All may be fair in love and war, but when it comes to family board game nights, you can expect the gloves to come off if you go for below-the-belt strategies. Nothing causes family arguments like a competitive board game—heck, even Candy Land games can get heated when someone draws that plum card at the end of a close game—or rockets ahead with a lucky snowflake draw early on. And that's before you get into games that have actual strategy Board games from the beginning of the “Board Game Renais…

It's hard to imagine intervening in your spouse's workplace drama, even to vouch for them, but especially to side against them. There are certain lines that should not be crossed when it comes to your professional and personal lives. Muddying the waters between the two is never a good idea. This is doubly—no, triply true when it comes to your spouse's workplace, outside of being an agreeable plus one at workplace holiday parties and functions, you should never have anything to do with their wor…

Focusing on your kids' schooling and future is important, but it's easy to lose sight of the little things and moments along the way that are also important. Failing to nurture their unique skills and interests may cost them the chance to do something that they feel is fulfilling and rewarding and what they deem to be the success of their own lives. Also, pushing them too hard to be successful may be counterproductive and drive them into burnout, which takes years to recover from. Plus, we've s…

Doing chores and contributing to the household is just a part of being a member of the household, especially as you get older. The harsh reality is that when you're a teenager, soon the gloves are going to come off, and you're going to be faced with the harsh reality that surviving day to day as an adult requires 10x as much effort just to maintain functional normality as you anticipate when you're a kid at home. Plus, your parents are doing these things daily just to keep the family (what ofte…

Making adjustments to your schedule and going out of your way to accommodate and do favors for others only to have them cancel on you at the last minute or throw it back in your face is going to make you like not to do it again. Really, no one can blame you for that—well, except that same disgruntled and entitled friend or family member who is coming back around looking for another favor and expecting you to drop everything at a moment's notice for them again. Sure, it's great for parents to ha…

Parking disputes are always tricky, and there's a lot of grey area when it comes to who is in the right, especially when it comes to public parking, where it becomes a matter of who pulled up to the spot first and was waiting, which results in a lot of he-said-she-said situations when it comes to who deserves the spot. Similarly, a lot of parking disputes arise in neighborhoods when someone is parking a noisy car or for long periods of time right out in front of your house. Sure, the street is…

Everyone likes to think that they're the exception to a rule, usually because they're so certain that they're so much better and smarter than everybody. The reality of the situation couldn't be further from the truth, and the truth is this: If you think you're the exception, the rule exists for you. This couldn't be truer than when it comes to parents who think that their kids should be an exception to “child-free” events, either bringing them anyway without saying anything or making some drama…

Most of us probably have that item of clothing that we wear whenever we can. When we're wearing it, we feel good, we look good, and most importantly, we are comfortable. As we get older, comfort takes priority, and looking smart is just an added bonus. Of course, if your favorite item of clothing is your Crocs, you're not ever going to look smart, but more power to you because at least you'll look out of place in a nice restaurant in unparalleled comfort. Whether it was picking apples or fancy…

It takes a village to raise a child, though some people have taken this too literally apparently and have taken it to mean that they need not raise their child themselves. Or at least that's how it seems with the number of feral children that are allowed to run rampant in public spaces while their parents either sit idly by… or are nowhere to be seen at all. Some parents expect bystanders to raise their children for them, demanding a “teachable moment” from the stranger who dares call into ques…

What is the etiquette these days when it comes to public transport? Not to sound like an "old man shouting at clouds," but it really does seem like etiquette—along with mutual unspoken respect and other social decorum—has gone completely out the window. Still, along with that, and theoretically causal of the previous issue is that people just seem generally more entitled and individualistic, it's all about “me me me” and “what can be done that benefits me” rather than partaking in the upholding…

Family is… family—something that sort of just happens. Springing naturally through strong connections by blood, intentions, reciprocal care, or shared experiences. (Insert any of a number of quotes from Don Toretto about not turning your back on family and/or something about family being the most important thing here.) It's not something you can just force into existence, hoping that by sheer willpower, you'll convince the other members of the family you're trying to build that they should also…

Siblings… Really, what is there that isn't to be said? They can be your best friends, your fiercest competitors, or just the most awful people you've ever had the displeasure of being acquainted with. This 25-year-old woman moved in with her 23-year-old sister, giving up her perfectly good apartment just to move in with her sister when her sister relocated to the city for work. Difficulties began to rise, and trouble brewed when her sister began performing “harmless” pranks. They started small…

When you're planning the biggest event of your life, what is possibly a once-in-a-lifetime event, it's important to make sure you actually get to the planning part of it and not just leave essential parts to chance… this, coming from someone who is notoriously poor at planning beyond the end of the week. If you want to go on a trip that is going to require you to take time off work, you should probably make sure you request the time off work first so that you're not stuck with an already booked…

Weddings may be a celebration of the union of two people, but they're first and foremost an administrative marathon and a crash course in event planning—let's get that straight. The one thing you don't realize when you say “yes” is that you're not just saying “yes” to a ring; you're saying “Yes, I'd love to become a de facto event planner for the next year of my life as a second job." There's a lot going on and a ton to manage, and the entire time leading up to the big day is spent trying to en…

There are certain implied rules of engagement when it comes to celebrations, and it's generally expected that you'll let the person being celebrated have their moment and not do anything to steal their thunder by making major announcements of your own that are bound to generate buzz and get people talking about you. Of course, this is notoriously hard for some people who can't bear to not be the center of attention, which is why we end up with so many of these stories of entitled friends and fa…

People tend to get a little bit nutty over their dietary preferences. Still, there's a difference between a preference and a requirement… “I don't eat legumes because they make me a little gassy” is an entirely different ballpark than “Even a speck of gluten will cause my immune system to attack my organs or ”All the liquid in my blood will leave my blood vessels if this prawn touches me." Still some dietary preferences are deeply rooted in staunch and steadfast ethical quandry, so there's argu…