can spend time with her daughter. After a month, her behavior is starting to come around (it was terrible at first). Nevertheless, her mother doesn’t like the way I do things with her daughter. She doesn’t like her child suffering consequences or going to a room until she can be pleasant. It’s becoming a real point of contention, even though everyone is aware that my niece’s behaviors are improving when she is with me. What do I do? -Kim, Columbus, Ohio
Dear Kid Whisperer,
After reading your blog, my husband and I realized that our eight-year-old was not doing enough chores. She now does the dishes every night after dinner. Now I am second-guessing myself. The problem is that she really, really hates doing it, and gets upset while she’s cleaning up. It takes her a long time. I feel like, as a stay-at-home mom, maybe I should be doing such a big job (she has three younger siblings and we produce lots of dirty dishes). Advice? -Ann, Boca Raton, Florida
Topics in this episode include:
My youngest has been lying to me to stay out of trouble. Is grounding him a valid punishment?
How do I get my 11-year-old to hang out with kids who aren’t such a bad influence?
What do I do with students who leave my classroom and refuse to come back in?
How do I stop students from gossiping about each other?
Dear Kid Whisperer,
My daughter is 16. She says that she wants to go to college, and we have told her that we will give her four dollars for every dollar she puts toward her education. This is what my parents did with me. The difference is that I saved my allowance and was excited to get a job to start saving more. My daughter still spends all of her allowance on worthless stuff and when I bring up getting a job, she just rolls her eyes. I talk to her a lot about the importance of college and why she needs to save up for it. She says she will, but doesn’t act like it. What do I do? -Jessica, Indianapolis, Indiana