Rather than relying on government, you can make at least as vigorous an inquiry of your child’s school as you would of your child’s babysitter.

I’m so afraid for my four-year-old daughter to attend preschool. I feel she’s still so small, she’s my only child, and I fear someone may mistreat her.

In our culture of short encounters and little accountability, it is important to learn a lot about someone you bring into your life, particularly someone who’ll be alone with your children.

Last week I was in the mall with my two children. Suddenly, I looked up from the rack and couldn’t find my five-year-old.

My next-door neighbors have several guns in their home. A few weeks ago, I told them I didn’t want my 14-year-old son sleeping over there anymore.

I believe that school uniforms can reduce violence, and that they help in other ways as well.

After years of telling my five-year-old daughter ‘‘never talk to strangers,” how do I begin to say ‘‘now it’s ok to talk to strangers”?

A few weeks ago, my son (14) was cutting the grass in the backyard. He was shot at by a teenage boy from the next house.

There’s a large seventh-grade boy on our block who has, on several occasions, touched two of our young (under six-years-old) girls in ways that horrify us mothers.

Like many other teenage boys, my sons like violent video games and movies.

My son is in sixth grade and there’s a boy in his class who has major problems.

I have an 11-year-old daughter who is being very rebellious and doesn’t like to do what she’s told.

My ten-year-old grandson brags about violent things he says he has done. I don’t believe he has really hurt or beaten up all the boys he says he has, but I am worried about his boastful attitude. Should I be concerned?

My son is eight. He came home from school today and told me that his good friend is getting picked on.

I liked the idea of actually having my seven-year-old daughter learn to speak to strangers. How do I go about something like this when she is too shy to ask for things and sometimes can’t even order her own food in a restaurant?

Our oldest child is 15 and likes to go online.

I was adopted as a child. I recently found my birth mother and found out my father was a violent rapist.

My son gets beat up a lot on his way home from school and once he got his bike taken away from him.

My seven-year-old son gets angry very easily, talks back, refuses to do what he’s told, and hurts my four-year-old daughter when he’s angry. He has also said a couple of times that he is going to kill himself.

I am school principal who recently had to manage a bomb threat situation. What’s the best way to evaluate these threats?