Carolyn Hax

Fear of confrontation gives kids green light to bully

Comics page

An aunt allows her niece and nephew to be violent with her kids in an effort to avoid a family rift.

Matchmaker woes

Comics page

A woman wonders if she should play matchmaker for two friends.

How to dissuade a romantic

Comics page

Mom wants to encourage her 23-year-old daughter to focus on aspects of her life other than getting married.

An estranged friend, a family tragedy

Comics page

Carolyn Hax says a reader should contact grieving friend but warns that results might not be positive.

Getting a cat-crazy mother to make time for daughter and grandson

Comics page

A woman whose mother spends almost all her time caring for cats feels left out when she returns to visit.

Advice Columnists

  

Hints From Heloise: Adoption brings new life

A reader shares her joyful experience with her new adopted dog.

Hints From Heloise: Gift supplies take flight

A reader shares her hints for making traveling with gifts, and the wrap to accompany them, easier.

Hints From Heloise: Deter danger of unattached items

Keep tots safe by securing large furniture and ensuring electrical cords out of reach.

More Heloise

  

Miss Manners: Graduating with dignity may be impossible dream

A Gentle Reader decries the hooting and hollering that have come to typify commencement ceremonies.

Miss Manners: Showing goodwill to others requires deft touch

A Gentle Reader grapples with how to keep a gesture of kindness from being interpreted as an insult.

Miss Manners: Graduation notice calls for card, not check

They needn’t view a graduation announcement from an old acquaintance as a request for money.

Miss Manners: Reserve cheeky greeting for someone you know well

A neighbor’s jocular greeting of ‘Hi, Mom!’ to the Gentle Reader’s mother did not sit well with the greetee.

Miss Manners: Do the correct thing even for those who ignore etiquette

A “rather despicable” friend must be invited to his wedding, but he dreads her bringing her conquest du jour.

More Miss Manners

  

Ask Amy: Parent questions birth control query

A mother is shocked when a doctor asks her almost-12-year-old daughter if she’s using birth control.

Ask Amy: Dad’s in the hospital, mom checks out

The children must come to the aid of their ailing father, as his wife seems unable to confront his illness.

Ask Amy: Relationship may have morphed into marriage

It’s been 10 years since her boyfriend moved in, and he’s still paying little rent. How to end the relationship?

More Ask Amy

  

Animal Doctor: Moving a cat into a dog house

Cats shouldn’t wander outdoors; grain-free diet might help urinary blockage; irritable bowel syndrome

When good food is the best medicine

The artificial acidification of dog foods might make dogs prone to developing oxalate crystals in their urinary tracts.

Animal Doctor: Dog is fine during the day, anxious at night

Detective work is needed to find out why border terrier is hyper in the evening; cat’s ‘third eyelid’ is visible

More Animal Doctor

@Work Advice

@Work Advice columnist Karla Miller (DEB LINDSEY/FOR THE WASHINGTON POST)

@Work Advice: Come together, right now?

Dealing with co-workers who are in the market for a union

Family

Family Almanac

illustration for Family Almanac 0516

What’s keeping Baby up?

It could be teething or a feeding issue that’s messed up his sleep habits.

Illustration for Almanac0509

A trace of dishonesty

A mom suspects her teen of copying art and claiming the work as her own.

HANDOUT: Illustration for Almanac0425

My 13-year-old is making me Kuh-razy!

He won’t reach out to others,
or clean up his room, or
study. . . He’s such a teenager!

Momspeak

Summertime and the talking is easy

Season’s pace allows for conversations of self-discovery.

A Mother’s Day thought: Planned obsolescence

Part of our job is to make our kids no longer need us, and therein rests the heartbreak.

The truth about single mothers

First lady Michelle Obama introduces the workshop panel for “Soulsville, USA: The History of Memphis Soul,” in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, April 9, 2013. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Michelle Obama slipped recently and described herself as “a busy single mother.” Being one is different than feeling like one.

Date Lab

Date Lab: He gives The Post props, but they go only so far

Two friendly foodies meet for dinner. What else can they want?

Date Lab: Will her travel schedule shut down this couple?

They’re both world travelers. That should be good, right?

Date Lab: He brought roses, she brought a surprise

Two divorcees seek great conversation. Then, there’s a twist

Chalk up a big fail for the Predicto-meter

His favorite historical figure is Gandhi, hers is Walt Disney. This is a match made in ...

Date Lab: They’re planning to see each other again...

But Kenneth and Connor are reluctant to call their next get-together a ‘date.’

Elsewhere in Lifestyle