Creating a new family tradition can be a way to bring cheer to the holidays for both children and adults, especially when the family structure is changing due to divorce. One way to bond in a new family dynamic is to incorporate ‘matching outfits’, such as holiday themed pajamas or…
Greetings, Ask Carolyn readers. September is Hunger Awareness Month. Today’s blog explores the topic of single-parent poverty related to hunger issues and whether the American Rescue Plan will help reduce poverty. See the end of this blog for more information and links to resources. Single parent poverty is a harsh…
The Seven Nights of Santa traveled to Lithuania for the first time this July, thanks to our friend Andrew Mastecas’s excellent work in translating the book. My husband Dwight Ensley and I first published The Seven Nights of Santa in 2013. In my work as a family law attorney, I…
Dear Carolyn, I am a grandmother with an adorable sixteen-month-old grandson. He has recently started a preschool while his parents work. He is learning sign language, which I think is like deaf people learn and use. I don’t remember learning about this when my children were babies. What do you…
Today’s Ask Carolyn addresses the marriage of minor children in the United States and a domestic violence situation involving parents who won’t allow their 20-year-old to move out. Dear Carolyn, I am concerned about an article I recently read concerning underage girls as young as 12 and 13 years old marrying…
The fourteenth amendment of the United States Constitution creates the Parental Rights Doctrine. It is fundamental to our society that parents have the right to raise their children and the average American, I believe, has a longstanding commitment to parental rights. Except in extreme circumstances, parents have the fundamental right…
Dear Carolyn, I am a concerned mother of a 19-year-old boy, who has a drug issue and is prone to suicidal threats. He did try to kill himself once when he was age sixteen, and he was placed in the behavioral health section of a local hospital for treatment. He…
He might be your father, stepdad, or husband, but this Sunday, you’re celebrating him for being Dad. There’s a lot of work that goes into being a dad. Dad brings us water and sits with us when we’re sick to our stomach. Dad walks the dog we promised we’d take…
Today’s Ask Carolyn answers two questions about summer vacation. Our first reader wants to know what the ground rules should be for a multi-generational beach trip. Our second reader is taking the family cat for a sail. Dear Carolyn, I just turned in the dates for my summer vacation weeks…
Today’s Ask Carolyn includes the questions about broken separation agreements that I answered Tuesday, as well as an additional question about grandparent visitation. Dear Carolyn, My grandson is 7, and a tragedy has occurred. His mother (my daughter) died in a car accident. My grandson lived with me for the…