I’m upset and distraught dealing with trust issues among an adult child, and I don’t know what to do!

It’s these not knowing what to do situations that really put me through the wringer.

The bottom line is, there are major trust issues on my end with my son (22yrs old). And as a mom, I feel I know the truth- that he’s using/ on drugs, I’ve expressed this to him, and he denies it. …

I’ve been divorced from my ex, a law enforcement officer, for 5 years now. For the most part, we co-parent relatively well. Since the divorce, he has married one of the women he was “talking to” at the end of our marriage. He was both mentally, and to a degree, physically abusive. We have three boys.

I hate not having a say in what my boys are exposed to at their other home sometimes. I’m not one who wants to push in because I think the family they have there is mostly a good situation.

That being said, I noticed a month or two ago that there was a Trump sign put up in their yard, and during this period where everyone should be social distancing, they have been attending events with her extended family, which is very large. We live in a small town that has consistently been in one of the areas most heavily impacted by COVID. …

Two days ago, I was doing my weekly shop with my daughter (who has just turned two). We finished the food shop early, and she asked to go to “one more shop” before home. It was raining a fair bit, but I had her raincoat with me, so I asked if she wanted to walk or go in the car. As expected, she wanted to walk.

We were going to the other shop across a 4 lane road, so we had to walk a little way down to the nearest pedestrian crossing, making the walk somewhere between 5–10 minutes. …

My 6-year-old daughter is getting really interested in ancient history. We live in Scotland, and she always wants to know the stories behind all of the castles, forts, and ruins we often see. She’s started coming through to ask me to tell her about ancient stuff. Tonight she came through and asked me to tell her all I know about ancient ships. It’s lovely.

When I was younger, I was given a kids' encyclopedia that I read and read until it fell apart. …

I’m so tired. My son is turning 3 next month. He has been getting 45 minutes a week of early intervention for almost a year (virtual during covid). We noticed at 18 months he wasn’t saying many words, so by 22 months, he qualified for EI. His eye contact and all was good, and he doesn’t have tantrums or anything, but the speech was definitely behind.

His speech has really exploded because I kept working with him, but two months ago, I got a private SLP to go to his daycare twice a month for 30-minute sessions (school reopened, and she agreed to go to his school). …

My 10-year-old daughter and her 8-year-old sister are friends with our neighbor’s granddaughter, who is there most weekends.

The Grandfather is a nice, easy-going guy. His wife, however, is one of those loud, bombastic, and opinionated types. She always has something to say. Always thinking out loud. No filter. Otherwise, she generous and has always been kind to my kids whenever they go over there.

Today, her Granddaughter was at our house, and the kids spent the day swimming in the pool. In the afternoon, she comes over to tell her Granddaughter to come home and stayed and chatted with me for a bit. The kids were hungry after swimming and were eating a packet of chips between the 3 of them. My eldest is a bit overweight, but not obese. …

I’ve been dating my boyfriend for around 6 months, and my son D and J have been getting on fine. Recently he's been having competitions over whether I love my boyfriend or his dog more than my son. I thought this was typical behavior and obviously tell him I love him more than anything.

But tonight, after all spending the day together with my boyfriend J (we are in a support bubble with covid), my son told a lie.

We were coming home from the shop after getting supplies like milk, food, and whatnot, and after J gets into the car, I go around to let my son in. …

I am the mother of a 17-year-old. I have some advice for other parents experiencing similar issues and helping their kids by handling a situation where one parent realizes they have failed in some ways as a parent and have tried to start mending the relationship.

Parents, please take the time for self-reflection before you wait too long, listen to your partner and your heart when they tell you that you need to make some changes, and be a better parent.

Self-realization is a wonderful thing, and as painful as it is for you…it’s so totally worth facing it and making an attempt to improve.
Even if your child is no longer young, you feel like it’s too late for you to form a positive and loving relationship; DO IT ANYWAY, because of It’sNEVER, EVER too late. …