Ariel wrote the parenting advice column, Ask Ariel for Portland Family Magazine from 2015 until the magazine folded in 2017. In addition to parent coaching, Ariel writes about family travel and family adventures for various print and online publications.
We have some neighborhood kids who play in ways I don’t particularly like: they sometimes bully younger kids; they pretend to smoke; they egg each other on to do unsafe things like jump off tree branches. I want to tell them that their behavior is inappropriate, but I also think it’s none of my business. How can I approach this in a way that will make the kids think twice, but not offend their parents?
Read MoreI work full time from home. This means I am able to pick up my kids from the school bus stop every day. Unfortunately, I invariably get a call or text asking me to pick up one of the neighborhood kids and watch them “just for a few minutes” when their parents are late.
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