Family Life
Grandparents, different rules, and the conversation worth having early
Most intergenerational friction is about undiscussed defaults rather than about disagreement. It resolves better before it…
Family Life
Siblings, grandparents, holidays and everything with more than two people in it.
21 articles · updated August 11, 2026 · page 1 of 2
Family Life
Sibling conflict is practice, not a problem to eliminate
Siblings argue at rates that alarm parents and are entirely normal. What matters is what the adults do with it.
More in Family Life
Family Life
A holiday with small children is not a rest, and planning for that helps
It is the same job in an unfamiliar kitchen. Expecting a break is what turns a tiring week into a disappointing one.
Family Life
Long car journeys with children are a scheduling problem
The distance is fixed. What changes the journey is when you leave, how often you stop, and what you kept back for the last hour.
Family Life
Eating together does something, and it is not what people usually claim
The family meal has an unusually strong reputation and a genuinely mixed evidence base. What survives scrutiny is smaller, and more…
Family Life
Only children are not what the stereotype says
The research on only children has been fairly consistent for decades and contradicts the folklore almost entirely. The genuine…
Family Life
Step-parenting works slowly, and speeding it up backfires
The expectation of a quickly blended family is where most of the difficulty comes from. The literature suggests years, and it keeps…
Family Life
Separating well, from the child’s point of view
The evidence is reasonably clear that ongoing conflict predicts more than the separation itself. That is the one variable the…
Family Life
Talking to children about death without euphemisms
Euphemisms are chosen to soften it and reliably produce more confusion and more fear. Children need the plain word, and a great…
Family Life
Big family occasions get harder as the family gets bigger
Christmases, weddings and milestone birthdays run on assumptions nobody has ever stated out loud. Naming them a month early is what…
Family Life
Photographs of your children online, and the person who will see them later
The decision is being made on behalf of someone who will one day have a view about it. That is a different question from whether…
Family Life
Getting a pet for the children means getting a pet for yourself
Every family predicts the children will do the work, and very few of them do for long. The decision is better made on that…