With father’s day this weekend, it seems appropriate to share some advice for parents from a publication that came long before the pretty-darned-hilarious Go the F**k to Sleep that has been in the news and floating around Facebook recently. What Dr. Spock Didn’t Tell Us: Or, A Survival Kit for Parents, was written in 1958 […]
Tag: parenting
Shopping for Books the Old Fashioned Way
“Sixth Thousand Now Ready!” “An Important Book for the Family and School!” “An Attractive and Useful Gift” read the ad, found in the back of the 1894 printing of The Physician’s Wife, which I recently I picked up in Baltimore. How could I not be intrigued? Ads often appear in the back of some of my […]
Wherefore Art Thou Puberty
Q Dear Miss Abigail: I have an embarrassing question. I am sixteen and I haven’t gone through puberty yet. What’s wrong? Do you know? Please, I hate it! Thanks. Signed, Justin A Dear Justin: Don’t be embarrassed, young man! I believe that Gladys Cox, author of Youth, Sex, and Life,can help ease your teen angst. According […]
My Family Doesn’t Like My Boyfriend
Q Dear Miss Abigail: My family does not like my boyfriend. We had broken up for awhile, but it looks like we’re on again ~ at least for now. I know that he’s changed his naughty ways, the question is: how can I make them see that this is true? Should I break with my […]
My Parents Won’t Let Me Have a Life!
Q Dear Miss Abigail: I’m 16 years old, and I’ve been getting really close to this guy; we’re really like best friends. I stay after school everyday just to spend time with him, and I’m constantly on the phone with him. My problem is that on the weekends my parents won’t let me go anywhere, […]
All I Want for Xmas? Stop Nagging Me, Mother!
Q Dear Miss Abigail: My parents are coming to visit soon. Problem is, they drive me batty with their subtle nagging and criticism of how I run my house. I don’t know if I can survive Christmas. Why don’t they let me grow up? Weary Daughter A Dear Weary: You would think that the joy […]
Stop Drinking and Listen To Your Mother
Q Dear Miss Abigail: If you let your thirty-one year old son live with you, and you’re trying to help him get on his feet, and you’re selling him a car, shouldn’t he respect you and quit drinking? Signed, Dolly A Dear Dolly: Oh, goody. This is an easy one ~ YES! In fact, if […]
Family Feuding
Q Dear Miss Abigail: My mother and I disagree about a lot of things, especially the way I dress. I am perfectly neat, and I feel like I choose things that suit me and my personality. Still, she feels like picking a fight with me about every little thing. How can I tell her that […]
Household Secrets Revealed! Story at 11.
Q Dear Miss Abigail: What does one do to stop their children from revealing household secrets? Signed, Lori A Dear Lori: Whew! I think it’s time to have a little family conference to let those kids know how you really feel about their blabbering mouths, and to let them air their “issues.” Henry and Elizabeth […]
Just Say No to Minivans
Q Dear Miss Abigail: My husband and I live in a major metropolitan area, where the average age at marriage is about 37.5, and the average amount of time that elapses between wedding vows and baby bottles is somewhere in the neighborhood of 11 months. Our problem is this: we wed at the infantile age […]