My Kid Is Ruining My Sex Life. My Wife Is Just Letting Him Do It.

Care and Feeding Photo illustration by Slate. Photo by PeopleImages/Getty Images Plus. Care and Feeding is Slate’s parenting advice column. Have a question for Care and Feeding? Submit it here. Dear Care and Feeding, My wife and I have a 3-year-old son “Jeremy” who is doing something that is really throwing a wrench in our sex life. He is terrified of the dark. We got him a nightlight, but he still freaks out when he’s left in his room. Lately my wife has been staying with him until he falls asleep. This is teaching Jeremy that if he cries enough, he can get his way, not to mention encouraging him to act like a pussy. What can I do to convince my wife to let him learn to deal with it? —Trying to Raise a Man Dear Trying, Sleep issues are a very sensitive subject for me. As I’ve mentioned in this column before, I grew up with separation anxiety and a whole army of demons that kept me wide awake while everyone in the world was sleeping. I empathize with your son and your wife here. But here’s the deal—Jeremy is still practically a baby, and you stomping around, thinking he’s a “pussy” isn’t going to make him go to sleep faster or grow up to be Jack Reacher. The best thing you can do is support your wife and your very, very young son. The more you stop acting like an asshole, the better off your wife and son will be. And, listen, I don’t know if you saw this, but the most masculine manly-man, Andrew Tate, was just arrested at the Miami airport, mostly for being too manly (and sex trafficking). This is not the future you want for your son. Let him be who he is. —A.J. More Parenting Advice From Slate I just caught my 11-year-old son, “Micah,” smoking marijuana in our backyard. A search of his room uncovered lighters, four joints, a dime bag, and some rolling papers. Apparently my 18-year-old cousin, “Kyle,” has been sharing marijuana with him! When I found out, I immediately drove over to my brother-in-law’s place and confronted Kyle and his parents. Kyle’s pathetic excuse was that he was “trying to do something cool” for Micah since he doesn’t have a lot of friends at school. He and his parents were very apologetic and have assured me it will never happen again. I want to take things into my own hands. Never miss new Slate Advice columns Get the latest from Prudie and our columnists in your inbox each weekday, plus special bonus letters on Saturdays. Advice Family Kids