Dear LFTP: the nine-year-old and the cell phone
- Our nine-year-old son makes perfect grades and his friends all have cell phones - should he get one, or is my husband old-fashioned for making him wait until he is a teenager?
A listener asks: her nine-year-old makes perfect grades, his friends all have cell phones, and she thinks he should get one; her husband says wait until he is a teenager and more responsible - is she wrong or is he old-fashioned? The hosts side with the dad: none of their own kids need phones, a phone is a want not a need, middle school is the practical line, and a smartphone is a gateway to the whole world that parents must carefully gatekeep. The 'Secular' answer is read: give the son a flip phone for emergencies.
More on Parenting
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Dear LFTP: Champ the untrained dog and holding boundaries with your son
- How do I handle my son bringing his untrained dog Champ on our weekend grandson visits?
Mike reads the second letter: the writer hosts weekend grandson visits where her son Dennis brings Champ, an untrained destructive puppy that runs wild, barks, and digs.
From No. 586 · Nothing Personal
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Dear LFTP: wife mocks husband's bladder problem in public
- How should I respond when my wife mocks me and my bladder problem in public?
Mike reads a letter from a man married three years whose wife calls him vulgar names in public and makes his bladder-control problem into comedy.
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Dear LFTP: the birthday invitations
- Should parents be allowed to send birthday invitations to school when only select students are invited?
Mike reads the second letter: the parent of a special-needs pre-K child saw a Facebook group post exposing that her daughter was excluded from a birthday party.
From No. 574 · Starring Ted Danson as Joab
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Dear LFTP: Cindy's baby name ideas
- What should I do about my friend's terrible baby name choices?
Mike reads a letter from Dave about his longtime friend Cindy, six months pregnant, who keeps proposing names like chlamydia, bidet, chalet, and cliche because they sound pretty regardless of meaning.