John's Articles
Youth Sports Drive Adults Crazy
Posted on 6/6/2023
My family moved to Westchester, Illinois, in 1956, where I began fourth grade at High Ridge School. At the time, my athletic skills consisted of catching and throwing a baseball. The kids in my...
Read MoreWhy Hanna Sleeps With Us
Posted on 5/9/2023
My wife, Willie (nee Wilma), and I are the happy caretakers of a happy seventeen-month-old pure white toy schnauzer, Hanna. Hanna occupies the center of our attention. If you spent a day in our...
Read MoreGrandparents, Hold Onto Your Hats
Posted on 3/7/2023
Our Question of the Week is, “Pray tell, what is ‘outdated’ about obedience, respect, proper manners, and humility?” Said QOTW is prompted by numerous grandparents who have...
Read MoreCommonsense Knows the Truth About Self Esteem
Posted on 1/24/2023
A fellow psychologist says I paint with too broad a brush concerning the devastating effect mental health professional advice has had on children. He claims that some of the changes in parenting...
Read MoreMoving From ‘Gentle Parenting’ to ‘Insistent Parenting’
Posted on 12/7/2021
My previous column concerned so-called “gentle parenting,” which is naught but a retreading of the parenting propaganda that has gushed relentlessly from the mental health professional community...
Read MoreMindful Parenting Is Nothing More Than Postmodern Psychobabble
Posted on 12/24/2019
I am often asked how long I intend to keep this up, as in writing this column, writing books, and speaking on childrearing and family matters. My answer: As long as they keep it up; “it” being the...
Read MoreOn Attachment Parenting
Posted on 3/19/2019
“So, what do you think of attachment parenting? My inquisitor was a 30-something mom. I sensed she was testing me, trying to determine whether I was worth her time. “Not...
Read MoreLove Is Necessary to the Proper Discipline of a Child
Posted on 1/24/2018
In Raleigh, North Carolina, on the backside of the Department of Education building is a structure known as the Education Wall. Completed in 1992, the EW was conceived and created by artist Vernon...
Read MoreChildren Have the Right to a Steady Balance of Love and Leadership
Posted on 2/17/2016
“Do children have any rights?” is the question of the week, submitted by a 30-something reader. Yes, children have rights. First and foremost, there is their right to be loved...
Read MoreIn the Good Old Days...
Posted on 11/3/2015
In the 1960s, as part of an overall, culture-wide paradigm shift, a sea-change took place concerning our collective understandings concerning the rearing of children. The two fundamental questions...
Read More5 Tips for Teaching Your Child Humility
Posted on 10/6/2015
A mother who attended a recent presentation during which I described the differences between high self-esteem and humility writes asking “What should my husband and I be doing to help our children...
Read MoreStaying on the Same Page
Posted on 5/27/2014
“How can my spouse and I get on the same page where the kids are concerned?” is both the most difficult question parents ask me and also the most important. It is the most difficult because each...
Read MoreAdult Leadership, Not Wonderful Relationship
Posted on 9/20/2011
Browsing a gift shop the other day, I happened on a decorative plaque on which was inscribed a quote attributed to the late "power of positive thinking" guru Norman Vincent Peale: "Change your...
Read MoreMom Disciplines 15-Year-Old Daughter, But Ex Does Not Follow Through
Posted on 10/13/2009
MOM DISCIPLINES DAUGHTER, THEN DIVORCED DAD IGNORES IT Q. My 15-year-old daughter's grades have dropped this year, and I have taken away most of her privileges. But she spends a few nights a...
Read MoreAre All Teens Crazy?
Posted on 2/27/2007
Are teenagers basically nuts? Michael J. Bradley thinks so. An educational psychologist and therapist, Bradley's the author of "Yes, Your Teen is Crazy! Loving Your Kid Without Losing Your Mind."...
Read MoreToddler/Preschool Classes
Posted on 1/9/2007
ALL THOSE CLASSES FOR TOTS WON'T TEACH WHAT REALLY MATTERS Q: In my hometown, various enrichment programs for children under 3 are proliferating. A 2-year-old can take ballet, music, yoga, or...
Read MoreIf You Respect a Child, then You Expect a Lot of the Child
Posted on 6/24/2003
MISBEHAVIOR BY STUBBORN CHILDREN REQUIRES STUBBORN LOVE AND DISCIPLINE The following are some things I've been thinking about lately. I thought perhaps you might want to think about them, too....
Read MoreResearch About High Self-Esteem
Posted on 12/4/2001
UNMERITED PRAISE DOESN'T HELP KIDS A few months back, in this column, I referred to an extensive study of self-esteem conducted by professor Roy Baumeister (et. al.) of Case Western Reserve...
Read MorePeople with High Self-Esteem Tend to be More Agressive
Posted on 4/17/2001
UNEARNED SELF ESTEEM SENDS KIDS CAREENING OUT OF CONTROL Who had higher self esteem: Mahatma Ghandi or Adolf Hitler? Columbine High School's 1999 valedictorian or the two CHS students who,...
Read MoreHigh Self-Esteem is a Problem
Posted on 6/20/2000
CHILD'S SELF-ESTEEM OVERRATED - AND CAN END UP DANGEROUS I believe in low self-esteem. Once upon a not-so-long-ago time, low self-esteem was known as humility and modesty. I believe in those...
Read MoreNo One is Special: Do Somthing Special for Somone Instead
Posted on 9/28/1999
KIDS AREN'T SPECIAL, BUT ACTIONS ARE I was at an Alabama elementary school when I saw a banner above a mirror on which was printed, in 10-inch letters, "You are now looking at one of the most...
Read MoreIt is Okay to Hurt Child's Feelings
Posted on 11/7/1996
SOMETIMES, KIDS SHOULD FEEL BAD CHILD MUST EXPERIENCE A SENSE OF REMORSE TO DEVELOP CONSCIENCE Before mental health professionals built the Tower of Parent- Babble, when common sense ruled...
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