Page 185 - The Intentional Parent

permanent arrangements are made or papers are drawn. Most of all, determine whether more quality time or a change of residence is the real issue.
SEX, ALCOHOL AND DRUGS
We are living in dangerous times. Two of the most common forms of experimentation during late childhood and early teen years, sex and drugs, can cut your child's life short or, at least, create some serious family crises. The typical child begins to experiment with sex, alcohol, and drugs well before his or her thirteenth birthday. By the time most children leave their elementary-school playgrounds, they already have a wealth of knowledge through direct experience and indirectly from observing the lives of their friends. Once children reach adolescence, their friends begin to have more influence over certain parts of their lives than parents do. That's why it is absolutely essential to begin teaching your children about sex, drinking, and drugs while they are very young and still under your influence. These questions reflect parents' concerns about issues involving sexuality, dating, drinking, drugs, and cigarette smoking.
WHEN BOYS LKE GIRLS THINGS AND VICE VERSA
Our three-year-old son has taken quite a strong interest in our daughter's clothing and dolls. He enjoys putting on her dresses and prancing around the house, and, whenever he can get his hands on them, he rifles through her things and takes her dolls. When we go toy shopping he prefers girls' toys to more "manly" things like trucks or guns. Is there anything wrong with him?
The Intentional Parent by Peter J. Favaro, Ph.D. 185