Q: My 9-year-old wants to wear ratty gym clothes every day. I don’t need him in a suit and tie, but I think it’s important to look presentable. This discussion usually ends in tears. Where can I get decent looking,…
Q: What are some creative ways to make Valentines for the kids' classmates that don’t include candy?—Shannon A: I swear I’m not being a smart aleck, so, please don’t laugh… but your child handmaking a card, with no candy or…
Q: Hi, Molly. My 10-year-old son has started asking if he can ride his bike along the greenway by our house without a parent. When I was his age, my parents wouldn’t have blinked. But I just feel like the…
Q: Hi, Molly. I have four kids under age 10, and I feel like I have nothing fun to offer them. All I do is yell at them to pick up their toys or hurry up and get ready for…
Q: My son's teacher is always sending home a report that he can't sit still and stay focused. I talk to him about being respectful of his teacher and classroom, and have tried to offer him some breathing strategies when…
Q: I have a weird problem. My 4 yr old was at a play date at her friend’s house who has a pet hamster. She got really excited to hold the hamster and squeezed too hard…and now they don’t have…
Q: My kid’s stepmom’s birthday is coming up. We’re not BFFs, but we get along really well and she’s been a great SAHM to my kids while I’m at work. We haven’t had much interaction outside of the kids, so…
Q: My daughter and her boyfriend are going out a lot, but they never tell me where! And they come back so late! I don't know what to do... A: Ask her. You’re her mother, not her friend. You control…
Q: What do you say and do when the 2-year-old throws food at the dinner table? A: Ask them to pick it up? Not to be basic, but that’s what I do. My son, Hobie, turns 2 this month. Meals…
Q: The school shooting in Uvalde has left my whole family shaken. I know a lot of our friends and neighbors keep guns in the house, which we never have. Is it appropriate to ask another parent if they own…
Q: My 8-year-old granddaughter lives with us full time, and she seems to be developing early. She has a 19-year-old sister to talk to, but I feel like I should be the one to take to her about puberty. How…
Q: I have a 15-year-old son. I love him but don’t know how to handle him. He’s moody, and bigger than me. He has never been physical or threatening, but sometimes I feel overwhelmed by him. My husband has talked…
Q: How do I talk with my kids about what’s happening in Ukraine? –Veronica A: When COVID deaths were rampant, parents asked how to explain the sadness to their kids. When 2020 Presidential debates highlighted name-calling, parents asked how…
Q: Dear Molly, I just got my third grader’s report card and am afraid he’s falling behind in reading and writing this year. Any good learning centers in town where I can supplement what he’s doing in school?—Katie A:…
Q: OK, Molly. I found out from another mom that our sons were repeating some swear words they learned from some 4th graders on the school bus. Our boys, of course, think they’re hilarious because they know they’re saying something…
Q: How do you get a stubborn child to wear a jacket in Winter?—Name Withheld A: I have no idea. My 7-year-old surfer son, Hutch, pretends it’s summer NoMatterWhat. Even in the dead of December, or rainy days standing in…
Q: My 9-year-old son smells after soccer practice. Not sweaty kid smell—like, full-blown body odor. We make him shower every night, but is it too soon for deodorant? I don’t want to embarrass him.—Liz A: No. Not too soon.…
Q: Molly, My 1st grader asked my husband where babies come from. He told her to ask me, which I’m fine with because I’d rather be the one to tell her. What’s the best way to explain this to…
Q: I pay a summer sitter to come four days a week, and my neighbor’s kids are in and out of my house constantly. My sitter says she doesn’t mind, but I don’t think my neighbors should get free childcare…
Q: I’m 42 and just found out I’m pregnant. Big surprise. I have two kids in middle school and thought I was done having babies. I feel guilty because my husband and I aren’t excited about it and I don’t…
Q: Hi, Molly. I am strongly against spanking and my husband is not. He says he got spanked growing up and he turned out fine (ha). I think violence begets violence, and even just a “swat on the tush”…
Welcome, May. Ten months into writing for Charlotte Parent, and you guys are bringing legitimate, tough questions. This month, editors chose three. I tracked down experts for #2 and #3, but opted to poll a few Charlotte moms to answer #1.…
Q: How do I talk to my 4-year-old about miscarriage?—Becca A: Oooohhhh … what a good question. One in four women have a miscarriage, but lost pregnancies are generally not something women discuss publicly. Finding the right words can…
WBTV’s Molly Grantham tackles your parenting questions in this ongoing series
