Dear Kid Whisperer,

I have decided to give my eighth-grade students assigned seats for the rest of the year to help with behaviors. Could you give me a bunch of quick, witty comebacks for all of the complaining that I am going to deal with from these students?

Answer: I could, but I won’t.

Having a bunch of cute things to say in response to...Read more

We have smoke detectors that warn of fire, dashboard icons that warn of low fuel and dying batteries, and health hazard warnings are printed on every pack of cigarettes.

In 2024 we were given a clear and resounding warning for cell phones. It came in the form of a thick book titled “The Anxious Generation” (How the Great Rewiring of ...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- Nancy Adams grew comfortable sharing her Compton townhome during the COVID-19 pandemic when she rented spare bedrooms to traveling nurses.

Still, it was a long leap of faith to open her home to her current house guest — a paroled murderer.

Adams, 72, had retired from a career in banking but still relishes her backup job, ...Read more

Q. My ex is impossible. Each time we go back to court, I hope for a different outcome, but nothing is ever changed. No one understands! How do you co-parent with someone you cannot agree with? What’s good ex-etiquette?

A. Disagreements don’t stop co-parents from co-parenting well. Conflict is normal, but you do have to create an environment...Read more

Paying for financial advice can seem like a catch-22. After all, shelling out cash for financial advice can be difficult if you don’t have money to spend. As a result, you may find yourself looking for free financial advice. Perhaps you like to read blogs, or maybe you’re someone who goes down a YouTube rabbit hole, spending hours watching ...Read more

Fifty-seven percent of U.S. workers say they’re behind on their retirement savings, according to Bankrate’s 2024 Retirement Savings Survey. But no group says they’re behind more than Gen X. A whopping 68 percent of Gen X workers say they’re lagging when it comes to retirement savings.

The first edge of Gen X, which ranges in age from ...Read more

Well, that was fast. And a little strange. Mostly lovely. With some parts that were definitely not.

I’m talking about 2024. (Mine, anyway.) Some of the best moments, as usual, were the ones I wasn’t expecting — didn’t know they’d happen, didn’t know they’d teach me that, didn’t know they’d leave me feeling like that, didn’t ...Read more

I received this text from a client I started working with recently: “I really want to solve this issue of people mentioning their exes! Or maybe that’s just normal if you’re divorced? Is it me? Or does that happen to other clients on every single first date? It’s so uncomfortable!”

And then this week, after a different client went on ...Read more

This time of the year, I always look forward to the announcement of the Pantone Color of the Year. Last year it was Peach Fuzz and the year before it was Viva Magenta. I’ve always liked to try to join in and pick out flowers, to show that we are part of the team, a Pantone Partner if you will. Drum roll please: For 2025 the Pantone Color of ...Read more

CHICAGO — Kayla Daley started feeling “not the greatest” toward the end of her time in high school but didn’t necessarily know why. The feeling got worse after moving from the northwest suburbs to Chicago to begin college and was marked by depressive symptoms, loneliness and anxiety, she said.

“I mean, it was my first year of college,...Read more

I haphazardly closed up the little house this year. I hurriedly swept the floors, took out the trash, checked the windows, pulled the Dutch door shut and whispered, “Thanks for the memories.”

Not long after, a fierce night wind pushed the door open. Blowing snow drifted in and nestled in the corners.

Tiny hand-shaped footprints ...Read more

Q. My ex is not a good person. She sends me terrible text messages that the kids have read over my shoulder. They tell me she refers to me as “sperm donor” when she talks to her friends. (They aren't sure what that means, but they know it's bad.) Now the kids are telling me they don’t want to go back to her home. We alternate weeks, and ...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- In a state boasting epic mountain ranges and stunning coastlines, the Salton Sea is not typically considered an outdoor-lover's paradise.

California's largest inland lake, which straddles Riverside and Imperial counties, is in fact beautiful. The 35-mile-long sea shimmers, a cascade of colors in the desert, when the sun sets over...Read more

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation Health Debt Survey, 41% of American adults have debt relating to medical or dental care. Around 14 million Americans, or 6% of the adult population, owe more than $1,000 in medical debt, while approximately 3 million Americans owe more than $10,000.

While thousands of dollars of medical debt is ...Read more

LEXINGTON, S.C. -- Most people may not associate the holiday season with dinosaurs, but that’s the vibe at the Price household.

The yard of the house on Augusta Road/Highway 1 just outside Lexington is crawling with dinos of various sizes. The creatures made out of insulation foam board frolic amid the twinkle of the Christmas lights on the ...Read more

My orthodontist is a gem. That’s why he suggested I buy an ultrasonic retainer cleaner that my wife can wash her jewelry in.

I got retainers several years ago when I decided to go straight, not because I was a crooked jewel thief, but because two of my teeth were crooked and needed straightening.

I went to the Stony Brook University School ...Read more

Dear Kid Whisperer,

My 13-year-old daughter, like many of her friends, carries a water bottle around with her all day at school. Since the beginning of the last school year, she’s been forgetting it, and this year, she’s been forgetting it much more -- usually twice per week. I bring it to her because I don’t want her to become dehydrated...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Every December in Southern California, the days get shorter yet brighter — and it's not Christmas lights or the shifting sun that make the region shine.

I'm talking about citrus.

Trees heavy with fruits that ripen through the color spectrum as winter progresses are as much a Southern California holiday tradition as tamales ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — He was bent at the waist, wobbly and shoeless on grimy pavement at the end of an alley where fires smolder, drug users gather day and night, and death lurks.

Slowly, he made his way across the parking lot behind the Yoshinoya restaurant at Wilshire Boulevard and Alvarado Street. It was not a normal gait, but in MacArthur Park, ...Read more

The kids were in holiday jammies.

They were being escorted out of their school, which just became a crime scene, and they were dressed in flannel pants and plaid robes and furry slippers. One boy’s shirt said DON’T MOOSE AROUND above a plaid moose, which matched his red and black plaid pajama bottoms.

The adults were decked out too. One ...Read more