ArcaMax

Q. My child tells me that she can do various things at her mother’s home that she can’t do at mine. It seems to me that there are no rules over there, and it makes me look unreasonable. I think my ex is doing this on purpose, so the kids will prefer her home. What’s good ex-etiquette?

A. My first question is, how do you know?

You said ...Read more

We often race one another clearing the table after dinner. It’s not an overt race with running shoes, numbers strapped to our chests and the crack of a starting pistol, but a low-key, passive-aggressive, run-walk type race.

I move toward the sink with a dish holding the scattered remains of a lone chicken enchilada. He pulls back his chair; I...Read more

Bedtime picture books have a tricky job. They need to be engaging enough to hold a wiggly child’s attention, yet calming enough to carry that child toward sleep. Suzanne Hobbs’s "The Sleepy Snake" manages both beautifully, and it does so with a charm that makes it a book parents will be happy to read night after night.

Snake has had a full ...Read more

When I say I’m a lover of book clubs, I’m not kidding. I belong to six of them. That’s right, six.

Each is different in terms of frequency and focus, but they all have one thing in common: our most riveting conversations come from books that aren’t necessarily everybody’s favorites.

When books push us or make us feel uncomfortable—...Read more

How do you get kids to stop spending so much time in the virtual world? It’s pretty obvious: Give them back the real one.

Kids desperately need free time, with each other, in person, in a place their parents let them go. That’s a pretty simple ask — it’s what you did after school, right? Hung out with friends? But right now it’s not ...Read more

'CLAYFACE'

Rated R for strong bloody violence, gore, language, some nudity and brief drug use.

What it’s about: In this tale featuring a deep-cut DC Comics character, a promising young actor, mutilated by a gangster, seeks out an experimental treatment with extreme side effects.

The kid attractor factor: Pretty violent for kids, this is ...Read more

Could someone please explain how a person sitting in the front seat of a vehicle can be labeled a backseat driver? A backseat driver would be someone in the back seat.

Fortunately, a specific label is of little concern to me as I am ambidextrous and can direct from either the front or the back.

My husband is a lucky guy. I remind him all the ...Read more

LONDON — AI is rewriting classroom and workplace rules, leaving parents, teachers and children unsure about how best to prepare for what lies ahead.

In these early days of AI evolution, experts suggest parents help guide their kids through the new technology as much as possible. But the reality is that the world of AI is a scary one for many ...Read more

"The Weight of One Pomegranate" is the second YA novel, also highly recommended for adult readers, of notable author Brynne Rebele-Henry, Fulbright scholar and graduate student at the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution.

While savoring the precise fine prose, you might linger to re-read certain passages in this ...Read more

One of my most anticipated reads of the year is finally here! "The Sixth Faction" by Veronica Roth is a new adventure into the world of "Divergent," retelling the bulk of the original story, but an alternate version of it.

The story opens essentially the same way as the original book, with Beatrice Prior preparing to take the aptitude test, ...Read more

I didn’t need a national report to tell me what single mothers need to survive because I’ve been there; I’ve lived it.

In partnership with the Urban Institute, my group, the Jeremiah Program— a national nonprofit working to make economic mobility possible for single mothers and their children — published “Elevating Their Voices: ...Read more

'WHALEFALL'

Rated PG-13 for peril, violent content, bloody images, some strong language, and thematic content.

What it’s about: A young man, grieving his father, sets out for a dive to find some of his remains, and is swallowed by a sperm whale. He has an hour of oxygen to escape.

The kid attractor factor: This is a gnarly survival thriller...Read more

I blame Merriam-Webster. They define “we” as a plural pronoun when everybody knows “we” most often means another person in the room.

For example, we are eating a stuffed crust pizza and I say, “We need to watch what we eat,” meaning my better half might want to lighten up on the late-night ice cream.

“We” is most often a subtle...Read more

Q. Halloween falls on my ex’s night this year, and I’m really disappointed. Our kids are 6 and 9, and I’ve always taken them trick-or-treating. I asked if I could come along, but my ex said no because it’s her parenting time. I think we should both be able to participate in special occasions regardless of whose night it is. What’s good...Read more

What would the world look like if the Cold War still raged on?

"Winterveil" by bestselling author Ava Reid ( "A Study in Drowning," "Fable for the End of the World" ) dives headfirst into that dystopian future, inviting us into the lives of four students/inmates at Valeran Academy, an academy where the United States sends exceptional young ...Read more