Q
I babysit a seven-year-old girl who is obsessed with boys, crushes, love and dating. Her parents got divorced last year and both of them are now dating, which is affecting her. She’s big for her age and has been teased at school. I tell her that she’s beautiful and that she doesn’t need to worry about boys yet. Is there anything else I can do or say to help her through this troubled time?
Q
My seven-year-old son got in trouble for invading a classmate’s personal space. His teacher dealt with the problem on the spot, but, like me, is puzzled over my son’s lack of remorse. He’s never acted this way before.
Q
My five-year-old daughter has played with her hair since she was a baby, twirling it as a form of comfort. However, in the past six months or so, she has taken to pulling it out in clumps. As far as I can tell, nothing is bothering her.
Q
My five-year-old son has been caught playing “show and tell” with his genitals on several occasions, with two girls who are seven. While I don’t believe my son is completely innocent, I find these girls are incessantly trying to get him alone. I have spoken to my son, the girls and their parents, but can’t figure out how to make the behaviour stop. I’m running out of ideas and I don’t want to overreact.
Q
My daughter recently passed away and now I am raising her children. The three-year-old boy is my main concern. He’s been potty trained for a while, but has started wetting the bed again, says no all the time, and doesn’t talk about his mom. How can I help him?
Q
My five-year-old son is continually taking and destroying things that don’t belong to him. He takes my makeup out of the bathroom, his sister’s iPod, whiteout from his teacher’s desk at school — anything he can get his hands on. This has been going on since he was about two.
Q
We’ve always had an open-bathroom-door policy with our son, who is now four. At what point does it become inappropriate to dress or undress in front of your child?
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My 3½-year-old has recently begun pinching herself hard enough to raise angry welts on her face and the backs of her hands. She’s just started junior kindergarten and I believe she may be feeling stressed.
Q
From a very young age, my four-year-old son has had aggression issues. When he was a toddler, his doctor assured me that his biting was normal, but my son started school this year and I’m afraid he’s turning into the class bully. He also seems to enjoy pulling my hair and pinching me, and will usually lash out verbally when I tell him to stop. His behaviour worries me and I’m considering having him psychologically evaluated. Do you have any advice?
Q
Our three-year-old son thinks he’s a dog. He barks, howls, eats off the floor and likes to wear a dog leash on his pants to make a tail. He’ll eat dog food and dog treats, if he can get them. We always ask him to stop and even put him in time out, but it doesn’t seem to make a difference.