Parenting & Family Issues

My daughter is single, unemployed and just found out she is pregnant. She is 21 years old, a legal adult, and she has decided that she is going to have an abortion...

I am Jewish but was not really raised with any religious observance. Last year my sister went to Israel for a year abroad in college. The person who has returned is someone I don't even recognize. She calls herself a "baal tshuva"...If she is a religious Jew, will she be able to stay close with me?

I have a very strained relationship with my mother and I always have. Perhaps it is that we are so different, or maybe that we are so similar, but we are rarely able to spend time together without us both blowing up. I do love my mother but I have a hard time being around her . . .

I am having a very hard time, as the holidays approach, with teaching my children the beauty of Chanukah and not having them see it as a Jewish x‑mas. I know it has become somewhat of a tradition to give children gifts during Chanukah, but is this really a Jewish custom?

We live in a very affluent area, one that is far above our means and economic level. The problem is that our children go to school with these other children, and expect to have the same clothing, gadgets and lifestyle that all of their friends have...

What do you do when you are in someone else's home where the kids are out of control? We are staying with my sister this summer but her kids are violent, disrespectful and basically, a terrible influence on my children. What can I do?

I live next door to a woman whose children are terribly misbehaved and a horrible influence on my children. Worse yet, the parents don't seem to notice or care. Every time my kids see them they ask to play. How many times can I tell my children "no, not today"?

I was so excited when my teenage daughter told me she wanted to attend a Purim party. Being that she does not seem so interested in Judaism, I thought this was such a positive step, until I saw what she plans on wearing for her costume . . .

My children play beautifully together when I am not around. Yet as soon as I enter the scene, the ‘Who is going to win Mommy’s attention?’ game continues in full-swing. Their constant bickering is driving me crazy and is turning their winter break into a nightmare...

My husband and I are highly educated with doctorate degrees. Our oldest son though is in 1st grade and isn't able to read yet and is falling behind. Not only isn't he the best, he is really the worst...

My husband keeps telling me that Halloween is American tradition and that there is nothing wrong with our six-year-old trick or treating, but something just doesn’t feel right. I think whole holiday is weird and I don’t want my child dressed up as a skeleton and going to strangers' homes? Am I overreacting?

My sixteen-year-old twin brother is out of control and my mother doesn’t seem to be able to deal with it. We had always been very close, but now all he does is play video games...

I am a single mother of a teenage daughter who blames me for everything wrong in her life. I have always done everything I could for her but she doesn’t seem to appreciate any of it and recently left home to live with a friend. I am in so much pain and want her back home but can’t live with a daughter who hates me...

I recently gave birth to our second child and our first son, 2 1/2, is obviously in need of a lot more attention. He has also reached the depths of terrible two's...

My grandson is in a play with his kindergarten class and very much wants me to come. I had been planning on making the trip, but just the other day I found out that my aunt, who is turning ninety, is having a birthday party that day...

I love my two-year-old daughter dearly but find it hard to keep her entertained all day. I would like to send her to a playgroup, but feel guilty...

I am having an incredibly hard time with my preschooler and I am starting to think I have the worst-behaved child in the world. He screamed the whole time in the store and people began staring. What is wrong with my child?

My husband and I feel it is very important that our children have a close relationship with their grandparents. The problem is that my parents are always fighting...

My son recently remarried and his new wife has three children from her previous marriage. Her three children are close in age with my son's three children. In addition to us being a bit overwhelmed and trying to adapt to this new Brady Bunch situation, I am not sure how to really integrate my new grandchildren into our lives...

I am a teacher and just received this note from one of my students. “My parents have recently gotten divorced. I'm afraid of my parents remarrying. I'm afraid of having to accept another person into my life, and into my parents' lives..."