Recent content by Choppy

This reminds me of: http://www.cbc.ca/strangeanimal/2011/07/19/why-do-we-lack-will-power/[/URL] In the experiment, (watch the YouTube video) children are given a marshmellow. They can eat it immediately and get nothing, or they can wait for a few minutes while the host leaves the room and...

It's fun to be silly sometimes, but part of growing is learning the boundaries between what's fun-silly, what's inappropriate, and perhaps even what's dangerous. It sounds like your children are struggling to define some of these boundaries. I don't have the answers myself on this one, but...

One thing that might help you is to focus on is the specific things that will be harmful to your daughter such as drug use, neglect of friends, that quote you posted, and giving up money. Other issues such as tattoos, long hair, not having gone to college, legal drinking - are those which may...

I had that when I was a wee one. So did Will Ferrel. I'm sure your little guy will be just fine and I'm glad that you were able to figure it out eventually.

I started reading this thread with interest, but it got way too confusing for me. I'm not sure what has apparently been criminalized in Canada. Maybe someone could cite some sources or the criminal code. It is to my knowledge perfectly legal to discipline your own children. It is illegal to...

Unless you're living together as a couple, I would make sure the father is all lined up to be providing appropriate child support. It's your decision whether you want a legal contract or if you think you can trust him, but you need to work out what his contributions are going to be and how...

If you feel you are playing a role, chances are on some level, your son senses this too. The risks with this are: (1) that he will begin to lose trust in what you say and do, and (2) begin to start to figure out what role he is supposed to play in the grande scheme of things. If the person in...

Something else to consider is to start by defining for yourself what you consider fun. People find pleasure in different things and maybe you've just matured compared to your peers. Or maybe you're just different. Some people are happier watching an early movie, or reading a good book and...

You know, I'm sure my parents thought the same things about me as I grew up. I didn't have a girlfriend through most of highschool. I only answered questions about the topic and never brought it up. I was passionately interested in physics, science fiction and pre-internet role playing...

I know that I'm coming into the conversation a little late, but there are likely a few things going on here. The first is the typical teenaged melodrama. Every aspect of a teen's life tends to be magnified because they just don't have that much life experience yet. The second, and perhaps...

I hate to judge anything based on a 30 second YouTube clip, but I have to admit I'm on the 'good for him' side too. To me it looked like perfectly measured force. The other kid had him up against a wall and delivered what appeared to be the first punch. Casey delivered precisely the amount...

I can already tell I'm going to have a hard time when my son brings home homework. Particularly through elementary school, I grew up in a system where homework was all the stuff you didn't get finished during school. It was rarely assigned specifically to be done at home. In my opinion, a...

I've notice a movement in sports for young people recently where the focus has shifted from competition to skill development. And I have to admit, I support the general philosophy. The point isn't to diminish competition. A pattern that's been identified in the more traditional approaches...

It strikes me as odd that anyone would seriously consider marriage at 18 these days. I know people do, but there are a lot of changes that a person goes through between the ages of 18 and say 25 that really define who you are. I cretainly wasn't the same person at 18 that I was later on. And...

On the money issue - I think it's fair to say that because he's been caught smoking on multiple occasions, the allowance is gone. You can buy anything he needs for the next few months. Who are his friends now? Do they smoke? You may want to consider limiting access to these people. Where...