Should Parents Be Held Responsible for School Shootings?
Prosecuting parents for the actions of their children is becoming more common in the push for accountability after mass shootings. Do you support the tactic?
Should Parents Be Talking to Their Children About Online Pornography?
Brian Willoughby knows he’s doing a good job when parents become uncomfortable. That’s because part of his job involves telling them that their teenagers are looking at pornography — hard-core, explicit, often violent. Sometimes, the conversation is with a church group.Dr. Willoughby is a social scientist at Brigham Young University, where he studies the pornography…
Should Parents Ever Be Held Responsible for a School Shooting?
Last week, a Michigan teenager killed four of his classmates and wounded seven other people in the halls of his suburban Detroit high school, according to the police. He was arrested and charged with terrorism, four counts of first-degree murder and an array of other crimes.Then, the county prosecutor took the rare step of filing…
How Should Parents Support a Student Who Has Fallen Behind in School?
Students in U.S. high schools can get free digital access to The New York Times until Sept. 1, 2021.Try to name as many reasons as you can why a student might fall behind in schoolwork — reasons that are particularly relevant to the challenges of the current school year. Why can it be difficult to…
Should Parents Tell Children the Truth About Santa?
Did you ever believe in Santa Claus?(Spoiler: He’s a fictional character!)How did you find out he wasn’t real? What was your reaction when you made this discovery? Did you feel disappointed? Angry? Lied to? Or perhaps proud, as if you’d solved a complicated puzzle?Is Santa a fun and fanciful holiday tradition? Or do parents risk…
Do You Push Your Parents’ Buttons?
Are there things you do that drive your parents crazy? Is it not cleaning your room? Leaving half-eaten food around the house? Spending too much time on the phone? Playing your music too loud? Mumbling your answers? Not saying thank you? How do your parents handle these situations? Do their responses ever lead to positive…
Would You Want to Work With Your Parents?
What do you think would be the joys and challenges of going into business with your mother or father?
Do You Turn to Your Parents for Advice?
If you’re overwhelmed with school work or extracurricular obligations, whom do you go to for support? What about if you have a conflict with a friend or classmate?Are there specific circumstances when you seek support from your parents and other adults? Are there things you don’t like your parents to say or do when you…
Have You Ever Felt Embarrassed by Your Parents?
In “Nothing Extraordinary,” a winning essay from our 2019 Personal Narrative Contest for students, Jeniffer Kim writes about a moment when she felt ashamed of her mother — and what she learned about herself from it. Her narrative begins:It was a Saturday. Whether it was sunny or cloudy, hot or cold, I cannot remember, but…
How Should Parents Talk to Their Children About Wealth Inequality?
Parents sometimes struggle when they try to explain why some people have more or less money than others. What’s your advice?
