New mother is on her own when it comes to child care

DEAR ABBY: My stepdaughter is married to a very selfish man. They have a newborn baby, and he refuses to help her with the baby. He claims that because he works, he isn't obligated. She cares for the baby 24/7 and does all...

Widow's adult kids begrudge her dating family friend

DEAR ABBY: I was married for more than 30 years and have two grown children. The marriage wasn't perfect, and I admit there were times when I badly wanted to walk out the door. My husband was charismatic and talented, but he was...

Changing a diaper causes family friction at baptism

DEAR ABBY: My sister-in-law "Brenda" often takes it upon herself to change a baby's diaper during social gatherings with family. She never bothers to ask the baby's parents if it's OK to do this, and they never solicit her help.

Parents disapprove of new boyfriend of different race

DEAR ABBY: I'm a 22-year-old woman who was adopted. I recently started dating an amazing man who happens to be of another race. My parents, whom I love very much, told me that if I stay with him, they will disown me. They have...

Careless son-in-law leaves trail of chaos in his wake

Dear Abby

DEAR ABBY: My son-in-law "Kirk" has issues with closing doors, kitchen cabinets and refrigerator doors. Three times my daughter has had to throw out food because it spoiled. He doesn't close cereal boxes, bags of candy or chips,...

Widower dating again wants to leave the past in the past

Late-night smoking clouds neighbors' sweet dreams

DEAR ABBY: My family and I bought a house in a nice, quiet, safe neighborhood three years ago. What we didn't know prior to moving in was that our next-door neighbor sometimes smokes cigarettes. It rains eight months out of...