Stepmarriages: Keeping love alive when they’re somebody else’s kids

Dear Duana, I love my wife, but we argue about how to discipline her kids; she often sides with them in front of me, and they’ve learned I have no traction. I feel like I’m last in Anna’s affections and priorities. I don’t want to give up—but I won’t live with brats who’ve got their mom’s backing. Dear Scott, Just two years into a stepmarriage, most men are no longer supervising, disciplining or interacting much at all with the stepkids. And the divorce rate is literally 50% higher for remarriages with kids. Don’t give up; step up. Here’s how to save your marriage—and what to avoid.

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Q&A from "Separate Beds, Separate Sex Lives?"

Wise Readers, does sleeping apart really lessen sex? Our readers think so. Here’s how they fixed their sleep problems, and got back into bed with their mates. Read on!

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Separate Rooms, Separate Sex Lives? When snoring comes between you

Dear Duana,My husband has a serious snoring problem. Ear plugs for me and nasal strips for him don’t work, and the guest room is now mine….I get more sleep this way, but we have less sex and I feel less connected to him. Do you think it’s a bad thing for us to sleep apart? Dear Callie, If you could win a million dollars, or have guaranteed restful, energizing sleep every night for the rest of your life, which would you pick? If research is any guide, you’d be wise to select sleep. But that doesn’t mean sleeping apart is the best plan…

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Q&A from "Momma's Boys"

Dear Duana, I’m tired of being called a Momma’s Boy. Yes, I do live with my mother at age 35, but only because I had some setbacks and needed to return to school. Women won’t cut me any slack, though. Why can’t they see that I’m improving myself and besides that, I’m nice to my mom, so I’ll be nice to them, too?

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Momma's Boys: The good, bad, and ugly of loving a man who adores his mother

Dear Duana, What do you know about the man whose controlling mother offers approval only when he makes Mom #1….the man who lets his mother openly complain about his wife, tells Mom everything, and then takes Mom’s contrary advice at the expense of his wife’s input on all of it—money, career, parenting? How does he wean himself from her approval? And what happens if he doesn’t?

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