2 Competing Impulses Will Drive Post-pandemic Social Life
Some people will want to go out as often as they can. Others won’t be able to forget how nice it is to sit at home on the couch.
The Friendship Files
The First ‘Real Friend’ You Make After College Is Special
“I have a big-girl job and a big-girl friend, and we’re talking about big, important things like breakups. What a life I live.”
The ‘Blurred Existence’ of Motherhood
What it’s like to care for a newborn, in photos
The Case for Moving Back to Your Hometown
I thought of home as a waiting room, the place I had to be until I could go somewhere else. Then I left, and missed it terribly.
How Adult Children Affect Their Mother’s Happiness
Plenty of moms feel something less than unmitigated joy around their grown-up kids. Make sure yours feels that she’s getting as much out of her relationship with you as she gives.
The Gates Divorce Is About More Than a Marriage
When the richest of the rich split up, the usual dilemmas are mixed in with the fate of enormous charitable efforts and billion-dollar stock holdings.
12 Pieces of Advice for Better Parenting
Parent-child relationships are constantly evolving, and as children grow, “Dear Therapist” writes, parents have to recalibrate what their role is.
The Professional Women Who Are Leaning Out
The competing demands of work and motherhood have some white-collar women choosing part-time work—and loving it.
The Unspoken Wedge Between Parents and Grandparents
Each generation has its own norms for parenting. Arguing over the differences can be an emotional minefield.
Stop Spending Time on Things You Hate
Your time on Earth is precious and limited. Here’s how to waste it.
The Real Reason Young Adults Seem Slow to ‘Grow Up’
It’s not a new developmental stage; it’s the economy.
The Coming Conflict Between Introverts and Extroverts
When the social floodgates open, not everyone will want to use their newfound freedom in the same way.
Don’t Wish for Happiness. Work for It.
If you want to improve your well-being, you need to make a plan and act on it.
Parents Are Sacrificing Their Social Lives on the Altar of Intensive Parenting
Inequality has seemingly caused many American parents to jettison friendships and activities in order to invest more resources in their kids.
When Your Best Friend Becomes an ‘Aunt’ to Your Kids
“Kristi’s been a constant in my life. I couldn’t even imagine not having her involved in the girls’ lives.”
Modern Communication’s Big Open Secret
The assumption that we are the sole authors of our texts and emails is a collective fiction—but a useful one.
How to Buy Happiness
The joys of money are nothing without other people.
The Best Friends Can Do Nothing for You
If your social life is leaving you unfulfilled, you might have too many deal friends, and not enough real friends.
The Dark Side of Box Tops for Education
The school-funding program recently switched from offering rebates for physical labels to an app, frustrating many users and highlighting some of the program’s long-standing contradictions and inequalities.
9 Pieces of Advice to Help You See Relationships More Clearly
In some cases, “Dear Therapist” columns help us understand a situation from another person’s point of view; in others, they give us the language we need to name a situation.
When Your Closest Friends Are From Elementary School
“When I see people from Peretz school, it’s as if nothing has changed. The comfort, the ease, the knowing of each other is the same.”
The Hidden Toll of Remote Work
Switching to Zoom forever might be convenient, but it’s a recipe for loneliness.