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Having a crush can be all-consuming. How do you snap out of it? Sex educator Shan Boodram has advice. malerapaso/Getty Images; Collage by NPR/iStockphoto hide caption

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Dear Life Kit

Dear Life Kit: I'm ashamed that I still dream about my middle school crush

June 18, 2024 • Plus: How to deal with a new partner who's attractive ... but messy.

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Dear Life Kit

Dear Life Kit: My boyfriend says I need to live on my own before we move in together

February 23, 2024 • Relationship researchers and clinical psychologists Julie Schwartz Gottman and John Gottman weigh in on four tricky relationship questions.

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Dear Life Kit

Dear Life Kit: My brother-in-law is incarcerated. When should I tell my kids?

August 3, 2023 • My brother-in-law was convicted of murder and is serving a life sentence. We haven't shared any of these details with our kids, ages 7 and 9. When should we tell our children where he is and what he did?

Dear Life Kit: My brother-in-law is incarcerated. When should I tell my kids?

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Dear Life Kit

Dear Life Kit: My boyfriend's parents pay for everything. It makes me uncomfortable

April 6, 2023 • She loves her boyfriend's parents, but their generosity feels inappropriate. Maya Lau, host of the podcast Other People's Pockets, weighs in on how to move forward.

Dear Life Kit: My boyfriend's parents pay for everything. It makes me uncomfortable

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Dear Life Kit: Do I have to listen to my boss complain?

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Perspective

Dear Life Kit

Dear Life Kit: Do I have to listen to my boss complain?

March 2, 2023 • An employee struggles to cope with her boss's constant oversharing and negativity. Journalist and host of the podcast Work Appropriate Anne Helen Petersen shares advice for establishing boundaries ... with your boss.

Dear Life Kit: Do I have to listen to my boss complain?

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Dear Life Kit: My husband is living under COVID lockdown. I'm ready to move on

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Opinion

Dear Life Kit

Dear Life Kit: My husband is living under COVID lockdown. I'm ready to move on

February 9, 2023 • Three years into the pandemic, one spouse is ready to lift lockdown. The other? Not so much. Epidemiologist and science communicator Jessica Malaty Rivera shares ideas on finding compromise and managing a risk budget.

Dear Life Kit: My husband is living under COVID lockdown. I'm ready to move on

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Dear Life Kit

Dear Life Kit: My 10-year-old bullies my 8-year-old. How do I make it stop?

January 26, 2023 • A sister relentlessly picks on her brother despite their mom's best attempt to make peace between them. Psychologist Becky Kennedy shares advice with a parent who feels out of ideas — and patience.

Dear Life Kit: My 10-year-old bullies my 8-year-old. How do I make it stop?

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Dear Life Kit: We bought a dog instead of rescuing one. It cost me a friend

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Opinion

Dear Life Kit

Dear Life Kit: We bought a dog instead of rescuing one. It cost me a friend

December 15, 2022 • An ideological difference over adopting versus shopping for a pet causes a rift between friends. Tania Israel, a professor of psychology, shares advice about how to have difficult conversations with people you care about.

Dear Life Kit: We bought a dog instead of rescuing one. It cost me a friend

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Dear Life Kit: My folks guilt-trip me into spending the holidays with them

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Perspective

Dear Life Kit

Dear Life Kit: My folks guilt-trip me into spending the holidays with them

December 1, 2022 • Between long-held traditions, unfair expectations and clashing personalities, the holidays can be a perfect storm for conflict. Therapist John Kim helps untangle three holiday conundrums.

Dear Life Kit: My folks guilt-trip me into spending the holidays with them

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Dear Life Kit: My boyfriend's relationship with his coworker makes me uncomfortable

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Perspective

Dear Life Kit

Dear Life Kit: My boyfriend's relationship with his coworker makes me uncomfortable

November 17, 2022 • My partner is constantly texting his former coworker and even spent the night at her house. He says they're just friends, but I don't like it. How can I trust him when he ignores my boundaries?

Dear Life Kit: My boyfriend's relationship with his coworker makes me uncomfortable

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Dear Life Kit

Dear Life Kit: My son didn't ask his brother to be his best man. Should I speak up?

November 3, 2022 • A mother debates whether she should talk to the groom about the issue. Catherine Newman, an etiquette columnist for Real Simple magazine, gives her advice.

Dear Life Kit: My son didn't ask his brother to be his best man. Should I speak up?

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Dear Life Kit

Dear Life Kit: I cared for our dad. Now my greedy siblings want the inheritance

October 20, 2022 • She cared for her stepdad through illness and death. Now she's disheartened that her siblings only seem to care about the inheritance. Financial therapist Lindsay Bryan-Podvin weighs in.

Dear Life Kit: I cared for our dad. Now my greedy siblings want the inheritance

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Dear Life Kit

Dear Life Kit: My dad's wife died and he won't leave the house. What do I do?

October 1, 2022 • Psychotherapist David Defoe offers advice to a letter writer who is concerned about how to help their grieving father.

Dear Life Kit: My dad's wife died and he won't leave the house. What do I do?

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Dear Life Kit

Dear Life Kit: My husband wrote an 80-chapter book. Do I have to read it?

September 17, 2022 • What's more, the letter writer hates her husband's writing style. Should she bite the bullet and read his novel? Or can she pass? Family therapist Kiaundra Jackson offers her two cents.

Dear Life Kit: My husband wrote an 80-chapter book. Do I have to read it?

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Dear Life Kit

Dear Life Kit: My co-worker posted a terrible review about me! Should I tell our boss?

September 3, 2022 • A secretary asks if she should tattle-tale on a colleague who wrote an anonymous negative review about her. Career coach and HR professional Shanita Williams weighs in on the conundrum.

Dear Life Kit: My co-worker posted a terrible review about me! Should I tell our boss?

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Dear Life Kit

Dear Life Kit: Can I tell my neighbor to put their yappy dogs inside?

August 6, 2022 • It can be hard to navigate etiquette in the midst of interpersonal conflict. Rachel Wilkerson Miller, editor-in-chief of Self, gives advice in three sticky situations.

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Life Kit

Dear Life Kit: My husband secretly racked up our credit card bill. Now what?

June 26, 2022 • Talking about money with people you love can be difficult. Financial therapist Amanda Clayman answers your tricky (and anonymous) financial questions.

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Dear Life Kit

Dear Life Kit: Should I tell my friend they talk too much?

June 5, 2022 • Sometimes it's easier to bottle up your feelings than to have a difficult conversation with a friend. Celeste Headlee, author of We Need to Talk, answers your questions about conflict with friends.

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Shots - Health News

Parenting Advice From Uncle Sam

May 27, 2018 • Nervous mothers and dads once had only family and friends to turn to for advice on kids. Then, in 1912, the U.S. government created an agency devoted to children, and queries from moms poured in.

Parenting Advice From Uncle Sam

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