Family & Relationships

My wife and I have become distance over the last several years. I am afraid that she is having an affair. How can I get her to talk to me and go to therapy?

My girlfriend and I just moved in together after dating for about 2 years. She has a 13-year-old son and a 10-year-old daughter who live with us full time. They are great kids and we get along really well, but my girlfriend is pressuring the kids to call me dad and I don’t think that’s a good idea. She also expects me to discipline them when she gets upset and I don’t think that’s my role. Am I wrong about this?

I am getting ready to have my first child and I want the baby to sleep with us in our bed. My husband says he does not care either way, but other family members and friends tell me this is a bad idea because it will cause my child to have future adjustment problems. Is this true?

Figuring out how to safely reopen schools this fall is one of the most challenging decisions of the COVID-19 pandemic.

We have a grandchild that is 2 years old. We get together for family events and occasional family dinners, but my daughter will not let us babysit or allow our grandchild to spend the night. When we ask her why she just says that she is not ready. It really hurts our feelings and we are not sure what to do about this. How can you help?

Our family and other parents in our circle are growing more and more concerned about the ongoing changes with the upcoming school year. Can you provide tips on managing the unknown, like dealing with a lack of set schedules and how to know the right amount of daily structure to provide our children? How do we make up for their lack of social interaction opportunities while keeping their screen time at a minimum?

Our daughter was adopted and we don’t know if we should tell her. If we do tell her, we don’t know when to tell her.

There are many different ways we have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. One area of life that has drastically changed is how we celebrate or recognize meaningful life events. Special events like graduation, religious ceremonies, weddings, prom, anniversaries, baby showers, funerals, etc. are important rituals that mark the end of a developmental milestone while ushering in a different, future life stage. It is for this reason that it is quite normal for people to feel a great sense of loss and grief about having traditional ways of practicing significant rituals so disrupted, and in most cases, entirely cancelled.

During this time of uncertainty surrounding COVID-19, it is especially important to do your best to stay healthy—both physically and mentally. While you may be feeling extra stressed, anxious, or alone, take some time to step back and do a self-check of your mental health on a weekly or even daily basis.

Bad news can come in a variety of forms, from job loss, a relationship breakup, a surprising diagnosis, or even to the death of a loved one. Receiving bad news can affect your body and life in a multitude of ways, even triggering your fight or flight response. According to Medical News Today, “everyone responds to tension and trauma differently, but know that steps can be taken to tackle the mountain ahead, deal with the bad news, adopt coping mechanisms, and make the situation less traumatic,