For 30 years, Gastonia resident John Rosemond has been providing useful information and tactics on handling everything from preschooler’s biting to teens staying out past curfew to harried parents.
And beginning today, his words of wisdom begin appearing in The Gazette on Sundays.
The addition of Rosemond’s column to the newspaper comes at a time when parents say they need more help than ever before in raising children in today’s fast-paced world, said Gazette Editor Hunter Bretzius.
“We’re thrilled to be able to bring readers John’s column and hope parents will find his advice to be helpful in their daily lives,” Bretzius said.
The newspaper also publishes psychologist Bryan Greeson’s Parent Connection column on Tuesdays in Family.
Recently, The Gazette had the opportunity to catch up with Rosemond to see how and why he continues to offer advice to parents across the U.S.
>> How did you decide to become a child psychologist?
My first few years of college were spent playing in a rock ‘n’ roll band, during which time I made grades that were barely good enough to keep me out of the draft. Along the way, I’d taken a few psychology courses from this one professor and managed to do fairly well in them. Unlike most of my courses, psychology interested me. One day, that same professor found me in the university union and sat down opposite me. I was a bit startled, actually. He asked, “Rosemond, I did some investigating and discovered that after three years, you still don’t have a major. So, you are from this moment on a psychology major, and I am your major adviser. Come to my office tomorrow at three o’clock.” And he got up and left. Talk about shock and awe! He took control of my life, made sure I got through college, and then got me into graduate school. Dr. Ron Hollar is why I am what I am today.
>> Where do you find inspiration for both your columns and your books?
I spend a lot of time on the road, doing my public speaking thing, so I write most of that stuff in hotel rooms, airports and on airplanes. The next time you’re on an airplane and you hear some guy typing away and laughing maniacally, it’s probably me.
>> What is the strangest parenting question you’ve ever received?
The strangest is probably not printable in a family newspaper. Believe me, I’ve been asked some doozies. Let’s face it, parenting in 21st century America is strange, so most of the questions qualify. I think it’s strange that today’s parents don’t seem to know what to do in parenting situations that their grandparents would have dealt with casually, without any brain-strain or emotional stress. All I’m doing, by the way, is trying to help today’s parents understand how parents before 1965, when it all began to go south, managed to have so few problems with their kids, how they managed to have more kids than today’s parents, and less stress. Don’t tell anyone, but I’m really just channeling my great-grandmother.
>> What is the best parenting advice you wish you’d received when your children were young?
Stop talking so much. Stop worrying about what your children think of you. This isn’t a popularity contest. It’s about love and leadership, not some complicated set of psychological principles.
>> When you were born, you were given a blue rubber elephant from Charlton and Lydia Heston. Do you still have it?
Funny, my parents worked with Charlton Heston in summer stock theater in Asheville. When I was born, Charlton and his wife Lydia (to whom he was married his entire life) came to see my mom in the hospital. They brought her flowers and they brought me a blue rubber elephant, which is probably why I vote Republican. I don’t have the original blue elephant, but several years ago, my wife found one that I think was made from the same mold. It’s very retro-looking. Our dog plays with it.
