It's Hard Not to Over-Focus on My Youngest

Dear Adina, My youngest son is the only one left living at home and it's hard not to over-focus on him. Any tips on how not to do this? Dear Parent, Well, he’s not the ONLY one left living at home, but he is the only youngster and you are […] Read More

Why Has My Daughter Lost All Her Friends?

Hi Adina! My daughter started freshman year with quite a few friends. She is starting her junior year and has literally outgrown all of her friends. This so-called friends group started with a mixed group of friends and due to no fault of my daughter’s, she has lost them all. […] Read More

Can My Student Pursue Their Passion and Still Pay the Bills?

Dear Adina, How do you guide your young adult to balance their intellectual passion and the desire that they shouldn’t struggle to be able to pay the bills? Dear Parent, I have been writing and rewriting an answer to your question for weeks. Why am I stumbling? Simple as your […] Read More

My Student's Friends Have More Cash

Dear Adina, My youngest has made many amazing friends at his college, and an issue is that many of these kids have a lot more disposable money than my son. My son DoorDashes to earn extra money, but he sometimes has a hard time keeping up (financially) with the group […] Read More

Should I Offer Relationship Advice?

Dear Adina, I have a question about how (and whether) we can advise our kids on the subject of choosing a life partner. Say my child has been dating someone who doesn’t treat them with respect. How do I handle that, knowing my child might hold anything I say about […] Read More

How Do I Avoid Comparing Sibling Paths to College?

Dear Adina, I have a high school sophomore who has two older siblings in college. How do I avoid comparing their paths to college? Unfortunately for my third child, his high school career has been upended by the pandemic. Dear Parent, You don’t avoid comparing their paths to college. This […] Read More

My Student Is Struggling — When Do I Jump In to Help?

Dear Adina, My student (they/them pronouns) is a junior who decided partway into the semester to take a leave of absence from school for mental health reasons. The school is 1,000 miles away and I flew out for a week to help get the MLOA process started. We had some […] Read More

How Do I Talk to My Child About Their Health Choices?

Dear Adina, How do you talk to your child about choices they are making that might affect their long-term health — smoking, overeating, etc.? Do you just trust that they will figure it out? Dear Parent, How many life coaches does it take to change a light bulb? One, but […] Read More

How Should I Help My Daughter Navigate Female Friendships?

Hi, Adina, Do you have any advice for young women navigating female friendships? In the fall, my daughter (a freshman) got along so well with her roommate in her dorm but now is really struggling with this relationship. I have noticed a pattern of intense connections with her female friends, […] Read More

Time Off From College — How Long Is Too Long?

Hi Adina, I have a question (or maybe a few questions!) about my son who has taken time off from college to try to become a professional cyclist. He completed his first two years of college, but has been off for almost two years now. My question is whether, when […] Read More