Dear Lizzie

A Man Asks For Advice About How to Deal with Sexual Harassment from a Coworker

"Hooking up" with a coworker can lead to trouble.

Dear Lizzie, I work with a woman, and we have somewhat of a past. We hooked up a couple times outside of work, but we never got serious. I thought we mutually ended the affair. Recently, she has been sexually harassing me at work. It is often very subtle, and no other co-workers know about what happened. Most of the time I am uncomfortable with it all. I have told her to knock it off, but she must think I’m not serious about it. Even outside of work, she continues to do this stuff. The last thing I want to do is file a sexual harassment case and make the whole thing public. What should I do? - Harassed, Reading   Dear Harassed, First and foremost, you need to take matters into your own hands. This means speaking directly to this woman. The…

Dear Lizzie

A Woman Struggles With Her Daughter's Impending Adulthood

A single mother looks for advice on how to strengthen her relationship with her teenage daughter.

Dear Lizzie, Single mom here. It’s not easy, but I enjoy my life. What I’m not enjoying is the rebellion of my daughter. She is 17 and a junior in high school. All I have is her and my son, who is 5. Her father is never around, and I have to raise her by myself. We try to get along, but it is hard. We go out together and have “Girls Night,” and for a while, it’s great. But it goes back to the same routine. She is good in school, but I don’t know much about her social life. I wish I did. What can I do to make our relationship better? —Worried Mom, Lansdale   Dear Worried, Every mother and daughter go through this phase in their lives. Your daughter is finally getting her independence. She is almost 18—a legal adult—and she will begin doing …

Dear Lizzie

Woman Worries Her Impending Divorce Will Scar Her Child

Dear Lizzie advises a divorcing couple to keep things as "normal" as possible for the sake of their child.

Dear Lizzie, My husband and I have been married for 10 years, and we have a 3-year-old son. We are getting a divorce after months of counseling and remediation. This is what we have decided to do, as it is the best thing for us. We are scared, however, that it may not be the best thing for our son. We are struggling with finding a way that the divorce will not affect our relationship with him. He is too young to understand, and we don’t want our decision to affect him in the future. What do you suggest? – Breaking Up and Broken Down, Hatboro Dear Breaking Up, A decision is never bulletproof, and it isn't guaranteed that your son won’t have an issue when he gets older. The best you can do in your situation is to bring as much normalcy as …

Dear Lizzie

Messing Around With a Married Woman is Nothing But Trouble

A young man considers a relationship with a married woman and one woman questions the risk of moving away with the boyfriend her family doesn't accept.

Dear Lizzie, I am 29 and I live by myself in an apartment building. There’s a married woman that frequents the bar I go to often. We flirt whenever we are out. She doesn’t live in the area; she has a girlfriend that does live around my area, and they have a “Girls Night Out.” That is how we met. This woman has a young daughter, and her husband works during the day. She is gorgeous, and I love being around her. I don’t think her husband has any idea of our flirtations, but she told me she would cheat on her husband. This is very tempting. What do you think? – Lucky Man, Upper Dublin Dear Lucky, There’s no luck here! No way is this going to turn out in a positive situation. She’s married and that comes with a big sign: Hands Off. Maybe she’s…

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Dear Lizzie

Respect Goes Both Ways In the Parent-Child Relationship

A woman wants her parents to respect her choices and personal life on Facebook, and a flirty friend causes concern.

Dear Lizzie, I recently had a fight with my parents, and it has to do with Facebook. I am 28 years old, and I live on my own. Last week, I went out with a group of friends to celebrate a new job. A lot of pictures were taken that night. There was nothing inappropriate, but sometimes you can get a little wacky when you’re with friends and having a good time. My parents are friends with me on Facebook and saw the pictures posted from that evening. They proceeded to berate me, insult me and make me feel so bad and sick to my stomach. I’m an adult and I shouldn’t be treated this way. Pictures of me do not reflect my character, but tell that to them! What can I do to fix all this? – Picture Imperfect?, Norristown Dear Picture, Whether it is …

Dear Lizzie

Woman Thinks it Should Be 'Game Over' for Hubby's Hobby

A wife has concerns that her husband's video gaming addiction may be infecting the kids, and one couple can't compromise on children.

Dear Lizzie, I have a husband that loves video games. The problem is, we also have three children who are starting to love them too—too much. My husband works from home often, and nearly every time I come home from work, he is in front of the TV playing PS3. Sometimes, our sons or daughter are there, either playing along or watching him. Recently, one of our sons, an elementary student, brought home a poor report card. Our daughter, I think, is starting to have comprehension and reading troubles. Then, there’s our “alone time.” It’s great here and there, but as of recent, I’ve been going to bed alone while he stays up and shoots things on his video game. It is starting to annoy me, and I don’t know how to approach it. I don’t want him to …

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Dear Lizzie

Friends Don't Let Friends Take Their Drug Test For Them

A woman seeks advice about her boyfriend's habit of helping a friend pass a urine test and a lonely dog lover questions getting a puppy

Dear Lizzie, My boyfriend has a friend from college who continually asks him to help him out when it comes to passing his work drug test. My boyfriend has to pee for him. (I don’t know the specifics on how this is done). I know this cannot be legal. I want to tell my boyfriend, as nice of a guy that he is, that I do NOT think he should be doing this for his “friend.” Your thoughts? Are there any potential legal issues my boyfriend could face? – PEE O’D, Lansdale Dear P.O’D, My first bit of advice is to tell this “friend” to stop doing drugs or smoking marijuana and pee in his own cup. Your boyfriend’s friend is not a friend. No friend tries to bring you down with his or her problems. Either your boyfriend is really nice or he is a pushover…

Dear Lizzie

Woman Fed Up With Boyfriend Who Doesn't Give Enough

A woman wants her man to put a little more effort into their relationship, and one new mom has babies on her mind.

Dear Lizzie, I have been dating and living with a man for several years now. In the beginning he was sweet, charming and fun to be around. Lately, things have been different. He hardly works, and when he does he complains about how much he hates going (or he works less than full time). He never helps out around the house and he makes me do all the cooking, cleaning and laundry. I have asked him to help out, but it is short lived. I'm actually not to sure what he does all day while I'm at work. I have tried not doing it to see if he would eventually do it, but the house ended up filthy and it was just more work for me. I work full-time and go to school and I find myself resentful of him not helping out. He rarely wants to spend time with my…

Dear Lizzie

A woman worries her sister will become a mooch

A woman asks advice on how to help her laid-off, divorcing sister and a broke boyfriend is trying to avoid a broken-hearted birthday

Dear Lizzie, Everyone says we are coming out of a recession, but tell that to my sister and family. My sister recently lost her job, and it couldn’t have come at a worse time for her. She is also facing a divorce, but luckily there will be no custody battle with her kids. However, with the job and divorce, she has leaned on me to help her out. Lizzie, she wants to move into my house along with her two kids. I’m not sure if it is a good idea, and I don’t want her to take advantage of the situation. Yet, she is family. What do I do? – SISTER SAVIOR, Ft. Washington. Dear SISTER … The bottom line with anything related to family is you help them through thick and thin. It is primarily important that you let her know the boundaries. You will …

Dear Lizzie

Valentine's Day advice for a hopeless romantic

A best friend is keeping a secret about a cheating boyfriend and one hopeless romantic asks for some Valentine's Day suggestions

Dear Lizzie, My best friend Stephanie and I have known each other more than 15 years. For the past two years, she has been dating this guy and it’s getting pretty serious. She is the happiest she’s ever been and she tells me all the time how he’s changed her life for the better. It’s true because I see it. Recently, I came to discover that her boyfriend is cheating on her with another woman. An older woman to be exact. While I haven’t told her yet, I feel awful that this is going on behind her back and I’m basically the only one that knows. I feel it’s my duty as her best friend to tell her. I don’t know what’s stopping me. What do you think? – Best Friend with Secrets, Collegeville Dear Best, First and foremost, that is your best friend …