A Special Note from Dr. Ray

Young Children

• The Spirit Isn't Weak
  "Whom or what is Jason harming by squirming through 46 contortionist postures per TV commercial, by asking Grandpa (who really doesn't mind) fourteen questions per minute, or by singing himself to sleep, however off-key."

• Why's Aren't Always Wise
  "If a first or second why gets no answers, whys #3 through #36 are likely to meet the same fate. So why (there's that word again) do we persist in asking?"

• Bedtime Badtimes
  "Some don't want to miss a thing; they know the real fun starts after they're in bed."

• Part Two: Major League Bedtime Badtimes, "A passive approach is the ghost tactic."

School Age to Teens

• I'm Ba-a-ack
  "Parents of intrusive children often find their circle of conversational friends shrinking."

• The Myth of Being Right
  "Employ the perfect logic and Ripley will immediately stop lying. Deny just the right privilege and Dusty will rush to the bathtub before mold sets in."

Teens

• Apathy-Kids Work at It
  "If Penny genuinely wasn't bothered about paying you 25 cents for drying the dishes she "forgot" about, she'd walk up and hand you a quarter every so often, just out of gratitude that you're her mother."
• Cutting Back Backtalk Talk
  "I'm just a slave around here. How'd you keep the house clean before I was born?"
• Part Two: Taming Tough Talking Teens
  "Even the sweetest, nonlippy child can become lippy as he matures―or immatures―into adolescence."

All Ages

• It's All Right to Be Wrong
  "Few things can ruin the enjoyment of parenthood more surely than a fear of mistakes."
  
• Addenda
  "Do you only mean it when you say, 'I mean it'? If you don't say it, does that mean you don't mean it?"

• Backlooks
  "Don't look at me in that tone of voice"