Q: I regularly babysit my 5-year-old grandson, and up until a few months ago his behavior was horrible. I started punishing him by making sit in the corner for about five minutes, and I noticed a big improvement in his behavior. However, his mom found out about this and strongly objected. She told me to stop using timeout with her son or she would find another babysitter. I love my grandson but I can't put up with his bad behavior. A: While your grandson's mom has every right to tell you what discipline techniques are acceptable, you also have a right not to be terrorized by a 5-year-old. Ask the mother exactly how she would like to respond when your grandson acts inappropriately. Perhaps her approach will be successful. However, if her discipline techniques don't work, then I would tell the mother that you can't accept the responsibility for caring for a young child if you don't also have reasonable authority to enforce standards of appropriate behavior. Q: My 12-year-old daughter seems preoccupied with sex. She is always asking me questions about sex, and making comments about things she sees on TV. I think she's way too young to be thinking about some of the things that are going on in her 