Tag: mothers

Outgrowing mom friends: What would you do?

Published: August 1, 2013 | By | Reply Continue Reading

Should mom friends hang on to an unsatisfying friendship for the sake of her daughter?

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Guest Post: Friendship Survival for Childfree Women

Published: January 16, 2012 | Last Updated: February 1, 2021 By | 12 Replies Continue Reading

When a woman who is childfree by choice hears that her girlfriend is “in the family way,” it’s not uncommon to have mixed feelings…

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Can parents be friends if the kids don’t get along?

Published: September 12, 2011 | Last Updated: September 12, 2011 By | 2 Replies Continue Reading

Problems with kids’ friendships often spill over to their parents   QUESTION Dear Irene, My son and another couple’s son don’t get along. The other kid has some issues and has tried to hurt my son either verbally or physically several times over the past few years (put his hands around his neck a few […]

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The Phase Out (Times Two)

Published: July 25, 2011 | Last Updated: July 25, 2011 By | 4 Replies Continue Reading

When friends are always busy and never initiate contact, they may be trying to step back from the friendship~   QUESTION Dear Irene, For the last couple of years my friend has been slowly but surely phasing me out of her life. I’m no longer invited to events and she’s usually busy when I suggest […]

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Teen Daughter With Not One Close Friend

Published: January 4, 2011 | Last Updated: November 8, 2021 By | 10 Replies Continue Reading

Her teen daughter doesn’t have one close friend and her mom thinks her outspokenness may be the root of the problem.

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Maybe Friendships Aren’t Meant to Last

Published: August 26, 2010 | Last Updated: January 29, 2023 By | 20 Replies Continue Reading

Guest author Jen Singer writes about how friendships often change with circumstances and friendships aren’t made to last.

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Friendship by the Book: Pieces of Happily Ever After

Published: February 2, 2010 | Last Updated: February 2, 2010 By | 1 Reply Continue Reading

Although it’s sometimes hard to accept, life never evolves like a fairy tale. Journalist and author Irene Zutell’s latest novel, Pieces of Happily Ever After (St. Martin’s Griffin, 2009), sensitively captures the inevitable struggles that women encounter along the way, including: infidelity, divorce, balancing care for children and parents, juggling work and family, growing up, […]

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Middle school frenemies: Why are girls so mean?

Published: December 4, 2009 | Last Updated: October 21, 2014 By | 1 Reply Continue Reading

Every mother knows how tough middle school friendships can be for young women.

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More on Friendship Circles: Sprichst du Deutsch?

Published: May 8, 2009 | Last Updated: April 2, 2016 By | 5 Replies Continue Reading

It is always interesting to discover the universality of female friendships. That’s why (with her permission) I wanted to post this Facebook message that I received from Carolina Asuquo-Brown. By way of introduction, Carolina studied American literature and psychology in Germany and in London and now practices psychotherapy in Frankfurt, Germany. She is especially interested […]

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Reader Q & A: Finding a Best Friend

Published: September 13, 2008 | Last Updated: April 2, 2016 By | 1 Reply Continue Reading

QUESTION: Dear Irene, I am a person who has learned to value my female friendships. I’ve always tended to prefer a one-friend-at-a-time, with a lot of intensity, type of friendship. But it is something I can’t seem to find. Briefly, I had a relationship like the kind I want with a woman who continues to […]

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