Q. I have been married to my husband for four years. My husband’s ex has an annoying habit of texting him on his birthday every year. They are flirty texts, not just “Happy birthday” and I find them way out of line. My husband and his ex have been divorced for more than 10 years and the kids are in college, so they have very few co-...Read more

Q. I have two sons, 5 and 7. I do not allow my children more than a half hour a day on their iPad. My partner uses screen time as a way to appease his son, who is turning 8. Recently my bonus son lost his temper and yelled at me in front of my sons. I took away his iPad believing if I did nothing it might set a precedent. My partner came home ...Read more

Q. My ex and I have been apart for six years. Our son is 9 and we share his time equally. For years we got along OK, but her boyfriend moved in last year and now she tapes all the exchanges. It upsets our son, and it upsets me. Today I received a notification that she is taking me back to court to revise the parenting plan we have had for six ...Read more

Q. My ex and I were together for nine years. We had two children, now 6 and 8. I cheated on him. I met someone at work, and we started a relationship. I know it was wrong, but it happened, and I left. Since that day he has been completely irrational, and he has become someone I don’t know. He posts insane accusations on social media. He stalks...Read more

Q. My wife and I have been doing our best to get along with her ex and his partner. We all have kids and have decided we will all be the first to call each other if there is an emergency for the kids. Because of this, we all exchanged keys to our homes in case of emergency. The kids go back and forth on a weekly basis. Yesterday I came home to ...Read more

Q. How do you tell someone who you have been terrible to that you want them back? Can you say you're sorry enough when you have hurt them so badly, they tell you they never want to talk to you again? My temper got the best of me during an argument, and I pushed my fiancee to the floor. She got up and walked out the door. I want to tell her I'm ...Read more

Q. Should I send a Valentine to my ex? What’s good ex-etiquette?

A. Each year I am asked this by literally hundreds of readers. I’m not sure why because the answer seems clear to me — but humans seem to be programmed by Hallmark, even if they don’t watch the channel. So, around about Feb. 14, we get nostalgic or romantic or both, and if...Read more

Q. My son’s father has only come back into our son’s life in the last year. Prior to that he lived in another state. Our son likes to talk to his friends in a social media chat room site, but I do not want him online unmonitored. I believe he is too young and when he does go online, I require him to give me all his passwords so I can monitor...Read more

Q. My breakup with my ex was messy, and I stayed away from dating for a couple of years. However, I’ve recently signed up on a dating app and I’ve started to date again. Unfortunately, the first question everyone wants to know is why did I break up with my ex. I don’t want to talk about it. He was abusive and almost killed me and he is now...Read more

U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican, filed a bill Thursday to block all federal funds from being allocated to the reproductive health care organization Planned Parenthood.

Dubbed the “Defund Planned Parenthood Act,” the bill would simply require that “no federal funds may be made available to Planned Parenthood Federation of ...Read more

CHICAGO — Citing a “financial shortfall,” Planned Parenthood of Illinois announced Wednesday – on the 52nd anniversary of Roe v. Wade – that it will be closing four clinics across the state, including one on Chicago’s South Side.

The health center shutdowns come as Illinois is already grappling with a surge in patients traveling ...Read more

Q. My fiancé has a 2-year-old son and due to alternate work schedules, the child spends the days with my fiance and then nights with his mother. His ex-wife uses his mother as the main babysitter, even asking grandma to watch the child at her house because she is now attending law school and won’t be home until after bedtime. Is it wrong of ...Read more

Q. My son is 9. His mother and I broke up a year and a half ago. Although we absolutely do not get along, we have been trying to share his time. We exchange every few days. Each time he has to leave my home, I see the happy little boy slip away. Sometimes he tells me he doesn’t want to go, but he can’t tell me why. I told his mother, but she...Read more

Q.My ex and I split up six months ago and our children go back and forth between our new homes. We don’t have a formal parenting plan -- the split was amicable; we just share the kids every few days. They are 5 and 7. It seems to be working OK, but I have recently met someone new. I am afraid this will complicate things, and their mother will...Read more

Q. My ex is impossible. Each time we go back to court, I hope for a different outcome, but nothing is ever changed. No one understands! How do you co-parent with someone you cannot agree with? What’s good ex-etiquette?

A. Disagreements don’t stop co-parents from co-parenting well. Conflict is normal, but you do have to create an environment...Read more