Dear Abby News Headlines

DEAR ABBY: My 11-year-old niece, "Nina," has no table manners. I was surprised at her inappropriate behavior because her parents are well-educated people who were raised with good table manners. I didn't say anything when Nina slathered clotted cream on her scone with her fingers, but I was disgusted. I did suggest she …

DEAR ABBY: I have a beautiful wife, a dog and an 8-year-old son I love to watch sports with. My son loves sports, but he has trouble accepting a loss. He'll take out his disappointment by beating the dog.My wife doesn't want to get rid of "Patches" because she has had him since college. I don't want to put my son through …

DEAR ABBY: My mother has never liked her sister-in-law. Mom thinks "Auntie Beth" is "completely out to get her," even though no one has seen any evidence to support my mother's claims. For the past several months, Mom has been complaining nonstop about how "awful" Beth is. She says things at the most random times to people …

DEAR ABBY: I recently attended a baby shower for a dear high school friend and his wife. The day after the shower, she posted a slideshow on Facebook titled "Thanks for All Our Gifts" with a picture of each gift and who gave it. She has had numerous miscarriages and held this shower at five months, knowing the baby is not …

DEAR ABBY: "Modern Dad in Roswell, Ga." (Feb. 26) was put off that invitations to his young daughters are sent to his ex-wife's home rather than to both his and the ex-wife's. He assumes the sender is "sexist" and suggests the solution for children with two households is to be sent two invitations.As a parent who invites …

DEAR ABBY: My father is turning 60 this year, and I want to make him a photo album with pictures from throughout his life. However, Dad is widowed and remarried, so I'm having a hard time deciding what to do with respect to my mother. They were married 25 years before she died, and they loved each other very much. They …

DEAR ABBY: Two weeks ago I got a memorial tattoo done for my beloved grandma. It's on my arm and says "in loving memory" at the top. Gram's portrait is underneath, and a beautiful poem my grandpa wrote for her is under the portrait. The tattoo artist did a phenomenal job! It looks just like her and I was thrilled with the …

DEAR ABBY: My wife and I are 50-year-old professionals who have paid every penny of the cost for our two daughters' four-year college educations. Our oldest, "Lana," went on to law school and has incurred well in excess of $100,000 in law school loan debt. She has struggled to find a job as an attorney, and I'm no longer …

DEAR ABBY: "Melody" has been my best friend since we were in the fourth grade. (We're now in our 30s.) Over the past few years, Melody's life has changed. She separated from her husband, lives alone and shares custody of their three children.She started dating almost immediately after her separation, going out with almost …

DEAR ABBY: A friend's husband gave me a ride to the airport, and when I went to hug him goodbye as I have always done when we parted, he grabbed me by the arms and kissed me on the lips several times. I wasn't expecting it, and I certainly hadn't invited it. I made light of it, but it made me very uncomfortable and I don't …

DEAR ABBY: My two children were in a terrible car accident and were both airlifted to a children's hospital. My son was released two weeks later, but my daughter is still there, suffering from traumatic brain injury.Abby, I was driving the car. Why can't my daughter have the life I took away from her? Why is she being punished …

DEAR ABBY: My ex-husband likes to call to ask me for advice. Our most recent conversation was in regard to his girlfriend and her sexual past, which he knew about before they started dating. He now disapproves of her history and he began calling her unpleasant names. He tells me he deserves better but intends to stay with …

DEAR ABBY: My youngest daughter, "Lizzy," the sweetest and most conscientious of my children, has been cut off yet again by her mother, "Ruth." Ruth pressured Lizzy to graduate from high school a year early because she couldn't date with a child still at home. (Her words.) After graduation, Lizzy was shipped off to another …

DEAR ABBY: I'm a 43-year-old veteran of the grocery industry. I am also an associate of one of the premier supermarkets in the country, and I disagree with your response to "Chicago Clipper" (Feb. 18)! Coupons are a necessary evil and are graciously accepted, but they create an abundance of work for retailers. It takes …

DEAR ABBY: My friend "Veronica" is obsessed with food -- not just eating it, but also talking about it, looking at it and watching me eat. She frequently asks me what I'm eating, especially if it's something I have made. I can't open a container of yogurt without her asking what flavor it is.On a daily basis, Veronica announces …

DEAR ABBY: I'm confused about the protocol in thanking or repaying someone after staying several nights at their home. My feeling is, if you're staying with people, the nicest way to thank them for their hospitality is to pay for most, if not all, the lunches and dinners you share with them when you dine out. That way, …

DEAR ABBY: I am a 16-year-old girl and I want to become famous. My mom says that's not a real job. I was in magazines when I was little, but now that I'm older, I want to be a singer or actress. What should I do? -- HEADING FOR FAME IN OHIODEAR HEADING: Listen to your mother. Fame, if one can achieve it, is usually accomplished …

DEAR ABBY: My husband and I have been married for 16 years and have two teenagers. "Mom" died two years ago, and my husband is an only child. How can we tell my widowed father-in-law that we need a weekend to ourselves?"Pop," who's 87, lives an hour away and drives to see us every weekend, staying until Monday afternoon. …

DEAR ABBY: I'd like to respond to the letter from "Hurting in Virginia Beach, Va." (Feb. 6), who complained that the smell of mint chewing gum triggers her migraines. Many gum chewers, like me, have good reasons for doing it. I chew gum on planes because it helps reduce sinus pressure, thus preventing my own headaches. …

DEAR ABBY: What's the best thing to do when someone insults me for being myself? My hair has been bright blue for the last two semesters of college. I like it. I'm young, and my family is letting me express my "wild" side while I'm in school.Six months ago I went to meet my ex-boyfriend's mother, and the first thing she …

DEAR ABBY: I have been married for 19 years, but I cannot stay faithful to my wife. I've had a few affairs, visit "massage parlors" on a regular basis and feel my wife deserves better. I want to walk away from our marriage.We have kids who will be affected, and it will hurt us financially, but I don't feel right staying …

DEAR ABBY: I really need some feedback. When I was 13, I would cut myself. I stopped around 15 after an attempted overdose that didn't work. I did it because my parents were stressed due to money problems and ignored me or yelled at me a lot. I was also bullied in school. I had just moved here, so there was no one to turn …

DEAR ABBY: My husband served in Vietnam and proudly wears a Vietnam veteran insignia on his jacket or cap everywhere he goes. People approach him all the time and thank him for his service, which is wonderful. The big question is, how should he respond? He isn't quite sure what to say back to them -- "You're welcome"? "It …

DEAR ABBY: I am a teenager who has recently discovered that my dad has been having sexually explicit conversations with women online for at least 10 years. He is usually withdrawn from the rest of the family, and I strongly suspect it's because he cares more about his online fantasies than he does about his life with my …