Dear Neil: We have had trouble with our daughter-in-law for years. She has decided to not let us into our son’s life, or our grandchildren’s lives. We have tried to make amends, but to no avail. We love our grandchildren, but are not allowed any contact. Do you have any recommendations? Hurting in Bristol, Tennessee […]
Dear Neil: My husband and I have been together for 19 years. The last ten have been horrible. I was sad, dysfunctional and felt lost, unloved and unworthy. Now my husband has had enough, has lost his passion for me, met someone else (three weeks ago) and is instigating separation proceedings. I have done some […]
Dear Neil: I am crazy in love with a wonderful man—a widower. His late wife passed away eight years ago after 23 years of marriage. We have been engaged for over a year now. He has two grown sons, has another two sons (ages 10 and 12) at home and a special needs son that […]
Dear Neil: Our 33 year-old son has no contact with us, but he also doesn’t have contact with his brothers, aunts or uncles, cousins and grandparents. This has been going on for four years now. Why would he be this rejecting of his parents? Is there anything we can do to change this and bring […]
Dear Neil: I have been with my boyfriend for two years. We just broke up because he is adopted and he has issues loving someone. I don’t know what to say to him to convince him that I love him and I’m not going anywhere. I could care less that he’s adopted but he can’t […]
Dear Neil: My husband seems to be looking for every little thing the kids do wrong, and it’s causing our children to act the same way toward each other. He does this from the moment he gets up until he goes to bed. He never points out the good. What should I do? Emotionally Drained […]
Dear Neil: I am 26 years-old and for the first time in my life I have felt true love with another. But he has broken up with me and left me an emotional and financial train wreck of a mess. The problem is that he compared me to his ex, and accused me of doing […]
Dear Neil: I am a 40 year-old man, adopted by a depressed and lonely Mom and an emotionally absent, abusive Dad. I have had self esteem issues my whole life, trouble with feeling worthy of love and petrified of being abandoned. I have a strong need to live in a close, trusting relationship, but I […]
Dear Neil: I am living with my boyfriend, and we just had our first baby six months ago. I am happy with my boyfriend in the sense that he is very financially responsible, but there’s a problem with his parents. His father is an alcoholic and his mother is controlling, pushy and overly critical. She […]
Note: This is the second of a two-part series. If you wish to raise an emotionally intelligent child, you’re going to have to get good at being your child’s emotion coach. Emotional coaching consists of the following steps: Being aware of the child’s emotions. Emotional awareness means that you recognize when you’re feeling an emotion, […]