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Ex-etiquette: Long-distance dilemma
Q: My child’s father lives 300 miles away from us. He just proposed that our son live with him for two weeks, then me for two weeks. Our son is only 2. I don’t want to seem like “the boss” who is running the show, but this can’t be good for him. What’s good ex-etiquette?
A. The first rule of good ex-etiquette for parents is, “Put...Read more
Lori Borgman: A crown doesn't necessarily make you royalty
Just taking an informal poll today: What were you eating when you cracked a tooth?
My top three answers, which correlate to three new crowns in recent years, are: toffee, a crunchy taco and broccoli cheese soup.
The milk chocolate toffee may have been worth it — probably because I’ll never ever eat toffee again. The taco I have forgiven ...Read more
A love story that slowly steeps in 'A Latte Like Love'
Most love stories are predictable and ordinary, but this debut novel, "A Latte Like Love," by Michelle C. Harris is anything but traditional or ordinary. I thought this was going to be a typical romance of boy meets girl and they fall madly in love, but instead it was a delightful surprise that felt like sipping your favorite hot latte.
We meet...Read more
A quiet town and a strange storm that unleashes the darkness
Rain is usually background noise — something that blurs the windows, dampens the sidewalks and sends people running for umbrellas. In William Barney’s "The Rain," it becomes something else entirely: a creeping, corrosive force that seeps into a small town and begins to change everything it touches. What begins as a familiar slice of small-...Read more
No Matter How Many Props Nurses Get, They Deserve a Little More
My son came home from school the other day and announced that the two most underappreciated occupations were teachers and nurses. During National Nurses Week, he had heard that, he told me, from his teacher.
And though her bias might have tinged the first part of her claim (frankly, I think one of the most underappreciated occupations has to ...Read more
How one mother's 24 hours of free throws raises big money for Special Olympics
RALEIGH, N.C. — Frankie Antonelli, like his mother, Debbie, is a pure shooter. His best sport may be swimming — he’s racked up numerous Special Olympics medals in freestyle — but basketball is where his true passion lies. You see it in his myriad 3-point celebrations and the smile he wears on the court.
Frankie, 28, self-scouts as a ...Read more
Letter to a Worried Grandma
A grandma wrote to say she'd seen her daughter cutting up her granddaughters' meat at dinner -- and the kids are in middle and high school. Their mom also chooses their clothes. The kids get straight A's, but the grandma worries that they are being coddled into becoming imbeciles.
My response:
Grannie -- I am sorry to say that what you're ...Read more
Another California baby gets measles. How can kids be protected?
LOS ANGELES — Another California baby has contracted measles — this time, in Orange County — raising questions about what parents should do to protect their youngsters as the notoriously contagious disease continues to spread nationwide.
It's at least the state's second infant case of measles so far this year. Officials in San Francisco ...Read more
Family guide to new movie releases
'THE SHEEP DETECTIVES'
Rated PG for thematic material, some violent content and brief language.
What it’s about: A group of intrepid sheep set out to solve the murder of their shepherd by using the skills they've learned through mystery novels that he reads to them.
The kid attractor factor: The animated sheep are a draw, of course, as well...Read more
Lori Borgman: AI knows the date and time, do you?
I just finished a book on AI and its impact on humanity. It was billed as nonfiction but read more like science fiction. I don’t mean to spoil the ending, but here’s a hint as to who wins dominance—it’s a short name with two letters. First letter: A.
The future appears jaw-dropping, amazing and bone-chillingly terrifying, all at the ...Read more
Ex-etiquette: Facing a serious medical diagnosis
Q. My daughter’s father has just been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer. He will be having chemo and we suspect he will be tired and unable to share her time like he does now. What are some ways I can help? I offered to take her for a while, but he thinks I’m trying to use his illness to get custody. What’s good ex-...Read more
The cost of secrets in Ren DeStefano’s twisting spy thriller
From the author of "How I’ll Kill You," "A Lie for a Lie" by Ren DeStefano is a contemporary thriller that will keep you hooked until the story concludes. This compelling story is about a woman living a carefully constructed double life as a housewife and a spy who must use all her espionage skills to stop a criminal tech billionaire before he...Read more
A doctor follows the deadly trail of miracle pills
Losing weight is one of the most frustrating challenges many people face. Diets promise results that rarely last. Exercise routines begin with determination and fade under the pressure of everyday life. Even when the pounds come off, they often return months later. In that cycle of hope and disappointment, the promise of a simple pill can feel ...Read more
We Lost One of the Great Grumps This Week
In every school, work or personal gathering, you need at least one grump for the group to thrive.
Grumps do the work that no one else will. When everyone else is being mercilessly upbeat, they swim against the tide and complain. The grump may follow your inane rules -- but grudgingly, oh, boy, will it be grudgingly -- but they never let them ...Read more
When Kids Lose Control
When people ask whether kids' mental health has been declining only since the iPhone, or only since COVID-19, I often point to this piece by Let Grow cofounder Peter Gray going back much further (decades, in fact): "Decline in Independent Activity as a Cause of Decline in Children's Mental Wellbeing."
Published in 2023 in the Journal of ...Read more
Southern California man laundered millions for 'crypto kids' who used stolen loot to live lavishly
LOS ANGELES — A Newport Beach man has been sentenced to federal prison for laundering money for a group of young con artists who prosecutors said stole $263 million in cryptocurrency and used the loot to purchase luxury cars, rent out mansions and private jets and spend as much as $500,000 at nightclubs.
Last week, U.S. District Judge Colleen...Read more
Family guide to new movie releases
'THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA 2'
Rated PG-13 for strong language and some suggestive references.
What it’s about: Twenty years later, Andy Sachs returns to Runway magazine and teams up with former boss Miranda Priestly to try and save the publication.
The kid attractor factor: This is more of an adult fashion dram-com, but might have some appeal ...Read more
Lori Borgman: Wide-leg pants don't seem to fit
I’ve rotated our cold-weather clothes with our warm-weather clothes so many years, I could do it in my sleep. From the looks of some of our clothes, I may have been doing it in my sleep.
Neither the husband nor I are clothes horses. We’re more like clothes turtles.
I could use some new pants, but I’m waiting until the styles change. The ...Read more
Ex-etiquette: Many moms on Mother's Day
Q. My ex-wife and I divorced four years ago. We had a son via IVF — my egg and a donor father — but she carried our baby. I share this background to show how complicated our story is. We have both found new partners. She has remarried a woman who has two children. Bottom line, there are a lot of people wanting to celebrate Mother’s Day ...Read more
You're Doing It Wrong: Pants-Washing Edition
The article in The Washington Post pulled no punches.
"You're probably washing your pants wrong," the headline informed me, with no small degree of smugness. "Here's how to do it right."
As a woman and a parent, I am quite accustomed to being told that I'm doing something wrong, so, being thusly addressed, I did not immediately take umbrage....Read more
Inside Parents
Popular Stories
- How one mother's 24 hours of free throws raises big money for Special Olympics
- Another California baby gets measles. How can kids be protected?
- Southern California man laundered millions for 'crypto kids' who used stolen loot to live lavishly
- Family guide to new movie releases
- The scammer, the fixer and the cop: Inside LA's world of millionaire 'crypto kids'



























