http://creators.com/ Creators Syndicate is an international syndication company that represents cartoonists and columnists of the highest caliber. en Sat, 17 May 2008 12:14:35 -0700 b5968b6623558b5771dbb869a2a7b988 http://creators.com/lifestylefeatures/sylvia-rimm-on-raising-kids/three-s-a-crowd-for-sleeping.html Sun, 09 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0800 <p>Q. We have an 11-year-old daughter who is anxious about sleeping in her own bedroom by herself. Out of the five in our family, she's the only one who sleeps alone. Our two sons share a room and obviously we, her parents, have each other's company. We've addressed this issue and allowed our dog to sleep in the same room with her for comfort. We also know she has a fear of fires, since she has se ...<br> <br/>Updated: Sun Mar 09, 2008<br/><br/>]]> 89f5384cce5fb78ef4ff1518283b8c7e http://creators.com/lifestylefeatures/sylvia-rimm-on-raising-kids/mentoring-keeps-kids-positively-involved.html Wed, 12 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0700 <p>Q. I've been a fan of yours since our daughter was born, and she's now a very successful nurse anesthetist student and happily married. And you helped.</p> <p>Now, I'm doing some mentoring and running into a common problem that we could also use your help with. A girl who loves to come to mentoring is being punished for her mistakes by routinely losing the privilege of attending the program. I ...<br> <br/>Updated: Wed Mar 12, 2008<br/><br/>]]> 061e02e033eb043585b11fc319c0f1d5 http://creators.com/lifestylefeatures/sylvia-rimm-on-raising-kids/masturbation-is-common-for-preschool-girls.html Sun, 16 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0700 <p>Q. My daughter is 3 and a half years old, and has been going to an excellent kindergarten in China where she has many Chinese friends. Her father is Chinese and I'm Indonesian-Chinese. We have lots of arguments over language misunderstandings and are getting a divorce. Several months ago, my daughter started masturbating. How do I stop her? I've tried to tell her not to do so, because it will h ...<br> <br/>Updated: Sun Mar 16, 2008<br/><br/>]]> abdbdd5bafb314b1a50f9090a0ea60a6 http://creators.com/lifestylefeatures/sylvia-rimm-on-raising-kids/early-alert-for-potential-problem.html Wed, 19 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0700 <p>Q. At my son's day care, the teachers instruct the children to color only in the lines. The objectives are to learn the colors, how to hold pencils and about what they're coloring. My son gets upset because he has a terrible time keeping the colors in the lines. He refuses to do the assignments. The teacher tries to cajole him into doing them and sometimes he will, but he says everyone is bette ...<br> <br/>Updated: Wed Mar 19, 2008<br/><br/>]]> 623d8cfd9e71b3cdcaa439cd9f21ebab http://creators.com/lifestylefeatures/sylvia-rimm-on-raising-kids/travel-soccer-is-highly-competitive.html Sun, 23 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0700 <p>Q. My 12-year-old daughter has played soccer for many years. Last year, she was selected to play on a travel soccer team. After she started, she wasn't as enamored with it as she had hoped. Part of the problem is that she's kind of alone on the team. Most of the other girls have been friends for a long time and go to a different school. There are several girls from my daughter's school, but the ...<br> <br/>Updated: Sun Mar 23, 2008<br/><br/>]]> c09c590046695131278f57afcea80f14 http://creators.com/lifestylefeatures/sylvia-rimm-on-raising-kids/bright-boy-needs-motivation.html Wed, 26 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0700 <p>Q. I have a 15-year-old son whom I don't consider an underachiever. He finds it important to get good grades and doesn't intentionally try to fail. But all he likes to do is play video games and watch TV, which he'll gladly spend hours at a time doing by himself. He's not interested in sports or any other extracurricular activities. He also doesn't take initiative with his schoolwork. He's very ...<br> <br/>Updated: Wed Mar 26, 2008<br/><br/>]]> ad4f380c2b0885e1593a98246728254d http://creators.com/lifestylefeatures/sylvia-rimm-on-raising-kids/battle-with-picky-eater.html Sun, 30 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0700 <p>Q. What do you do when a picky eater is 12 years old and refuses to eat anything he doesn't like or isn't in the mood for? We tried telling my stepson he can eat what we have or go hungry, but he'll actually go all day without eating rather than eat something he doesn't want. He often complains about having to eat at all because he'd rather watch television or play video games.</p> <p>Our steps ...<br> <br/>Updated: Sun Mar 30, 2008<br/><br/>]]> 863e2a36c436e8e5438b837fa71829f7 http://creators.com/lifestylefeatures/sylvia-rimm-on-raising-kids/grades-and-learning-are-both-important.html Wed, 02 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700 <p>Q. My 15-year-old son is currently entering 10th grade and is in the honors program. In ninth grade he didn't earn good grades, although his teachers thought he was learning the material and was an asset to the class. I do think he's learning more in the honors program than he would in the regular classes. The cause for his poor grades is primarily organizational.</p> <p>This past summer, he re ...<br> <br/>Updated: Wed Apr 02, 2008<br/><br/>]]> 17cc97a1d5d279b55aa4bb6d5690684e http://creators.com/lifestylefeatures/sylvia-rimm-on-raising-kids/choking-caused-fear-of-foods.html Sun, 06 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700 <p>Q. My 10-year-old granddaughter used to eat everything, until she choked on a hamburger a year ago. Since then, she's been afraid to eat almost anything except select foods like macaroni and cheese, peanut butter sandwiches and ice cream. She eats very little. She was checked by a doctor and there's no obstruction. She's seeing a therapist, but we see no change and wonder if this is the way to ...<br> <br/>Updated: Sun Apr 06, 2008<br/><br/>]]> 47347e7560bbca58b022c20e06a9e815 http://creators.com/lifestylefeatures/sylvia-rimm-on-raising-kids/family-needs-sleep.html Wed, 09 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700 <p>Q. I have a 3 year-old daughter who refuses to sleep in her bed. Sometimes, my husband and I put her in our bed just to get some sleep. We've tried everything from keeping her door open, to sticker charts, to bribing her with presents, but without any results. I also tried waiting in her room for her to fall asleep and then sneaking out, but that didn't work either. She woke up and wondered whe ...<br> <br/>Updated: Wed Apr 09, 2008<br/><br/>]]> cf638543ac484cfb98d6ed997f0c2dbb http://creators.com/lifestylefeatures/sylvia-rimm-on-raising-kids/single-parents-can-help-each-other.html Sun, 13 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700 <p>Q. I'm a 24-year-old single parent of three boys &mdash; ages 6 and 3, and one 11 months old. My concern is related to the three-year relationship with the man who is the father of my youngest son. He has a 5-year-old son from a previous relationship. When we were together he treated my kids as if they were his own, but his son from a previous relationship, who lives with his grandmother (his m ...<br> <br/>Updated: Sun Apr 13, 2008<br/><br/>]]> 03d86f91e8fb1767015461a150996a9f http://creators.com/lifestylefeatures/sylvia-rimm-on-raising-kids/parenting-team-needs-united-front.html Wed, 16 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700 <p>Q. My grandson is almost 5 and has had a pretty unstable life. He's lived in at least seven different places since he was born. Both parents have histories of drug use, and neither one of them have been able to maintain jobs or relationships. The parents finally separated a year ago and since then my son, my grandson's father, has kept himself focused and held a job. His mother isn't doing as w ...<br> <br/>Updated: Wed Apr 16, 2008<br/><br/>]]> aaead8470dbb47c156e18ace854ab487 http://creators.com/lifestylefeatures/sylvia-rimm-on-raising-kids/mysterious-anger-needs-solution.html Sun, 20 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700 <p>Q. My 7-year-old daughter has constant behavioral problems whenever we get into the car. She calls her 10-year-old brother names, pinches, hits or spits on him. This behavior also happens in our home, when she's mad about something that is often completely unrelated to her brother. In those cases, I time her out. But when we're going somewhere, we often have a deadline, and I can't take the tim ...<br> <br/>Updated: Sun Apr 20, 2008<br/><br/>]]> 2bd3c50033d8e12b7c6603a032255c84 http://creators.com/lifestylefeatures/sylvia-rimm-on-raising-kids/kids-need-friends.html Wed, 23 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700 <p>Q. My son is 10, is very creative, has a great memory, is a high achiever and in the gifted program at school. He lacks social/interpersonal skills. He doesn't develop friendships, although he may have them casually in school. I think he's well-liked at school. He loves to play and is comfortable around kids he's known for a long time or his sister's friends who are over a lot. He's usually out ...<br> <br/>Updated: Wed Apr 23, 2008<br/><br/>]]> 511b995259900b4f8692ac8c5bb547a2 http://creators.com/lifestylefeatures/sylvia-rimm-on-raising-kids/ranter-makes-good-points.html Sun, 27 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700 <p>Q. Time magazine has an issue titled &quot;The Case for National Service.&quot; It says America's youth should be expected to volunteer for public service. College graduates can tutor, teens can de-litter the streets, and financiers can offer credit counseling and financial advice to low-income Americans. I totally agree, but I think we shouldn't need volunteers at all.</p> <p>If parents suppor ...<br> <br/>Updated: Sun Apr 27, 2008<br/><br/>]]> febd189d01fc6b5ee5b5101a45e92951 http://creators.com/lifestylefeatures/sylvia-rimm-on-raising-kids/mom-you-re-overreacting.html Wed, 30 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700 <p>Q. My question concerns my 19-year-old son, who's being secretive and lying to us about various activities and the girl he's dating. He's a sophomore in college, and we've always been fairly open with him. He's had a few drinking episodes in which we've had to pick him up so he wouldn't have to drive. He was sent off to college with condoms and his father's instructions on how to use them if ne ...<br> <br/>Updated: Wed Apr 30, 2008<br/><br/>]]> 76502f618a3a2e45d1d5185bb18bf804 http://creators.com/lifestylefeatures/sylvia-rimm-on-raising-kids/college-son-needs-time-out.html Sun, 04 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700 <p>Q. Our son just finished his first year at university. When his grades came in, he had failed all but one subject. His high school career was similar: pulling his grades up at the last minute, never doing homework and never completing his papers on time. He's likeable and seems fairly happy. His dad and I are beside ourselves. We don't know what to do next. He has no clear picture of his future ...<br> <br/>Updated: Sun May 04, 2008<br/><br/>]]> 9379e7a4e1437cfefc4b63e4963d024b http://creators.com/lifestylefeatures/sylvia-rimm-on-raising-kids/being-a-teen-mom-is-never-easy.html Wed, 07 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700 <p>Q. I live in Nigeria and am a single parent of a 15-year-old daughter. If I could live my life over again, I'd not experiment with sex so early in life.</p> <p>We live with my mum because I don't earn enough money to rent a place of my own. While reading a parenting book, I discovered that for my mother's generation, obedience was the guiding principle of parenting. But now, it's independence. ...<br> <br/>Updated: Wed May 07, 2008<br/><br/>]]> edfe4c23d7a1c06cbc3fbde4f985671d http://creators.com/lifestylefeatures/sylvia-rimm-on-raising-kids/divorce-traumatizes-parent-and-child.html Sun, 11 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700 <p>Q. My 2-year-old son and I spend time with other families from our day care. One of the little girls has a problem with violent behavior. Sometimes she's fine, but over time it's getting worse. Her mother does seem to try to address the aggression, but very mildly, and it has little effect. No children have been seriously hurt, but I don't want to teach my son that it's normal to keep playing w ...<br> <br/>Updated: Sun May 11, 2008<br/><br/>]]> d7cfcaca2236091398bf6dede3dff77d http://creators.com/lifestylefeatures/sylvia-rimm-on-raising-kids/handwriting-problems-very-common-for-boys.html Wed, 14 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700 <p>I received many responses to a question I answered from parents who were childhood dysgraphics and were concerned about their 4-year-old son's frustration at having to color within the lines in day care. In my answer, I had recommended that their son meet with an occupational therapist and also that the parents request that the teacher provide the child with larger pictures. I also suggested th ...<br> <br/>Updated: Wed May 14, 2008<br/><br/>]]>