Parenting with Sara

Dear Sara,

My 15 year old daughter has started dating. I was pregnant when I married her dad and I worry about her having the same problem. I have tried to warn her against having sex before she marries, but in this day and age I don’t know how much good it will do. How can I keep her safe from an unplanned pregnancy? [Read more...]

Dear Sara,

I know this isn’t about parenting but it may eventually affect my kids if I get a divorce. I am angry and hurt and depressed. I wanted to have a romantic evening on Valentine’s Day. I sent my 2 kids to their grandparents’ house and had plans for a romantic dinner with all of my husbands favorite foods. [Read more...]

Dear Sara,

I am expecting my first baby in four months. I was raised in a really dysfunctional family. My Mom was schizophrenic and my Dad wasn’t involved and often wasn’t there. Our neighbor looked after my sister and me when Mom was in the hospital and Dad was gone. When we were at her house, we mostly watched T.V. when we weren’t in school. [Read more...]

Dear Sara,

I can’t stop crying. I lost my beautiful, happy 2 year old son to meningitis 2 months ago. I keep expecting him to come around the corner dragging his “blankie.” My husband is no help. He has his work to go to and doesn’t seem to have any patience with me. [Read more...]

Dear Sara,

My sixteen year old daughter Meredith got an F on her English paper because she copied her paper off of something on the internet. Her English teacher must have been smart enough to figure this out. I hope that she passes the class because she wants to go to college. Should I punish her at home for doing this? [Read more...]

Dear Sara,

My 12 year old son is very bright but doesn’t want to do his homework, so he gets really bad grades on his report card. He would rather play video games or watch T.V. He has games and T.V. in his room and will say that he is doing his homework when he is playing games. [Read more...]

Dear Sara,

I am a stay at home Mom with two kids ages 5 and 7. My house is always a mess. I just can’t seem to get it organized. I try to pick things up and clean sometimes, but it all seems so overwhelming that I just can’t do it. There is so much “stuff.” I don’t know what to do with it all. I want to do better, I just don’t know how. [Read more...]

Dear Sara,

My kids are preteens and seem to have acquired expensive tastes. They see their friends with all the latest gadgets and designer clothes and think that we should provide these things. Between T.V. ads and what the other kids have, I just don’t feel that we can keep up. How do I put a lid on this monster? [Read more...]

Dear Sara,

My three year old son Bradley has started stuttering. It gets worse when he is tired and cranky.

Apparently a grandfather on his dad’s side had a stuttering problem all his life. I don’t want this to happen to my son. Is there treatment available? Is he going to be afflicted all of his whole life? [Read more...]

Dear Sara,

My 18 year old son has graduated from high school and is enrolled in the college in our area. He has refused to attend. All of his life we have talked to him about going to college and then on to medical school. One of his first toys was a doctor’s set. [Read more...]