Some things are truly irritating — they bug you and cause you to think about them far too frequently. If the car is dirty, clean it. If the bills need to be paid, pay them. If the furniture is dusty, dust it.

If you ignore these essentials, they will bother you every time you see they need to be done.

If you are unhappy with how the baby sitter is handling your child, talk with her about it. Do not ignore the problem or you will find yourself needing a new baby sitter in the near future.

If your child is doing something wrong, take care of the problem. Do not ignore it or it will keep coming back in one form or another. This does not mean you talk about every problem. Some of the poor behavior your child may demonstrate is behavior you want to ignore as much as possible. Instead of getting angry or reacting strongly to your child’s poor behavior, try instead to give him attention when he is doing the right thing. That is the best time to give him your attention.

If you and your spouse disagree about something, discuss it together. Maybe it is how you discipline your children or how you keep the house clean. Maybe it is his willingness to change the baby or give the baby a bath. If you ignore this problem, you build the foundation for lots of future problems.

If your mother (or mother-in-law) is telling you how to live your life and you do not agree take the time to sit down and talk over your differences with her. You may be able to solve the problem or you may find out you did not truly understand what she was trying to tell you. If you ignore this problem, you are setting it up to have more conversations about what you are doing wrong.

If your sister is always complaining about her partner, talk with her. If you talk with her about the fact that it bothers you that she complains so much about him, she may really make a change. You can even encourage her to talk with him about some of these issues. Maybe she will learn to handle problems rather than ignore them.

Some problems cannot be solved by only talking about them. They are solved only with action. Consider global warming. This is a huge problem though out the world. It is something we each can do something to solve. Certainly what we can do individually will not solve the problem but if we all do the things we can do, we can help make a change.

What are you doing to solve the problem with plastics that do not go away? What are each of us doing to stop wasting water? Do you turn off the water you are wasting when you brush your teeth or rinse the dishes?

Are you being conscientious about sorting your trash and separating the recyclables from the rest? What are you doing to educate your child about the impact of global warming?

When you deal with problems, you are more likely to find a potential solution. By talking about the issue that is causing you problems, you may find a middle ground.

At a minimum, you will almost always find a better place if you are willing to talk with the other party about what you are unhappy about. At least it is well worth the effort to try solving the problem.

The sound of the dripping faucet can be ignored for a period of time, but then it becomes annoying over time. Start today to fix the problem; do not just ignore it.

Cynthia Martin is the founder of the First Teacher program and former executive director of Parenting Matters Foundation, which publishes newsletters for parents, caregivers and grandparents. To reach First Teacher Executive Director Patty Waite, email patty@firstteacher.org or call 360-681-2250.