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There are plenty of nice reasons to get married, but increasingly the basic experience of being married doesn't seem all that different from simply living together without ever making it legal—or living in sin, as our grandmothers like to call it. Now there's some new research that proves that the line between marriage and cohabitation has been blurred to such an extent that it's barely visible. More »
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Here's a very sad story with an even sadder ending. Earlier this week, Darlene Gilkey, a 59-year-old woman with terminal cancer, watched as her husband, Paul Gilkey, fatally shot her son and her two sisters in front of her while she lay in a hospital bed in her living room. Apparently, there had been a dispute over whether Darlene should be served tea and toast or an orange, and her husband became so enraged that he shot the three people before also killing himself. More »
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Viktor and Aneta Urich have just welcomed their 100th grandchild into the world. Their newest grandson, Henry, was born two weeks ago, and the couple, who live in Grande Prairie, Alberta, are thrilled to add yet another grandkid to the list: "We were happy and we were waiting for it. We want to have a party in the church with all the family together." More »
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For me, a big part of the pleasure of giving a loved one a gift is in the wrapping. I'm not planning to give or receive many gifts this year — I have enough stuff, for real — but I get such a kick out of wrapping presents that the rest of my family tends to delegate all their gift-wrapping to me. With a few mugs of mulled wine and a podcast or two on the stereo, it's fun and an easy way to be creative on a small scale. And you don't have to spend a bunch of money on paper and ribbons, either. You can wrap great-looking presents with stuff you probably already have on hand. More »
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Much unlike many a magazine editor who recommends you buy all sorts of crap that they most likely got for free, your Jezebel staff doesn't get jack shit (other than books, unsolicited). And that's how it should be. But on our own time, in our personal lives, we still buy stuff. So this is Worth It, our recommendation of random things that we've actually spent our own money on. These are the things we buy regularly or really like, things we'd actually tell our friends about. And now we're telling you. More »
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A new study may identify a major source of maternal stress: moms multitask more than dads do, and they also hate it more. More »
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A mean boss can apparently screw up your life at home as well as at work — a new study shows that people with "abusive supervision" in their jobs can take it out on their partners. More »
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Is there anything more fun than being under surveillance by the Friends and Family Food Police at the holidays?  There are only a couple of things that I can think of –- root canal, shaving my head with a cheese grater, a fish hook in my eye… More »
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Ah, Thanksgiving: the one holiday with the sole purpose of gathering family together and forcing them to sit through an entire meal. The question is, where, exactly, you will be seated. Next to your cousin with an insatiable appetite? Directly across from your creepy uncle so that eye contact is unavoidable? Downwind of your lactose-intolerant Grandmother who just can't help herself from a large helping of macaroni and cheese? College Humor has come up with a flowchart to determine your placement, and in turn, fate this coming Thursday. More »
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We've seen lots of research on the effect of birth order on children — but what about birth spacing? A new study shows that spacing kids out may be good for them — or at least the older ones. More »
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Three years ago, Jackie DeVita died of cancer, and within a few months her sister Colleen Leary had moved into her home, started caring for her three children, and married her husband. The story sounds a bit Shakespearean, but thankfully no one in the family shares Hamlets feelings on women marrying their brother-in-law shortly after a funeral. Yet, it's still a bizarre tale, and not just because we've grown to frown upon romance among in-laws. More »
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Maurice and Katisha Gordon were planning to conceive a second child using IVF, so after he was murdered in June 2010 by a gunman targeting his cousin, Katisha decided to go forward with their plan. She conceived using leftover embryos from the first procedure and on July 26 she delivered a baby girl named Zoe. "The baby is beautiful, but it is sad at the same time because Maurice is written all over her face," says Maurice's sister Dionne Gordon. "He was a such a father figure to Zoe, and he doesn't have that opportunity to do it with Paige." More »
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Even the healthiest families may wind up squabbling a bit over the holidays, but in the coming weeks the Supreme Court may reconsider how we should handle family conflicts so bad that the generations will only gather together if the court schedules a hearing. Eleven years ago, the Supreme Court ruled that when grandparents sue for visitation with their grandchildren, competent parents' wishes must get top priority. Now grandparents across the country are pushing lawmakers across the country to recognize their right to see their grandkids. More »
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The story of the two 12-year-old girls who recently discovered they were switched at birth has sparked a huge controversy in Russia over "birth houses." People are complaining that they handle too many patients and women are treated brusquely, occasionally leading to similar mix ups. Anya and Irina's families each received $100,000 in compensation, and they say they'll use the money to build houses next to each other so they can raise the children together. More »
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The most recent episode of Anderson Cooper's daytime talk show featured two mothers who admitted — on national television — that they have a favorite child. One of which was Laura Bennett, otherwise known as the sassy, pregnant contestant on Project Runway, season three. (Note to Anderson booking team: great work, keep the reality has-beens a-coming! ) For those curious about what this almost-designer has been up to since Runway, I'll just tell you now: fostering what she calls "a healthy competition" between her six sons in which the compete to be the favorite child. She began her appearance on by saying, More »
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When Yuliya Belyaeva got divorced earlier this year, her ex-husband refused to pay child support because he insisted their 12-year-old daughter Irina looked nothing like him. A paternity test revealed that he isn't related to the girl — and neither is Yuliya. Irina was switched at birth with another baby in the hospital. More »
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Much like you and me, kids need food to survive. The smallest of all kids — babies — need food every hour. As they age, thankfully, the time between feedings grows and so you're more able to find something to read or possibly leave your house for an extended period of time. More »
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Happy holidays! More »
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Many parents try to shield their children from the wilder, stranger, or more upsetting stories from their pre-parenting lives. But is there a right time to tell these tales to kids? And what do kids get from them? More »
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A study of low-income families published in the journal Child Development found that boys who are unusually difficult as toddlers often continue to fight with their mothers as they grow older and have a worse relationship with them as teens. Those who stayed close to their mothers through their adolescence were less likely to engage in delinquent behavior and developed stronger relationships with their best friends. Of course, it is possible for a mother to be too close to her son, as evidenced by the Motherboy XXX fiasco. More »
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It turns out the recession has a silver (haired) lining — kids are spending more time with their grandparents. But this may bode ill for future generations. More »
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While the two families have nearly the same number of children (18), you shouldn't dare confuse the Bates family with the Duggars. Sure, they're lifelong friends, and have even appeared on the Duggars' reality show 19 Kids And Counting, but the Bates family lives a much more modest and simple life — far, far away from reality TV cameras. More »
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Here's a tale that's definitely worthy of at least a I Didn't Know I Was In Labor TLC special: Danielle Edward woke up at 2 a.m. to find she'd entirely skipped preliminary labor pains and her baby was already crowning. Edwards couldn't move, but she realized her 12-year-old son Gaelan had snuck out of bed to watch TV and called him into the room. She says: More »
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Usually at Social Minefield we discuss ways to interact with people, but today we'll be talking about how not to interact — specifically, how to get alone time when you need it. People who are introverted may find that they need regular bouts of solitude to recharge, but everybody needs a breather from company sometimes. Here's how to achieve that without making your friends mad. More »
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While battles for marriage equality are going on across the country, the issues surrounding gay adoption are slipping under the radar — and that may be a good thing. In recent years it's become a bit easier for gays to adopt, and so far it seems conservatives are too distracted by denying others their civil rights to do much about it. More »
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According to a new study, long commutes aren't just annoying — they could also increase the risk of divorce. More »
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Reports of Osama Bin Laden's death consistently mentioned a daughter, aged 12 or 13, who may have watched him die. What do we know about this girl, her life, and her future? More »
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The Long Goodbye is Meghan O'Rourke's memoir about her mother's death from colorectal cancer and her own grieving process. In this excerpt, O'Rourke, her brothers Liam and Eamon, and family friend Diana have an emotional encounter with O'Rourke's mom, who is beginning to suffer confusion as a result of her illness. More »
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Some of us avoid conflict with our loved ones because we don't want to piss them off or rock the boat. But having healthy arguments can be an important part of a relationship. Here's how to do it. More »
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Ever feel like you're vicariously living your loved ones' stressful experiences? There could be a biological explanation: during such times, your heart rate may actually synchronize with theirs. More »
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Not everything coming out of the House of Representatives lately is toxic. Here's something to get excited about: the Every Child Deserves a Family Act, which would "ban discrimination in adoption or foster care placement based on the sexual orientation, marital status or gender identity of the potential parent, or the sexual orientation or gender identity of the child." More »
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A Detroit mom's refusal to give her daughter antipsychotic medication has touched off a police standoff and swirling controversy — but now officials say the teen may not need the drugs in the first place. More »
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One popular explanation for the dearth of women in science and engineering fields has been that women freely choose to leave these fields in order to spend more time with family. However, a new report shows that, at least for engineering, that isn't the whole story. More »
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Scientists have found that parents who constantly yap about how much they love having children may be exaggerating to reassure themselves that Junior isn't just a human money pit who'll give them the Grandpa Simpson treatment as soon as they get old. More »
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New rules that will take effect this week will end the practice of social workers stopping white adoptive couples from adopting non-white babies from inside the UK system. The move is designed to help more non-white children find permanent homes, and while a move making adoption easier is to be applauded, it seems a little silly that a rule like this existed in the first place. More »
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Facebook has been getting a bad rap lately, but one study says it could actually make us more sociable — kind of. More »
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My mother visited from Wisconsin this weekend, and before she arrived, I had to perform a now-familiar sweep of my place to assure that by the time she left, she wasn't convinced that her adult daughter was a deviant. More »
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At 41, Melanie Thernstrom wanted children, but every IVF cycle failed. She turned to surrogacy, but she wanted two kids, and worried about the risks of twins. So she found two women, already mothers, to carry a third woman's eggs. More »
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The family-intense holidays of 2010 are now behind us, wrapping paper balled up and thrown away, gift receipts sorted, and leftovers packaged in Tupperware, but the memory of the stupid crap your relatives said this year is forever. Let's share! More »
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