discipline

As a father, few things are more embarrassing than being called to the principal's office because your child was caught cheating on a test. This not only makes your child look bad, but it also makes you look like a bad father. The worst part is that you don't know why your child would do such a thing!

As a huge fan of "The Cosby Show," I'm reminded of the scene in the first episode where Cliff (Bill Cosby) tells Rudy, his youngest daughter on the show, to "come here" and she insists on staying where she's at. This is definitely an instance in which art imitates life. If you have a toddler, you've probably experienced this situation yourself more than once.

You want your two-year-old son to stop biting. First you tried firmly explaining why it's not nice to bite. Then you tried time-outs. You tried yelling. You tried negotiating, begging, bribing, crying, counseling, drawing diagrams, and practicing voodoo, but still the other parents pull their kids off the playground when they see you two coming. Are you doing something wrong?

To spank or not to spank? It's perhaps the most controversial and emotional debate in parenting. And like all great debates, the data is inconclusive and the experts are split, so the argument dissolves into a battle of contrasting interpretations, and conflicting emotions and beliefs.

Most parents rank the teenage years as the hardest stage of child rearing, due in large part to constant angry fighting. Yet, as one author said about warring nations, "Conflict is inevitable, but combat is optional." In other words, conflicts will naturally arise as your teen develops her personality and increases her desire for independence.