Ask the Expert Dr. Roni Leiderman, Associate Dean at The Family and School Center of Nova Southeastern University, is not only an expert on parenting issues but the working mother of two children. Submit your questions Recent Questions "I have a daughter who is three and a half and a son who is ten months. The three year old is in the throws of the horrible threes, she whines and screams and cries every chance she gets and nothing we do seems to help lessen the behavior. Time out, take away privileges, ignore, talk her through it etc. nothing seems to have an effect on her. What should I do?" Dr. Leiderman's Advice "I recently married a wonderful man with a 13 year old daughter who lives with us fulltime. Although we agree on our discipline style, whenever I reprimand his daughter, he seems to side with her argument. Teenagers are tough in any situation but my husband's lack of support seems to be making it more difficult. Any suggestions?" Roni Leiderman's Advice My daughter keeps insisting she is ready for makeup. She continually tells me about how all the other girls get to wear lipstick at school. I just feel 10 is too young to start wearing makeup. It’s becoming an ongoing battle in our house. I remember makeup not being an issue until at least 14. Have times changed, am I just being too strict? Should I just give in? Roni's Advice Our 12-month old still does not sleep through the night. He wakes up around 1 a.m. or 3 a.m. and is starving. How can we feed him enough and get him to sleep through the night? Roni's Answer As a blended family- how do you deal with disparities of money? My children visit their very wealthy physician father who can afford to buy them many material things and take them on exotic vacations. On the other hand, my stepchildren visit us and we cannot afford these extravangances. Roni's Answer My son has always had good grades, but at the end of last year it was difficult to make him do his homework and his grades were failing. What should I do? Dr. Leiderman's advice My husband seems to think threatening our three year old daughter is the best way to get her to obey. Problem is that he normally caves and doesn’t follow through. How can I stop this? Roni's Answer Last year I became pregnant and gave birth to a baby girl in Nov. 1999. I experienced some complications during my pregnancy and was off work for nearly 4 months. I recently discovered that I am pregnant again, due in Jan 2001. Now that my colleagues are finding out, I am getting a lot of negative comments ("couldn't you guys calm down until your daughter grew some?")...how/what is the best way to handle these type of rude comments? Roni's Answer My two-year old is beginning to turn everything into a negotiation, especially bedtime. She is very sensitive and has a sweet personality (most days), so I don't feel comfortable being too harsh with her. Yet, I don't want to be too soft. What's the best way to teach her structure and discipline without dampening her spirit? Roni's Answer My daughter will be 3 soon and she is insisting on wearing dresses. We live in a cold city (its winter in Australia now) and this is leading to arguments, crying and I believe she is genuinely distressed. I have bought thick stockings, winter dresses etc but its just not practical all the time. What can I do? Roni's Answer