I’ve never had a particularly warm relationship with my daughter-in-law Bernice. She’s a bit of a cold fish. For example, when her mother died a few months ago, I never saw her shed a tear. Whenever I tried to talk with her about her mother’s illness and then her death, she made it clear she […]
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: Helping the Gogos (Grandmothers) of Swaziland
Dear readers, In my September 13, 2015 column, my guest columnist was Hannah Laufer-Rottman, founder of Palms for Life, an organization dedicated to eradicating worldwide hunger and poverty. In that column Hannah talked about the important role the grandmothers, known as the Gogos, are playing in Swaziland, a country in Africa. (Gogo is an honorific […]
Ask Dr. Gramma Karen: The Best Gift of All
Note: This is an unabridged version of a column I wrote for GRAND Magazine. There are gifts, and then, there are GIFTS. I refer to our recent 50th wedding anniversary as “the anniversary that keeps on giving.” First we took a Danube River cruise with 11 family members and friends. When my sister and her […]
Ask Dr. Gramma Karen: Dreading the Family Thanksgiving Dinner
Note: This column was first posted on 11/16/11. It feels timely and relevant for 2016. I am dreading the annual Thanksgiving dinner with my husband’s family. My father-in-law (FIL) and his brother have strong and differing political opinions and they will inevitably end up having one of their shouting matches. It is so upsetting to […]
Ask Dr. Gramma Karen: DIL Always Giving In To Granddaughters’ Bad Behavior
Here is a question for you about what seems to be little, maybe no, discipline. I see my daughter-in-law succumbing to the tantrum and power plays of her aggressive 5-year-old, Donna, and her sweet 11-year-old, Carol. Most times my DIL’s succumbing is at the sacrifice of what she, or others, want to see happen. There […]
Ask Dr. Gramma Karen: Grandmother Has Problems with Disobedient Grandchildren
I read and loved your response to the grandma with the undisciplined twin five-year-olds. I’m in a similar situation, except my “grandchildren” – who aren’t really my grandchildren – are 10 and 11. My husband and I have been married 33 years, and these two children are from our son’s significant other (they are not […]
Ask Dr. Gramma Karen: Grandson Thinks His Grandmother May Be Gay
I never thought I would ever be writing to someone like you for advice, but my girlfriend’s mother suggested I contact you because she wasn’t sure how to advise me. Here’s my situation. I am a college sophomore. I grew up in a great two-parent household with two younger siblings. One set of my grandparents […]
Dr. Gramma Karen: Our Son-in-Law is a Tyrant
Can you give my wife and me some advice about our tyrannical son-in-law? My daughter was forced to have 6 kids in a 10-year marriage, two sets of twins and two single births. He does not hit her, but otherwise he is a tyrant. He does not let her go out of the house unless […]