148
votes
Accepted
Should I have my child apologize to someone after he called them fat?
Ooohhh, so recognizable! I've been overweight for at least 10 years, the last 6 I'm hitting a BMI of obese. I've worked in a shop, as a cashier. I've twice had little children call me fat, in such a ...
- 34k
136
votes
Accepted
How do I protest my child's suspension without "poisoning the well"?
My eldest step-son is on the spectrum and had a similar incident when he was 9 or 10. Another kid pushed all of his triggers and my step-son snapped and tried to choke the kid. This was way out of ...
- 54.9k
126
votes
Accepted
How do I deal with other people's screaming children in restaurants?
The way I've dealt with this situation is to ask my server if I could be moved to a different table.
It's a little loud over here could we move to another table? Perhaps outside?
Approaching the ...
- 54.9k
110
votes
How do I deal with other people's screaming children in restaurants?
(Preface: Some people have taken offense at how pro-parent this answer is. There's good reason for this. In any meaningful interpersonal situation, we have to pay attention to the mindset of both ...
- 4,330
98
votes
Accepted
How can I explain to a friend's child that I don't like sleepovers without parents?
He's a kid. Treat him like a kid. That means being explicit about your boundaries.
Kid: "Can I stay the night? I want to play some more on the VR tomorrow!"
You: "No. I'd rather you don't stay ...
- 5,741
78
votes
Is there a polite way to ask a kid to "move along"?
From an outsider's perspective training/exercise with a dog looks a lot like play. Particularly curious kids won't recognize a difference.
You could just try explaining it to them in age appropriate ...
- 54.9k
70
votes
How do I protest my child's suspension without "poisoning the well"?
Somewhat different perspective here. I'm on the spectrum myself (also higher functioning, more specifically what used to be known as Aspberger syndrome). I used to have incidents like this as a kid ...
69
votes
How can I invite my daughter's friends over without being odd?
Even though I am located in Germany, this could also be applicable in other locations.
Make it a get together, maybe a BBQ or something like that.
You invite the parents and their kids. Now you have ...
- 3,964
53
votes
How to act when people bring a baby to work?
I just had a rather interesting idea for you.
Simply treat the baby as if it were any other human being that your co-worker brought to work.
"Hello, John/Suzie/Star-Lord, pleased to make your ...
- 729
53
votes
Accepted
How to act when people bring a baby to work?
It seems that you have a very (re)productive company!
You are not at all obligated to have interactions with a colleagues progeny in such a manner as you describe. There are also many new parents ...
- 671
48
votes
Accepted
Help my mother to understand my choice when it comes to having children
A very powerful way to get your mother to support your choice, or at least to stop arguing with it, is to stop explaining or defending it. She has heard your reasons many times, I am sure. She has ...
- 45k
41
votes
How do I deal with other people's screaming children in restaurants?
This isn't going to be a popular answer, but I have used this tactic before with success...
Use non-verbal cues to let the parents know that you've noticed their kid's misbehavior and that you're not ...
- 547
39
votes
How to encourage a child with autism to practice reading?
Not to stray too far into parenting but I had a similar problem with learning reading comprehension at a young age. My primary motive for not reading much was the same too: I was uninterested in what ...
- 10.7k
38
votes
Accepted
Should I join others in raising the pitch of my voice when talking to babies?
"Baby Talk" may be beneficial to babies. There is evidence that it can help babies identify words earlier.
To answer your question, though...
Should I join in this pitch-raising stuff or is it OK ...
- 6,381
37
votes
Accepted
How do I tell my kids it's time to get off of the computer?
Inform them when to stop playing beforehand.
As a gamer myself, I find that it's frustrating to be told to stop right now. Some games cannot be stopped immediately, especially online games. And some ...
- 8,468
36
votes
Accepted
Can I correct other people's children in front of them?
You can definitely say something in the situation you described. You are not correcting the child's behavior, you are just voicing the inconvenience caused by someone to you.
If you see a child ...
- 4,387
34
votes
How to tell friends that they are welcome without their kids?
As you've seen, young children being raised the way you describe (different meals for small people, allowed to eat away from the table, playing with whatever they see instead of only things their ...
- 45k
33
votes
How can I tell people that my girlfriend and I don't want children of our own?
How can I tell people that my girlfriend and I don't want, and never will want children of our own without being rude?
Why do you need to? A large part of interpersonal skills is compromise. Others ...
- 1,767
31
votes
Accepted
How do I talk to someone through a translator?
It's important for the translator to not be part of the conversation.
I've used a translator many, many times -- for different languages and many circumstances. I've developed a kind of sense for ...
John♦
- 4,219
30
votes
Accepted
How to approach a strategy game against a 5-10 year old child you don't know?
In these situations, I ask a lot of questions and run through scenarios. I'm not playing to win, I'm playing to set up the shape of the game in the child's head. I keep it friendly and semi-...
- 3,111
29
votes
Can I correct other people's children in front of them?
I see nothing wrong with what you proposed saying other than I don't ask questions to anyone (especially children) that aren't really questions (meaning the would you mind part). As long as your tone ...
- 10k
28
votes
Accepted
How to deal with unruly children that aren't yours?
Like it or not you are an authority figure in the kid's life. You all live together, and you're more or less an uncle at this point. Well, perhaps I should specify that you're a secondary authority ...
- 54.9k
27
votes
Should I have my child apologize to someone after he called them fat?
I will be that guy right now, and risk all the downvotes.
If the truth offends me, then that is my problem. If the truth offends you, then that is your problem.
In this case, the child is only ...
- 327
27
votes
How to get my wife to accept bisexuality before our daughter comes out of the closet?
As much as I hate to say this, anything you can do to "soften the blow", so to speak, might be entirely ineffective. If your wife is that against the idea, it is probably a much better idea for both ...
- 572
26
votes
Dealing with what I perceive as unreasonable demands from spouse
Frankly, I think it would help successful "negotiations" with your wife if you try to understand her point of view.
From her perspective, what you are offering now and what you got when she went on ...
- 4,744
26
votes
How to tell friends that they are welcome without their kids?
how can we politely invite the adults but tell them to leave the kids at home
What about
Hi everyone, we’d like to invite everyone to dinner at our place, on Saturday, Jan 20 - for this time “...
- 3,752
25
votes
How to encourage a child with autism to practice reading?
What I've done with my daughter that did not like to read is to encourage her with carrots, not sticks.
First I would sprinkle around the house small notes written "Ice cream" or "hot chocolate". ...
- 358
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