My sister and her wife are divorcing. They're telling their kids it's mutual, but I want to tell mine the truth.

Key Points:

• A reader asks if she should tell her teenagers the truth about her sister’s divorce, where the sister’s wife cheated, despite a therapist’s advice to present a unified, no-blame message for the sake of their 6-year-old son; the advice is to prioritize discretion and the child’s well-being over airing blame.
• Another parent seeks advice on managing her 5-year-old’s frequent complaints about minor or imaginary injuries; the recommendation is to implement a ranking system for the child to self-assess the severity and need for attention or medical care.
• A reader struggles with in-laws who frequently engage in body shaming and obsession with weight loss, worrying about the impact on her young daughters; the advice is to directly ask the in-laws to stop such talk around the children and to encourage healthy lifestyle activities instead, while also discussing body stereotypes with her kids.
• The column emphasizes the importance of discretion when sharing sensitive family matters with children, managing attention-seeking behavior in young kids, and addressing harmful family dynamics like body shaming in a straightforward but sensitive manner.