My wife and I would like your help regarding Katy, our seven-and-a half-year-old daughter, who is very intelligent, extremely sensitive, and takes everything to heart.
Author: Dr. Karen Rancourt
Karen L. Rancourt, Ph.D., has over 50 years of varied experience. She began her career an elementary school teacher, went on to become a college professor, management consultant to Fortune 100 companies, career coach, and author of six books and a dozens of articles. Dr. Rancourt has helped thousands of parents, professionals and grandparents make important relationship decisions.
Ask Dr. Gramma Karen: Update on Fiancé’s Stepfather’s Behavior
Four years ago you gave me some advice regarding my then-fiancé’s stepfather, George, who was inappropriately physical towards me. I thought you might like to know what has happened since then. I currently belong to a support group for expectant first-time moms. A couple of weeks ago we decided that each of us would write a “gratitude journal,” and share it with each other.
Ask Dr. Gramma Karen: Readers’ Comments About “Aunt Needs Help Dealing With Loss”
I received several comments about my column, “Aunt Needs Help Dealing With Loss.” Several readers said they were not expecting the focus of my response to be what it was. Other readers shared their personal experiences about the loss of a sibling.
Ask Dr. Gramma Karen: Grandmother Feels Overlooked
Dear Dr. Gramma Karen,
I have a great relationship with my daughter-in-law, Elana, and we get to see our three grandchildren often (ages 6, 8, and 10). I’m still working full time, and although I don’t have every weekend off, I never get to host weekend dinners with my son, DIL, and grandchildren.
Ask Dr. Gramma Karen: Aunt Needs Help Dealing With Loss
Dear Dr. Gramma Karen,
I am 21 years old and in desperate need of advice. I live with my parents. My dead brother’s widow and her two brats, a 4-year-old girl and a 7-year-old boy, live in the same town.
The brats are beyond spoiled from all sides because their father died. To be fair, I am the youngest child in my family and spoiled, so I could be the problem, as literally everybody tells me.
Ask Dr. Gramma Karen: How to Build a Co-Grandparenting Team
Co-grandparenting refers to the relationships between people who have grandchildren in common. Due to divorces, remarriages, and the resultant blended families, the number of co-grandparents can be in double digits for some grandchildren. As one five-year-old gleefully said, “I sure have a lot of grandparents!” Sometimes the relationships between the co-grandparents are easy and comfortable; other times they are uncomfortable or even problematic.
Ask Dr. Gramma Karen: Take the Stress Out of Gift Giving
Dear Dr. Gramma Karen,
I want to suggest you to do a column on gift-giving. I ask because I listen to people at work and in the store check-out lines stressing out about this. For example, my co-workers talk about their in-laws as being either cheapskates or extravagant. Then there is the topic of grandparents giving the grandchildren gifts that the parents have already said they don’t want the kids to have, e.g., cell phones, video games.
Ask Dr. Gramma Karen: Food for Thought
I laughed when I saw this cartoon that depicts the challenges of hosting dinners for groups of people with diverse nutritional requirements, e.g., vegan, allergic to gluten, on a cleanser, et cetera. So true! It reminded me that my husband Gary and I have made some changes in how we now often entertain.