Family Matters

I've just discovered that my spouse has been cheating on me. As you can imagine, I was devastated when I first learned of his infidelity, and I still haven't recovered from the shock. I have not confronted him yet and have no idea what I'm going to do. Can you give me some direction?

How can I make peace between my husband and our teenage daughter? Every day when he picks her up from school he either starts a fight or delivers a lecture about how she's not measuring up academically. Then she calls me, angry or in tears. Grades have always been a problem for our daughter, and I understand that we need to do everything we can to encourage her to stay on top of her schoolwork. But at this point her dad is just making her feel like she's not "good enough." Can you help me?

How can I motivate my two lazy teenagers? They won't help me around the house, and they consistently wait until the last minute to do their homework. As a single parent, I usually don't have the energy to make them get down to work. Is there a way to break this negative pattern?

Am I justified in being upset about my wife's ongoing friendship with a former boyfriend? We've been married for three years, and they have maintained a close relationship the entire time. She refuses to cut it off even though she knows it's hurtful to me. Am I being unreasonable?

How do you know if your child is unnaturally fearful, or if they’re too shy? Perhaps you wonder if your child will ever outgrow their crying habit? There are all sorts of questions parents ponder in the hopes that they’ll find their child is, so called, normal. We’ll take a look at one such situation on the next Family Matters

How should we handle our eight-year-old son's strong aversion to being by himself? He sleeps in the same room with his younger sister because he doesn't want to be alone. He won't play in his room unless someone else is there. The last time he tried, he suffered a panic attack (sweating and shortness of breath). He's very intelligent, does well in school, plays piano, drums, and soccer, and has many friends. He has never experienced any kind of trauma and my wife and I have a good relationship. What's going on?

Should I teach my child about the importance of self-denial? We don't hear much about it in the modern church, and contemporary secular culture doesn't value it at all. But I'm not sure how our kids will understand what it means to follow Jesus if we neglect this aspect of the disciple's calling.

How do I give my teenager the respect he deserves? I'll admit that we butt heads pretty often – he's the type that requires a lot of correction and guidance, and as a result ours isn't the most peaceful household on the block. But I honestly don't believe that I've ever done anything to denigrate him as a person. In spite of this, he's forever telling me that I don't "respect" him as I should. What does it mean for a parent to "respect" a child? I can't just let him have his own way all the time – can I?

How can I get my mother to realize that I'm not a kid anymore and that our relationship has changed? She and I have always been close, but it's different now that I'm a teenager. Some of it's my fault. I get moody, and I know that my behavior hurts her sometimes. I wish she could understand that I'm not trying to offend her or push her away. I'm just figuring things out and going through a lot of stuff in my own mind. What makes it harder is that I don't always understand why I act the way I do. Can you help me?

As a Christian single adult who has never had an interest in the opposite sex or marriage, how do you suggest I move forward and live my life? I believe in the importance of marriage and in some ways I'm a perfect candidate – a twenty-something guy with a stable job and an earnest desire to serve the Lord. I've discovered though, to my own dismay, that I'm attracted exclusively to my own sex. I can't tell you how painful this has been for me. I know that homosexuality is a sin, and I feel terribly guilty about not fulfilling my role as a Christian husband and father. I could probably grit my teeth and force myself to marry a woman, but I'm pretty sure that this wouldn't be a good idea. What should I do?