Dear Abby: My Stepmom Lies About Being a Retired Nurse and Gives Me the Worst Parenting Advice

Dear ABBY: My husband and I had a child right around the time my father remarried. I didn’t know my new stepmother well when she started giving me parenting advice. The thing is, her beliefs don’t align with mine and also go against advice from the CDC or the American Academy of Pediatrics. Some examples: She insists that breastfeeding is stunting baby growth (she’s good), that babies should be put to bed face down (dangerous), and that holding a baby in a car is as good as a car seat car (?!). I do my best to smile, nod and go about my business but she’s really pushy and keeps saying she was a nurse so she knows what she’s talking about.

After hearing about that nursing experience many times, I asked her son about it and it turns out she earned a nursing assistant degree by correspondence and failed twice before barely passing. She has never worked as a nurse.

Being direct with him hasn’t helped. Talking to dad didn’t help (they are newlyweds). Leaving doesn’t help – she haunts me. What choice do I have but to ban her from my house (or crash, which would be effective, but not the way I want to go)? – OPPOSED IN OHIO

DEAR AGAINST: Because Dad refuses to admit that his daughter-in-law has misrepresented herself, pray that he stays in good health and does not give her his power of attorney for health care. As for her unsolicited and inaccurate childcare advice, listen up, smile sweetly, and exercise your option as a mother to not follow her. Continue to breastfeed, place your baby in the crib as instructed by trusted sources, and never, EVER, let him hold the child while in the car. It is against the law and can be fatal.

Dear ABBY: I have been married to my husband “Marku” for 13 years. During this time, I realized that marrying him was a mistake. His parents didn’t have a healthy marriage and I know he doesn’t know what love is. His father often traveled for work and carried a mistress by his side. However, my mother-in-law stayed in the marriage.

Mark is very selfish. I snore. When I do, my husband will wake me up with either a loud noise, plugging my nose, or shaking me. He says he can’t sleep when I snore. I suggested that he use headphones like when listening to music. His ex-wife also said that he was difficult to marry. I am 59 years old and confident enough to be single. Your thoughts? — READY FOR CHANGE IN MICHIGAN

Dear GATI: Because you’ve felt almost from the beginning of your 13-year marriage that it was a mistake, I’m thinking it’s time to discuss this with an attorney who can explain what a divorce means for your financial future. . Mark’s ex-wife may have been on the right track when she left.

Dear Abby was written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at http://www.DearAbby.com or PO Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.