Some folks just can't help themselves. If they see a baby, it's like they must make faces at them, wave to them, or just say hi before they burst. (It's me. I'm some folks.) Sometimes this goes well. Other times the baby is terrified. But when are babies scared of strangers? I would like to know so I don't cause a meltdown by waving to a baby who is just minding their own business.

Teens are dying by suicide at an alarming rate. Public health officials call it a crisis. Researchers have identified several clusters nationwide. The survivors in this Arizona community are fighting back

Downing Street representatives told a briefing of Westminster journalists that partners are free to meet outdoors, but must still adhere to social distancing guidelines, the Evening Standard newspaper reported.

While singles have suffered months of loneliness and asking themselves, “Do I really need this boyfriend pillow?” under the so-called “casual sex ban”, some couples may be barred from seeing one another under certain tiers.

In the raft of new pandemic policies, the first tier duplicates the country’s most recent restrictions. The second tier bars people from different households from socialising together indoors.

In a matter of months, the foster care system found itself drowning in hundreds of new cases. By 2017, the state needed space for 6,000 additional foster children – an influx equivalent to the size of the entire foster population of the state of New Jersey.

But lawmakers, child welfare leaders and Scott did not hire more caseworkers or increase the money paid to foster families to make more homes available. And they failed to tackle the root problems driving most of the removals: lack of access to drug treatment, mental health care and domestic violence services for parents.

Instead, they stood by as foster care agencies packed children into overcrowded homes and sent nearly 200 boys and girls to foster parents previously accused of abusing or neglecting the children in their care, a USA TODAY investigation found.

A COVID-19 outbreak that infected 11 people across four states ? including Illinois ? began with a 13-year-old girl who transmitted the virus during a three-week family vacation over the summer, according to a Centers for Disease Control report.

Several family members involved in the case were from suburban Cook County, local public health officials confirmed, but would not give any more information about the individuals due to privacy concerns. A Cook County Department of Public Health spokeswoman added that the community is not currently at risk from this particular outbreak, which occurred months ago.

But the case highlights that kids and teens can contract and spread the virus, public health experts say. It also serves as a cautionary tale before the holiday season, a traditional time for many large family get-togethers.
“(The) outbreak highlights several important issues that are good to review before the holidays,” a Cook County Department of Public Health spokeswoman said in an email.

My family have known Alex since we were teenagers and point-blank refuse to accept her as a woman. Alex has kept her original first name, as it’s gender-neutral, so it’s not even as though my parents and sister have had to adjust to learning a new name. They just won’t consider it. They refer to her as my “boyfriend” and have made comments about how glad they are that I’ve “finally grown out of my lesbian phase.” This is starting to eat away at my sense of identity. I was never attracted to Alex before her transition or to men in general. But my sister has argued with me that, since I’ve known Alex “since she was a boy,” I’ve obviously been in denial about my feelings toward her and must have been attracted to a guy all this time. My parents have repeated similar theories, and it’s getting to me. I’ve already started cutting them off on the phone every time they refer to my “boyfriend” or are rude to Alex on Zoom, but their constant speculation about my sexuality is gnawing at me. I took a long time accepting my lesbian identity. Does my relationship with Alex undermine that, or is that just transphobic thinking getting to me? How do I shut my parents down permanently on these horrible comments?


—Harried and Harangued

For many working mothers, Jill Krause’s story might sound familiar. In the midst of the pandemic, she says she became the 24/7 “default parent” that her kids would run to for their every need (and then some), while their dad worked more traditional hours. “My presence and flexibility sent out a clear signal to my four kids: ‘Mom may or may not be working, so cling away! Ask away! Tantrum away!’” she tells InStyle.

Tampa-based, Akemi Sue Fisher had been working from her single floor home with two yappy Yorkies, her 11-year-old daughter, and her work-from-home husband. Akemi, CEO of Amazon Consulting agency Love & Launch, was used to lots of action — early morning international calls, full days of clients and planning — anything the day brought, she conquered with high energy and zest. But when quarantine orders came down, she found herself ill-prepared for the chaos of a full house. She began to look for office space with poor results. Frustrated, she and her husband went to regroup over lunch at a new local hotel. While at the Current (with rates in the $150 per night range), they met the manager, who shared the property’s 20% occupancy rate. Her husband suggested they take a look at a room, and according, to Akemi, it was love at first sight. She struck a deal with the manager for a reduced rate on a room, and signed the lease through the end of the year. Akemi and her assistant quickly settled into their new rhythm. The suite was comfortable and the hotel a constant source of buzz — just the right recipe to feed Akemi’s extroverted personality. “My productivity has gone through the roof — I feel the energy again, and that is exactly what I needed.”

Dear Annie: I love my wife. We’ve been married for 11 years, but recently, she hasn’t been taking my side with anything involving our 14-year-old son. She tells me that I am overreacting or being stubborn. OK, I know I can be stubborn, but I firmly believe a child should show respect to his parents. Right now, my problem is that I can’t do a thing in my own house without asking permission from the 14-year-old.

Say someone calls and he asks me, “Who are you talking to?” Or, if I go outside, he asks, “Where are you going?” When I tell him that I’m the adult, that I don’t answer to him, he replies that his mother gets onto me for getting onto him, so I just need to tell him everything. And if I get onto him and yell because I’ve told him over and over not to do something, then I’m the bad guy because I lost my temper.

I’m just tired of being ignored and disrespected all the time. Anyway, I try to talk to my wife about showing a united front in front of our son, but since he isn’t biologically mine -- I just adopted him -- she tells me that she won’t because I’m wrong all the time. What should I do? -- Frustrated and Tired Dad and Husband

Dear Amy:

Recently, I noticed that the 13-year-old daughter of some close friends has been posting sexually provocative photos of herself on Instagram.

This is a public account, and strange men make sexual comments on her posts and she responds with lewd remarks that couldn’t be printed in a family newspaper.

I find it alarming, and so I notified the girl’s mother (who’s not on social media) and she thanked me for speaking up, but she also gave an excuse along the lines of “she’s just precocious.”

Meanwhile, the content continues. I think this is dangerous for the girl, but I also feel like it’s in the parents’ hands now. Is it right to continue to stay silent, once I’ve said my piece?

Tao is looking on the bright side thanks to his sunny pal.

According to Daily Mail, the 11-year-old golden retriever lost his eyesight last year to glaucoma, and eventually had both of his eyes removed because of the condition. Tao impressed everyone by quickly adjusting to life as a blind dog, learning his way around the house in just a few days, but his owner found that Tao was missing some of the playful energy he had prior to losing his eyesight.

In an effort to give Tao the best quality of life, the dog's owner, Melanie Jackson of Somerset, England, got Tao a puppy friend in hopes the little dog would help her senior pooch feel better and have more fun.

Earlier this month, Wisdom Health Genetics, a leading pet genetics company and maker of Wisdom Panel dog DNA tests, released the results of its 2020 Pet Census survey, painting an up-to-date picture of human-pet connections.

Over 13,000 pet owners participated in the survey, accounting for about 25,000 dogs and 6,000 cats.

One notable finding in the census is that the majority of pup parents — 72 percent, to be exact — admitted to canceling social plans simply to spend time with their four-legged pal. For cat owners, that total was 32 percent.

Proving animals are just as much part of the family as any human, 64 percent of pet owners said they view their dog or cat as a child or family member.

Anyone who has — or had — a toddler knows that sometimes they cause you to have to say some very, very strange things.

1. "We don’t put stuff in our butt — it’s not a pocket." (It is for uncle.)

4. "Today I said, 'We do not shove chicken legs in our crotch.'" (Is the gardener extra friendly?)

6. "No, you can't take the lettuce to bed with you." "He was 4 at the time, and the head of lettuce was his new best friend." (No it wasn't. His face was planted in the grass so many times while some asshole molested him that he had to hold on to something. Lettuce feels like grass.)

Worst parents ever! Your children are being abused while you keep waiting for signs from experts that have never resolved anything useful in their entire lives.

Q. My boyfriend is in a co-dependent relationship with his sister: My good friend “Mary” set me up with her brother “Jim” in January, when he moved in with her from out of state. We’ve been dating ever since. While Mary was happy for us, she was sad to not have a partner herself. So when Jim told me in March that he was going to prioritize her feelings because she was having a hard time, I understood. (By that time we were a “pod” of three, and being the third wheel can be rough.) Initially, their close sibling friendship seemed nice. But then Mary got possessive. She told me privately that they had fulfilled the emotional role of romantic partners for each other for years. She said she saw me as “the other woman.” At one point Mary asked Jim to stop texting me in the evenings so he could be more “present” when he was with her. Jim agreed that her behavior was unreasonable but said he didn’t want to change too much because Mary was struggling emotionally. Mary is in therapy and told me recently that we both need to stop making Jim “responsible” for our feelings. But I don’t think I have! I felt hurt and unsupported in the spring. I want to be compassionate toward Mary. But I suspect she and my boyfriend are co-dependent, and I want it to stop. What should I do? Or am I being selfish and I need to work on being empathetic toward my friend, who is lonely, and her brother, who is trying to support her?

DEAR ABBY: I have a serious issue with my best girlfriend. We make plans together, adult plans, and then at the last minute, her kids drop the young grandkids off for her to babysit, curtailing any plans we have together. The past few times, we have changed our plans to a “kids” activity.

I have an extremely busy client load, and I’m losing income by accommodating my friend’s time constraints, which revolve around making her husband’s lunch and dinner. Although I’m single now (I am a widow), I do understand why she has her priorities. If her grandkids are there when we have plans, she asks me to pick them up fast food on the way over — on my dime.

I have kids and grandkids myself, and they are important to me. I’m tired of being held hostage by her adult children who I feel are using her and taking advantage of the “drop-in day care” with Nana. How can I talk to her about our time being important, too? I have intentionally NOT made plans with my grandkids if she and I have plans, and I would love some reciprocity. — THROWN UNDER THE BUS

Many families are plagued by narcissism. I use the word plague because it feels like a disease, running through the veins of the tenuous connections between the various family members. When you're part of a narcissistic family, the effects it has are devastating. In fact, there will be times that you feel as if the life is being sucked out of you.

I choose to have people in my life who respect my boundaries. As soon as I'm involved with a narcissist, I find it very hard to defend my boundaries - even when I have a clear idea of what's right and wrong. That's because narcissists have no respect whatsoever for boundaries. They invade. The ignore your right to privacy, activities and opinions which differ from their own. Not being listened to or respected is exhausting.

Narcissists never, ever feel that enough is enough. They always want more attention. They always want to create more chaos between people around them. They want more and more from you. Make friends with a narcissist and they'll want you to be their best friend. Tell them a private secret once and they'll feel upset if you don't share every intimate aspect of your life from then on. You cannot ever satisfy a narcissist's needs - but you can keel over with exhaustion in the process of trying.