Dear Family Coach: While watching my son's baseball game, I heard parents making disparaging comments about the opposing team's players. They joked about the first baseman's weight, and one made a racist joke about another player. I didn't say anything because I didn't want to make my son feel uncomfortable. But my younger son was sitting in the stands, and I worry he is getting the wrong message. How can I address the comments tactfully without alienating my son from his team? — On the Outs Mom

Dear Mom: Be Brave. Take a deep breath. Then look directly at the parents making those comments and let them know you consider that sort of chatter to be completely inappropriate. I wouldn't necessarily call someone out as a racist in the bleachers. It would be enough to let them know that you are listening and don't agree with their sentiment.

Sometimes people speak in disrespectful ways because they assume everyone agrees with their viewpoints. Often, those people haven't come across others of a different race or religion. Sure, the town might be diverse. But these parents live in an insular bubble. It isn't necessarily your job to educate all of them. But it is important to stop that kind of talk. Doing that in front of your children will let them know people should stand up to discrimination and hate speech, even when it is awkward and uncomfortable.

If you want to raise children who will stand up in class to defend those being bullied, speak up. If you want to teach your children that every person has dignity and worth, speak up. However, if you want to teach your children that intolerance and the loudest voice wins, stay silent in the stands. You make the choice.

Dear Family Coach: My children are careless and often don't recycle, even after being reminded repeatedly. This is an important issue for me, and it feels as if they wantonly ignore my request. How can I get them to recycle and care about the environment? — Enviro-Dad

Dear Dad: Thank you for caring about the environment and the future of our planet. Children are notoriously blind to down-the-road consequences, and I can't really blame them. It is hard to understand how what we do today and what we have been doing for decades will affect the Earth in the next hundred years. It's big stuff. So it's OK for them to plead ignorance for now. But it isn't all right for them to blatantly disregard something that is important to you.

You kids aren't just dissing the environment. They are dissing you, too. I recommend sitting them down with pictures and statistics and explaining global warming and its effects on the Earth and its population. Show them data on the rise in sea level and the melting of the glaciers. Have them watch Al Gore's documentary "An Inconvenient Truth." When you have pleaded your case, let them know how greatly disappointing it will be to you if they continue to ignore the realities of the environment. However, even if they do rebuff your information, reinforce the idea that recycling in your home is not optional. It is required. If they continue to throw cans and bottles in the trash, figure out the proper penalty and enforce it with determination. Ultimately, they'll get the idea.

Dr. Catherine Pearlman, the founder of The Family Coach, LLC, advises parents on all matters of child rearing. To write to Dr. Pearlman, send her an email at questions@thefamilycoach.com. To find out more about Dr. Catherine Pearlman and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.