Blunt Boundaries: A Daughter’s Outburst Forces a Family Talk

Slate’s Care and Feeding covers two family dilemmas: first, a wife’s mother-in-law treats her poorly and a 3-year-old’s blunt insult prompts guidance that the child should apologize while the parents set firm boundaries and consider walking away when needed; second, parents clash over punishment for their 14-year-old’s vandalism, with the columnist advising a stricter consequence (grounding from everything for a month, or two) and to enforce accountability without belittling the child.