Parenting teen and tween daughters brings its own special joys and challenges. So here, from one of our favorite parenting experts, Ksenija Olmer from the John Muir Women’s Health Center, are five tips to help parents of adolescent girls survive the rollercoaster ride:

1. Remember this too, shall pass. (And when it does, try to be the better person and not drag up the embarrassing moments.)

2. Understand that your daughter saves the worst for you because she knows you will love her despite anything. Your friends and neighbors, her teachers are telling you what a wonderful, polite, helpful girl she is. Don’t say, “Are you sure you didn’t mix her up with someone else?” Smile and glory in the fact that, despite your fears, she is growing up to be a responsible member of our society. She is successful in presenting herself in the best light outside the home, so she can fall apart when she makes it through the door.
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Excerpts from today’s online Q&A with CSU professor Larry Rosen, Walnut Creek therapist Steven Freemire, and Gamester bloggers Gieson Cacho and Danny Willis…

QUESTION — Hi. Just need some direction and/or advice on where we go next with our situation. My 16-year-old plays Guild Wars. He will spend his entire weekend playing this game. He will also play from the time he gets home from school until late. He will get “warnings” everyday from us (parents) that he must have his homework finished first, he needs to be off by 10 p.m. and on weekends we have to fight a huge battle for him to leave his room. We believe his grades are suffering due to this game. He says it is not due to the game, but rather because he doesn’t understand or doesn’t like the teacher(s).
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It’s your turn to play advice columnist! And here’s this week’s question, inspired by Sunday’s “Childhood Matters” radio show on stress, tweens and teens.

“I think my 13-year-old daughter may be stressed. She seems to have stomach aches all the time, trouble sleeping, she’s moody - yes, I know all teens are, but this seems beyond that. But when I ask if something’s wrong, she shuts me out. What would you do?”

Click “comments” to offer your advice. To see previous Q&As, check our advice archives.)

We are dying over “The Gay Uncle’s Guide to Parenting.” This purple paperback landed last week and it’s 12 kinds of fantastic. Written by Brett Berk, a longtime teacher, preschool director and devoted uncle, the book includes down-to-earth, eminently practical parenting advice, and it’s absolutely hilarious. We were sold when Berk told a couple who’d spent months battling their 3-year-old over a tortuous morning routine that included eating breakfast under the table and half a dozen tantrums, “Let’s do a little role play. Pretend you’re the grown-up.”
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It’s your turn to play advice columnist! And here’s this week’s question, inspired by Sunday’s “Childhood Matters” radio show on the effects of domestic violence on families:

“I have a friend who I think is a victim of domestic violence. I want to help, but I’m just not sure what to do, and I don’t want to offend her by asking. What would you do?”

Click “comments” to offer your advice. To see previous Q&As, check our advice archives.)

It’s your turn to play advice columnist! Here’s this week’s parent question:

“I know everyone says it’s important to read to your children, but mine (ages 3 and 6) just don’t seem terribly interested. They get wiggly and distracted. Any suggestions?”

Click “comments” to offer your advice. To see previous Q&As, check our advice archives.)

In today’s Times, we talk with Blake Taylor, UC Berkeley freshman and author of “ADHD & Me: What I Learned from Lighting Fires at the Dinner Table,” a youthful memoir about his childhood with attention deficit disorder. ADHD is not a curse, says Blake, 18, it’s a gift, if you can learn to compensate for its disadvantages and take advantage of its blessings. Kids with ADHD tend to be curious and creative, to think outside the box, and become hyperfocused on things that interest them.

Among the resources that gave Blake and his family hope was “The Gift of ADHD” by Walnut Creek ADHD expert Lara Honos-Webb. Now, Honos-Webb has a new book out: “The Gift of ADHD Activity Book: 101 Ways to Turn Your Child’s Problems into Strengths.” And we’re excerpting a few of those right here.

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Your turn to play advice columnist! Here’s the question of the week:

“My 6-year-old has been diagnosed with ADHD and is now on medication, but I worry that because his teachers know - sometimes it feels like the whole playground knows too - he’ll be labelled in some way. Am I being paranoid?”

Click “comments” and weigh in with your thoughts and advice. To see previous questions and replies, check our advice archives.

Are we overmedicating our kids? That’s the question of the hour. More specifically, it’s the question of the 9 o’clock hour this Sunday when Rona Renner’s “Childhood Matters” show looks at childhood psychiatric drug use. Interesting topic, no? Rona’s panel includes Dr. Glen Elliott, chief psychiatrist at the Children’s Health Council and author of “Medicating Young Minds,” and Walnut Creek’s own Dr. Lawrence Diller, behavioral pediatrician and author of  “Running on Ritalin” and “The Last Normal Child.” Tune in on 98.1 KISS-FM or 105.1 KOCN-FM. Join the discussion by calling 1-877-372-KIDS.

It’s your turn to play advice columnist! Here’s this week’s question: “My son’s kindergarten teacher is urging me to get my son checked for ADHD. He’s wiggly, I’ll grant you that, but I think that’s reasonable behavior for a 5-year-old, and I don’t want to medicate my child. What would you do?”

Click “comments” and offer your advice! (Have a question? E-mail us here. To see previous Q&As, check our advice archives.)