What does your 9 year-old son Henry listen to?
He listens to a lot of TV theme songs to shows he likes, and he asks to hear pop music that isn't for kids. He went through a time when he was fond of an Eels song, Mr. E's Beautiful Blues, [which has profanity] and we thought it was okay, but told him not to sing it in front of his Grandma.

We just ran an article in Parenting about how to bribe kids. Do you bribe Henry?
I'm not proud to say it, but yes. Bribing is inevitable if you're short handed or exhausted. What's the most surprising thing about being a Dad? It's tricky -- you want to be pals but you have a real job of guiding them with things like homework or personal hygiene. You want to maintain a pals-y level with your kid but it's a little disappointing when your kid is forcing you to discipline.

What kind of things does Henry want to do that you don't like him to do?
Well there's the basic stuff, like brushing his teeth or taking a bath or shower or going to bed, that he doesn't want to do because we are pressuring him to do it. Sometimes he gets into a sulk about life being unfair, and he drives himself crazy. Kids feel thwarted sometimes, and it's very hard to coax them. Logic is not helpful.

So what do you say when Henry is in a sulk?
You have to be patient. The kid is going to be unhappy for a little, but you have to be understanding and not try to fight them. Parenting takes lots of energy and strength, that's one of the hardest things.

What's your best parenting advice?
Well, I don't have all the answers, there isn't an answer. There isn't a snap solution for every problem, there isn't one way to deal. But I think it was Dr. Spock that said "you know more than you think you do," and I agree with that.

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