Featuring parenting and relationship questions (and answers!) from our community of real moms, this content features advice on a wide range of important topics. For the best advice from real moms, this is where you want to be.
A mom writes in asking for advice about her mom, whom she says explicitly favors the eldest of her two daughters. This mom says that her mom told her ahead of the arrival of her second baby that she doesn’t “know if I can love another one” After the baby was born, her mom continued to make comments and behave as if she only loves and cares about her oldest grandchild.
A mom writes in asking for advice about how to explain to her 2-year-old son that his father is no longer in the picture. She says she finally ended a toxic, years-long relationship with the father of her child, but her son constantly asks to see or speak with his dad. However, communication is very limited due to the aforementioned toxicity of their relationship. This mom also wants to know how she might introduce a new love interest into her son’s life at some point.
How Do I Explain to My 2-Year-Old That His Father and I Are No Longer Together? Read More »
A mom writes in asking for advice about her 5-month-old son. She says he has recently started screaming every time she tries to put him in the car. She wonders if it is perhaps due to the stay-at-home order currently in place in her state, which has kept them pretty much housebound, making this car thing relatively new to her son. Regardless, she is looking for advice about how to get the screaming to stop.
My 5-Month-Old Screams Every Time I Try to Put Him in the Car: Advice? Read More »
A mom writes in asking for advice about how best to announce her pregnancy to her co-workers and her company overall. She says this is a tricky situation for many reasons: One, she is currently laid off due to the pandemic, which complicates making any kind of announcement. Two, she says her co-workers are very judgemental and she is afraid they will talk nastily behind her back about the circumstances of her pregnancy. Third, one of her co-workers suffered a miscarriage in February, and this mom wants to be sensitive to her with the announcement.
A mom writes in asking for advice about her sister-in-law. She says her SIL “copies everything I do” from home decor to kids’ clothing to social media posts. She also adds that her SIL has a daughter who “does not know how to play well with others” and hits when expressing emotion. She wants to
My Sister-in-Law Copies Everything I Do and It Infuriates Me: Am I Overreacting? Read More »
A woman writes in asking for advice about the man she’s dating. She says that, though the relationship is fairly new, she likes everything about this man except for one thing: He’s incredibly insecure about his looks and about his race. She says he talks awfully about himself and sometimes does things to downplay the physical aspects of his race. This woman is looking for advice about how to help her man see himself the way she sees him.
A mom writes in asking for advice about co-sleeping and getting her one-year-old daughter to start getting used to sleeping in her own bed. This single mom has co-slept with her daughter since she was born. She also wants to know how to feel more comfortable herself with her daughter not sleeping as close to her.
A mom writes in asking for advice about sleepovers and age-appropriateness. She wants to know what a good age to start letting her kids have sleepovers might be. Specifically, she is curious about letting her kids go stay with in-laws or other extended family for an overnight.
What Is the Right Age to Let Kids Start Having Sleepovers? Read More »
A mom writes in asking for advice about lice. She says her young daughter returned from a visit at her father’s with headlice, and this mom wants to know how to get rid of them as quickly and effectively as possible, particularly because her daughter “has a bug phobia” and has stopped sleeping since getting the lice.
My Daughter Came Home from Her Dad’s with Lice: How Can I Get Rid of Them ASAP? Read More »
A mom writes in asking for advice about how to manage her 16-year-old son’s disrespectful attitude towards her partner. She says that though they have some good days, her teenager has generally been wildly disrespectful toward’s this mom’s partner of four years. She says it’s gotten so bad that her son “wants to physically fight with my partner.” What can she do?
How Do I Handle My 16-Year-Old’s Disrespectful Attitude Towards My Partner? Read More »
A mom writes in asking for advice about an argument she had with her friend in which the friend told her, “No wonder you’re single.” This mom was very hurt by this comment for many reasons, not least of which is the fact that her last longterm relationship was abusive. She wants to know if she is overreacting to being told such a thing or if she has a right to be upset.
A mom writes in asking for advice about her father and whether she should keep him in her and her kids’ lives. She says she has never had a good relationship with him; he cheated on her mom multiple times and has mental illness struggles. She has tried to set ground rules for him that he does not follow. After a recent incident, she is wondering if she should simply cut him out of her life for good.
Should I Keep My Father in My Life or Cut Him Out Completely? Read More »
While losing weight with a significant other may help some relationships stronger, one man says it revealed the cracks in his relationship after he caught his boyfriend attempting to sabotage his diet by adding high-calorie ingredients into his meals.
Boyfriend Jealous Of Partner’s Weight Loss, Adds High-Calorie Ingredients To Meals Read More »
A mom writes in asking for advice about her family. She says she and her three kids and partner currently live with her parents in the parents’ home. Though she is grateful to her parents, she is also frustrated that her parents are constantly having company over during the pandemic, potentially exposing this mom, her partner, and her kids to the novel coronavirus.
A mom writes in asking for advice about her ex. She says she has been separated from her husband since August. He was not a good partner when they were together, and he hasn’t been a very present father, either. She wants to know what her options may be in terms of stripping her ex of his parental rights, or at least getting supervised visits for him because she fears for her kids’ lives sometimes when he has them.
A mom writes in asking for advice about her 7-year-old son. She says her son’s armpits smell even though he showers every day. She grew up with five brothers and didn’t notice this issue with them, so she is curious to know if this is a normal issue.
Is It Normal for a 7-Year-Old to Have Smelly Armpits? Read More »
A mom writes in asking for advice about a situation with her ex’s fiancée. She says she has been forced to deal directly with the fiancée, who is “in complete control” and who has apparently made co-parenting impossible. The fiancée allegedly records phone calls, refers to this mom’s kids as her own kids, says horrible things about this mom in front of the kids, among other things. How should she handle this?
My Ex’s Fiancée Won’t Allow Us to Co-Parent and Is Generally Very Nasty to Me: Advice? Read More »
A mom writes in asking for advice about a situation with her in-laws. She says her in-laws “feel like it was inappropriate” that this mom posted photos of her own daughter at her cake smash because her daughter was “only in her tutu.” The in-laws accused this mom of invading her own daughter’s privacy. This mom is offended but doesn’t know how to handle the situation.
My In-Laws Are Mad That I Shared Photos of My Own Daughter to Social Media: Advice? Read More »
A mom writes in asking for advice about whether she should introduce her daughter to her father, who is about to be released from prison. She says her relationship with this man was abusive and she wants nothing to do with him, but for a variety of reasons — including the potential for this situation to become a legal custody battle — she feels obligated to allow him the opportunity to be a father to his daughter. Should she introduce them? And if so, what would be the best way for her to do it and maintain control of the situation?
A mom writes in asking for advice about her daughter-in-law and that side of the family. She says she is frustrated that her in-laws call her “Miss Marie” while everyone else is referred to either by their name/title of choice or is called “Aunt Rose” or something more family-specific. This mom feels excluded from the family, like a neighbor and not a family member, because of the way people refer to her.
I Hate What My Daughter-in-Law and Her Family Call Me: Advice? Read More »
A mom writes in asking for advice about a situation with her brother. She says her brother, whom she loves, moved in with her and her daughter a while ago and ended up sort of taking over the house, including her daughter’s room. In general, he wasn’t super helpful around the house and left messes for this mom to clean up. They eventually got into an argument in which she kicked him out, but she has felt awful about it ever since. It doesn’t help that her mom is also piling on the guilt. Was kicking him out the right call?
A mom writes in asking for advice about how to proceed now that she and her husband have decided they are done having kids. She says she is wondering if it would be better to get her tubes tied or if her husband should get a vasectomy. She wants to hear from other moms and parents who have had to make similar decisions.
My Husband and I Decided We Are Done Having Kids: What’s the Best Next Step? Read More »
A mom writes in asking for advice about her love life. She wants to know how other moms manage love and intimacy with their partners when kids — teenagers, specifically — are always around and may be overhearing or seeing things you’d rather they not.
How Do You Maintain a Healthy, Enjoyable Love Life with Kids at Home? Read More »
A mom writes in asking for advice about her C-section scar. She says that she is currently 17 weeks pregnant, and suddenly, her C-section scar from almost two years ago has become irritated and itchy.
I’m Pregnant, and My Old C-Section Scar Suddenly Started Itching: Is That Normal? Read More »
A woman writes in asking for advice about her marriage. She says her husband of 38 years told her in March that he is no longer romantically in love with her and wants a divorce. He says there isn’t someone else, and it seems like this woman has reason to believe him. But how does she start her life over, alone, at the age of 70?
