Dear Mr. Dad: I’ve been dating a wonderful man and think he’s “the one.” The only issue is that he has a two-year-old child. I never wanted to be a parent (I’m not sure I even liked kids), but that’s changed. I think I’m ready to be a stepmother and even have a child of...Continue reading
Dear Mr. Dad: I think I know how you’re going to answer this question, but my wife and I have been arguing (in a friendly way) about whether moms are naturally better parents than dads. She says yes, but I disagree. What’s your take? A: For decades, conventional wisdom told us that when it came...Continue reading
Dear Mr. Dad: A few months ago you talked about limiting screen time for toddlers and the importance of picking good quality games for when we do allow screen time. There seem to be in infinite number of choices out there. How on earth do we know what to pick? A: There are literally hundreds of...Continue reading
In Part 1 of this series, we talked about how to talk to kids about drugs and alcohol and some of the dangers inherent in drug and alcohol abuse. How To Prevent Your Child From Using Drugs and Alcohol It is most likely for someone to start trying drugs during their teenage years which can...Continue reading
Dear Mr. Dad: My two-year-old daughter constantly wants me to stop what I’m doing and look at her—especially if I’m in the middle of doing something. I try to be encouraging, but it seems to me that a lot of what she’s doing isn’t terribly special. I’m concerned that if I get excited about every...Continue reading
Drug and alcohol abuse in children is mostly preventable through education and parental support. Yet thousands of teenagers, are forced to enter substance abuse treatment each year. How can you help you child avoid this? Talking with them about the risks of drug or alcohol abuse can help inform them on things they may or...Continue reading
We’ve known for a while now that, pound for pound, as a group, infertile men aren’t as healthy as fertile men. It started with research showing that infertile men have higher rates of cancer after infertility than fertile men. Then, it became clear that infertile men harbor more disease than fertile men. The latest data suggests...Continue reading
Dear Mr. Dad: My husband and our boy-girl twins love to wrestle, but I’m worried that all that physical activity and getting revved up will make them—especially our son—see violence as acceptable. Should I be concerned? A: Not at all. In fact, the evidence supports the exact opposite conclusion. In their book, The Art of Roughhousing, Anthony...Continue reading
Dear Mr. Dad: My wife and I are getting divorced. She has filed for sole custody of our two children, ages 2 and 4. I’ve always been avery involved dad and my wife knows how important my kids are to me. I asked why she’s asking for sole custody and she says that her lawyers...Continue reading
Dear Mr. Dad: I’m thinking of giving my 18-month-old my old iPad. She loves playing with it and I think she should have her own. My husband disagrees. What do you think? A: I’d hold off for a while. There’s a lot of information out there on technology’s effect on children, but very little on toddlers...Continue reading