ArcaMax

This man is your father-in-law. I assume that you have a spouse on the scene and that this person is your father-in-law’s child. You should encourage your spouse to approach this topic from a place of disclosure and honesty, but your spouse should make some basic choices about the timing.

If your father-in-law’s unlawful acts resulted in a televised depiction of his corruption, your children will find it if they Google his name.

After your father-in-law’s death, obituaries might note some of these scandals and crimes, inspiring your children to ask you about his history. You should point them toward accurate sources for information, and encourage them to ask family members about their grandfather’s role in this terrible and tragic history.

They might expect some defensive responses or even stonewalling from family members, which is why they should seek more accurate or media sources for this information.

Dear Amy: My wife and I have three teenage children. They are good kids and all are doing well in school.

The issue I have concerns my idea to reward the kids by letting them have a couple of extra days off of school before spring break because we were planning to fly to a resort and our flight leaves at a very early hour on Saturday. I thought it would be good for them to rest up on Thursday and prepare for the trip on Friday.

I told the kids about this idea and they were totally on board.

My wife has now totally dug in about this. She is someone who doesn’t believe in taking breaks from school unless they are sick, and she is very strict about this.

She is mad at me and I’m not sure what to do.

– Upset Dad

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