What is the best way to communicate with my parent regarding my wishes for an upcoming visit from the girlfriend? Specifically, sleeping arrangements... [more inside]
posted on Jul 1, 2008 - 59 answers

I just found out from my parents that my dad probably isn't my biological father. It's not a particularly dramatic situation, as these things go (it was a sperm donor situation, we're all living happily ever after), but what do I need to do now? [more inside]
posted on Jul 1, 2008 - 10 answers

My parents are getting a divorce. How do I support them? How do I relate to them without it being terribly weird on me? How do I stop worrying about them so much? [more inside]
posted on Jun 30, 2008 - 6 answers

My girlfriend and I have been living together for about a year, and her conservative Asian parents don't know. How do we break the news to them? [more inside]
posted on Jun 25, 2008 - 20 answers

BabySlashDogFilter: Should we get a second dog when we are expecting our first child? [more inside]
posted on Jun 2, 2008 - 13 answers

My parents are both well into their eighties now with health failing just a little bit more each year. How do I prepare myself for their eventual death? [more inside]
posted on May 28, 2008 - 11 answers

My parents are really bugging me about dating/marriage and I need it to stop. How, short of marrying someone random, can I get them to leave me alone? [more inside]
posted on May 27, 2008 - 28 answers

What should I do with a gifted Steel Drum? [more inside]
posted on May 20, 2008 - 13 answers

My divorced parents are both going to be at my college graduation party. How do I deal with this? [more inside]
posted on May 14, 2008 - 15 answers

How to I gracefully tell my parents that I've changed religions? [more inside]
posted on May 12, 2008 - 27 answers

I'm 20 and more than halfway through undergrad. My mother is STILL having difficulty letting go of me, after three years. Help me help her. [more inside]
posted on Apr 13, 2008 - 20 answers

Mom's FINALLY decided she'll get a computer. I'm gonna help, so it'll be a MacBook. I know there's been a lot already here on this topic, but... [more inside]
posted on Apr 5, 2008 - 23 answers

Okay, soooo... my dad just died. And I need to know how to handle myself and take care of my best interests. [more inside]
posted on Mar 26, 2008 - 51 answers

Looking for an outstanding, but deliverable, gift in Germantown, Tenn., area for new parents. [more inside]
posted on Mar 21, 2008 - 1 answers

I've seen the concept casually bandied about on forums and blogs and media (somewhere), but I've always wondered: Just how easy and common is it for Japanese parents to disown a child? Under what circumstances? Or is it just some old-fashioned cultural myth that disownership for dishonor/disobedience/marrying the wrong person/etc. is "easy" in Japan? I know the law must differ from the United States, so I'm quite curious about the actual process and limitations.
posted on Feb 17, 2008 - 15 answers

What's a good, idiot-proof way for my mom to scan and manage her old recipes on her iMac? [more inside]
posted on Jan 20, 2008 - 15 answers

How do parents of an only child let them go when it's time to leave the nest for college? I have a 15 yr. old and I'm already dreading her going out into the big bad cruel world--(ok, so its just college). But I don't want her to see how worried I am and not have a nervous breakdown in front of her ;-) So how can I prepare myself for this big milestone?
posted on Jan 14, 2008 - 34 answers

Have you ever explicitly told your dad, or any parent, that for your own emotional well-being you need time away from them? Have you ever wanted to? Is there any way to do this? Details inside. [more inside]
posted on Dec 28, 2007 - 30 answers

Imminently divorcing parents, naive and idealistic father, playing therapist to adults - the works. Help me not hate my family! [more inside]
posted on Dec 27, 2007 - 23 answers

My mom has fibromyalgia. She cries a lot - she's obviously in great pain. However, if it doesn't involve taking a pill, she's not interested in any methods of alleviating the problem. She will not make lifestyle changes in food, exercise, etc. Even if it IS taking a pill, she's mostly not interested in methods of alleviating the problem unless they work instantaneously and with great efficacy. Which, with fibro, is pretty rare. I don't need to find out how to help her, because I've done the research, found her multiple specialists, and none of it has helped. I need to help me. [more inside]
posted on Dec 24, 2007 - 24 answers

I gifted my family a Wordpress blog (it's all up and designed and everything). I want a virtual center for our family that now spans the globe and can't get together often. However, how can I get the older coots to not only understand WHAT a blog is but how to use it. They use the interwebs. But only to look up the goofy stuff old people like - like when Murder She Wrote is on. Or to hate on George Bush. But not so much to interact. More inside. [more inside]
posted on Dec 23, 2007 - 14 answers

Korean Book Gift Filter: What Korean books (meaning books written in Hangul) should I get for my parents? [more inside]
posted on Dec 20, 2007 - 5 answers

How do you motivate older people to do things that are good for them? [more inside]
posted on Dec 13, 2007 - 21 answers

How to arrange wedding invites around parental estrangement? [more inside]
posted on Dec 10, 2007 - 9 answers

Short version: do I just buy a phone and press it on my increasingly reclusive, phoneless, living-alone but working, 71-year-old father? Longer: [more inside]
posted on Dec 7, 2007 - 14 answers

Calling all parents! I'm due to become an uncle in December and with the holidays coming up I want to get my sister and brother-in-law some baby/parent-related gifts. What items did you find indispensable after your baby arrived? Please assume that all the major staples have been acquired at the Baby Shower... I'm looking for the type of thing that you never thought of or realized you needed until after the baby was home.
posted on Nov 27, 2007 - 42 answers

I haven't spoken to my father in over two years. Today, my mother spoke to him. She sent an email asking me to call him and I don't know what to do. [more inside]
posted on Nov 12, 2007 - 37 answers

Still crazy after all these years filter - what can be done about my dad? (long post following) [more inside]
posted on Oct 24, 2007 - 14 answers

my parents have their 25th wedding anniversary this year. What can I do for them that is special yet inexpensive (I'm a graduate student)?
posted on Oct 7, 2007 - 6 answers

What free software do you use to filter the internet for kids? [more inside]
posted on Sep 1, 2007 - 19 answers

How to get over/deal with/move on from parental rejection? [LONG!] [more inside]
posted on Aug 10, 2007 - 19 answers

Parentsfilter - I have split up with the father of my child and are now trying to sort out visiting rights and times. Advice please.... [more inside]
posted on Aug 3, 2007 - 15 answers

What are some ways to actively avoid emulating undesirable behaviors of a family member? (In other words, how do I not end up like my mom?) [more inside]
posted on Jul 26, 2007 - 12 answers

What should I put in a time capsule for my daughter? [more inside]
posted on Jul 13, 2007 - 27 answers

My parents have a terrible marriage. What can I (the daughter) do? [more inside]
posted on Jul 10, 2007 - 27 answers

I’ve finally lost weight. The folks want to reward me. I’d like to tell them to shove it. [more inside]
posted on Jul 10, 2007 - 66 answers

Both my parents are mad, Scottish and retired. They're 65 and 68, and weren't brought up in a culture of exercise. Now that they don't have a dog, they're terrifyingly sedentary. When I bring up the subject of exercise they either get defensive, or blow it off as something that crazy Americans do. How can I get them into some sort of vaguely regular exercise routine? [more inside]
posted on Jul 2, 2007 - 30 answers

I think I may have some sort of depression, but my parents don't really believe in mental health care for that. What do I do? [a bit long] [more inside]
posted on Jun 16, 2007 - 37 answers

How do I cope with a parent who cheats? [more inside]
posted on Jun 14, 2007 - 27 answers

Do you hate your mother? [more inside]
posted on Jun 9, 2007 - 40 answers

Does anyone know if there is a medical alarm service (like LifeFone or MedicAlert) that works on a cellular network instead of old copper wire land-lines? [more inside]
posted on Jun 3, 2007 - 4 answers

Should parents help their children pay for grad school if they can afford it? My parents are divorced, but both are in households considered in the top 1% of the US in terms of income and net worth. After limited financial assistance from them during undergrad, I am getting no help at all for grad school. Am I out of line to expect that I should? [more inside]
posted on May 26, 2007 - 126 answers

Where should my parents retire to? Criteria: Europe, warm, sunny, cheap rent, no car necessary. [more inside]
posted on May 25, 2007 - 22 answers

How can I find my parents a gerontologist in Michigan? [more inside]
posted on May 19, 2007 - 9 answers

Just in time for Mothers Day - How do I resolve long-standing issues I have with my mother??? [WARNING: LONG POST] [more inside]
posted on May 9, 2007 - 20 answers

Relationship Filter: How do I stop myself from tallying stuff up then try to make myself dismiss it because I don't want to make our relationship into a scorecard but not being sucessful and end up feeling confused and emotional? And how do I talk about it with my boyfriend? [more inside]
posted on Apr 11, 2007 - 25 answers

In the eyes of Mr. US Gov'ment, who am I, with non-citizen parents? [more inside]
posted on Mar 9, 2007 - 10 answers

EmigrationFilter: How do we deal with our parents who don't/won't want us to go? Bonus if you've a) had your first kid abroad and had to deal with the whole visitation kerfuffle b) have clingy parents c) have emigrated to or live in Sweden. [more inside]
posted on Feb 24, 2007 - 28 answers

Please help me with a sensitive wedding invitation challenge. My partner doesn't want her parents on the invitation as her father has died years after a bitter separation from her mother. But my mum is a traditionalist and can't understand how I could leave her off the invite. Is there a way for everyone to be happy? [more inside]
posted on Feb 22, 2007 - 22 answers

My father needs a cell phone. It has to be simple to use, inexpensive, and the bills must come to me. I know this question was asked and answered early last year, but I can't find it.
posted on Feb 8, 2007 - 18 answers