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Heading to the beach for Spring Break 2025? Rules to know for Alabama, Florida beaches

The beginning of March signals the return of warmer weather and the arrival of spring break activities.

For those with plans to attend beaches or beach towns along the Gulf Coast, understanding the rules and regulations for each location may help the ensure the experience is enjoyable.

For example, while Miami has been a premier destination for spring breakers, city officials instituted several measures in 2024 to address disorderly crowds and violence. The city intends to implement similar measures in 2025 to, “reinforce the message that the city is not interested in being a spring break party destination.”

Here are the rules/regulations for several spring break destinations on the Gulf Coast:

Gulf Shores

Pets are not allowed on any of the sand beaches in Gulf Shores. Pets are welcome at Gulf Place, but they may not travel on the sand beaches.
No glass or breakable containers
No alcoholic beverages on public beaches in Gulf Shores from March 1 until April 17.
No tents / canopies larger than 7 feet by 7 feet by 4 feet unless they are placed in a designated tent area
No fishing at Gulf Place
No tobacco and e-cigarettes
Motorized vehicles are prohibited
Holes can only be dug up to 12 inches. Those who dig are asked to cover holes for the safety of residents and visitors.
Fires, grills or cooking devices are prohibited
No fireworks, sky lanterns, sparklers
No drone operation
No solicitation
No walking or standing on sand dunes. Use beach walkovers and boardwalks where provided. Staying off the dunes will help us to preserve our dune system and the habitat it provides.
No entering the Gulf while double red flags are flying.
Beachgoers are advised not to leave any structures or equipment on the beach after leaving. Any structures or equipment left on the beach an hour after sunset until sunrise will be removed and disposed of by beach patrol except permitted beach services.

Orange Beach

Alcohol is allowed on the beach but glass containers are prohibited.
Dogs and bonfires are prohibited.
Fishing is allowed but chumming is prohibited.
Drones are prohibited unless a proper permit is provided.
No personal vehicles are allowed on the beach.
Camping is prohibited on any public beach.

Panama City Beach

Alcohol consumption and possession are prohibited on the beach during March.
Alcohol sales will not be allowed after 2 a.m. and until 7 a.m.
Alcohol is prohibited in parking lots or vehicles.
Riding on the exterior of vehicles, including sitting on windowsills, or standing through sunroofs, is strictly prohibited.
Loud music that disturbs the peace, or music heard more than 25 feet away, is illegal.
Loitering in vacant parking lots, in parking lots after a business closes, or on the shoulder of the road is prohibited.
Climbing, jumping from, or throwing objects from balconies is strictly prohibited.
No metal shovels are allowed on the beach.
Holes cannot be dug deeper than 2 feet. Beachgoers are asked to fill all holes after use for the safety of others.

Miami Beach

Consumption of alcohol in public is illegal.
It is illegal to smoke on beaches or in parks.
A curfew is expected to be released for 2025. In 2024, a curfew was implemented during March beginning at midnight until 6 a.m.
Narcotics and marijuana are illegal.
Driving under the influence is against the law.
It is illegal to drive a scooter or vehicle irresponsibly
No cigarettes.
Coolers, inflatable devices, tents or tables are prohibited
Loud music is not allowed.
Glass containers are prohibited
Styrofoam, plastic straws and balloons are prohibited.
Parking rates, such as $100 for non-residents, will be increased at certain locations throughout March.
The non-resident towing rate will be at least $530.
A DUI sobriety checkpoint will be in place along the 400 block of 5 Street starting at 7 p.m. between March 14-15 and March 21-22.

Destin

Alcohol is allowed on beaches but not public parks.
No curfew for adults, only for minors.
No pets are allowed
No fires or bonfires
No fireworks
No glass or glass containers are allowed
Littering and vehicles are prohibited on the beaches.

Fort Walton Beach

Glass containers are prohibited.
Alcohol is allowed but cannot come in glass containers.
No fires or bonfires are allowed.
Driving on the beach is not allowed.
Tents larger than 10 feet by 10 feet are not allowed.
Holes are prohibited from being larger than 3 feet by 3 feet and no deeper than 2 feet.

General

Asking Eric: Siblings worried about elderly mom’s future care

Dear Eric: My mom is almost 92 and is recovering from a stroke. She no longer drives; her poor motor skills don’t allow her to cook or handle hot items on a stove, nor shower or bathe herself.

My siblings and I agree that Mom needs to be in assisted living with nursing care, but one sibling insisted on looking after Mom herself. But she now realizes that it has become burdensome, and she can’t have her own life, see her friends or look after her own home.

Because I am retired, Sister thinks she can just snap her fingers, and I arrive to relieve her for a month or more at a time. I have no problem visiting mom, but her level of care is something I am not comfortable with.

Every time the topic of assisted living comes up, Sister has a different reason why she is against it. First, it was because assisted living facilities are “not nice places and hire sub-par people.” Then it was that assisted living is OK, but she doesn’t want to do it against mom’s will. (Mom has told her she wants to go.)

Then Sister said she wants a place with graduated care so mom wouldn’t have to move when she gets worse. The list goes on. While the rest of us siblings are thankful Sister has stepped in to look after mom, we knew it would eventually come to this. We are all married with families and homes of our own, we live in other states, but Sister is single and thinks it’s no longer her turn. Yes, she should be able to go on a vacation, go check on her house and have her life back. She could do all of that if she would just concede to mom going into assisted living. Mom has the funds to provide for her care. But Sister just thinks she can just do it better.

Thoughts on how to settle this?

– Care Conflict

Dear Care: I have sympathy for your sister – it’s clear she’s having trouble accepting what’s best for your mother right now. That struggle is preventing her from navigating this clearly. She may think that she (or you) can provide better care than an assisted-living facility with trained professionals, but that goes against your mother’s stated wishes for herself. And, with regard to some forms of care, that’s not true. Medical professionals are going to be better suited to support your mother and help her rehab from her stroke.

Your sister has some work to do internally, but the first priority is making sure that your mother’s desires are heard and honored. You, your siblings, and your mother should have a meeting where your mother is able to, again, confirm that she wants to move to an assisted-living facility. Reinforce to your siblings that the goal is to honor your mother’s wishes, not to debate. This is a planning meeting and discussion can come later, if at all.

One of the siblings – perhaps you, but not the sister who is currently caregiving – should take the lead on finding a facility that meets your mothers wants and needs, then getting her set up and acclimated. Your sister can have input, but she doesn’t get the final say.

Read more Asking Eric and other advice columns.

Send questions to R. Eric Thomas at [email protected] or P.O. Box 22474, Philadelphia, PA 19110. Follow him on Instagram and sign up for his weekly newsletter at rericthomas.com.

General

Power to the parents and small app developers with Alabama bill: op-ed

This is a guest opinion column

Last week, the Alabama House and Senate held hearings on the App Store Accountability Act, which would require app stores to age verify their users and acquire parental permission any time a child tries to download or purchase an app. The Senate has already resoundingly passed the bill out of committee.

This is a pro-parent bill. Nearly 90% of kids own a smartphone, where millions of apps are available through the app store. The app store is a child’s doorway into the galaxy of the internet, with all the dangers that it entails. Surely a bill that gives parents the power to say yes or no on behalf of their child to specific apps should be seen as pro-parent, pro-child, and pro-family.

But that’s not how some lobbyists who oppose the bill see it. For them, the parents are the problem—not Big Tech, not bullies or predators, just parents. Here’s what NetChoice lawyer Justin Hill said in his testimony against the bill: “I just want to say that companies do a great job of protecting children online, right? There’s been a breakdown around the country involving tech and children, and that breakdown primarily has been parents.”

According to NetChoice, Apple and Google’s mouthpiece, parents are to blame. Full stop. It’s not trillion-dollar smartphone giants who hold a powerful app store duopoly who are to blame for the chaos that their devices have introduced into the lives of our kids. The fault lies with us parents.

Apple and Google’s contempt for parents isn’t new.

As the former director of the National Center on Sexual Exploitation for 14 years and executive director of the Institute for Family Studies, respectively, we have both spent years trying to get these companies to update their parental controls to put parents in the driver’s seat. We have also both long argued Apple and Google fail to provide parents sufficient information “about potential risks from their products.”

For years, they have refused to prioritize safety as their loop-hole-ridden parental controls indicate—and not because they lacked the ability. It was only after several states like Alabama introduced legislation that Apple caved and announced new parental controls. It’s a step in the right direction, to be sure. But it ultimately falls short because parents still won’t have final say over what apps their kids can download.

Parental controls are just not prioritized – meaning parental authority and child safety, quite evidently, are the last things on Apple and Google’s minds.

Recently, Meta, X, and Snapchat have publicly supported this legislation. Lobbyists have tried to use this fact as a weapon to sink it. As fierce critics of Meta in the past, we never thought we’d

be on the same side as any of these companies related to child safety, but welcome anyone backing this common-sense solution. This legislation makes sense because Apple and Google already have the capacity to verify the ages of users – they already input their age during setup.

During the hearing, Representative Ernie Yarbrough, owner of a small app development business, said “I completely understand.” Setting up the family plan of a smartphone “is hard” for grandparents and parents, “who feel so unprepared to deal with something they feel is really important.” This bill, he suggested, would make it easier for them to guide the online experiences of their kids.

It wrongly appears Apple is keeping above the fray in Alabama. In reality, a lobbyist representing the App Association has been opposing this legislation across the country while claiming to represent small app developers. In reality, the App Association has been exposed as a front for Apple, deriving “more than half its funding” from Apple, who takes a steep 30% cut from app developers they claim to represent.

Parents don’t need contempt. They need help. In response to years of getting the cold shoulder from these smartphone giants, NCOSE and IFS have joined with more than 50 child advocacy organizations to form the Digital Childhood Alliance, which is calling on lawmakers states across the country, including Alabama, to pass common-sense app store accountability legislation.

Apple and Google can ignore parents. Lawmakers shouldn’t.

Michael Toscano is executive director of the Institute for Family Studies and director of the Family First Technology Initiative.

Dawn Hawkins is Senior Advisor of the National Center on Sexual Exploitation.

General

Top returning defensive players for Auburn football in 2025

We are three weeks away from the first day of spring practices for Auburn football.

After making defensive coordinator DJ Durki n one of the highest-paid coordinators in college football, Auburn’s defense is expected to reach new heights in 2025.

The Tigers finished 28th in the country in points allowed per game and 31st in yards allowed per game last season.

Tied for 44th overall with 28 total sacks in the country, Auburn recovered five fumbles ranking top 20 in rush defense and picked off opponents eight times in 2024.

A lot of the production from the defense last year came from its newcomers. However, the veteran presence helped set the foundation for this upcoming season.

Here’s a list of players who will have the most impact on the Tigers defense in 2025:

Keldric Faulk, DL

Arguably one of the best players on the Tigers roster, Faulk cemented himself as the anchoring piece of the Tigers defensive line.

Faulk finished last year with 45 total tackles and seven sacks. He added 11.0 tackles for loss to his sophomore campaign now sitting at 81 career tackles as a Tiger.

His three tackles and two sacks at Kentucky earned him SEC defensive lineman of week. Faulk recorded back-to-back sacks and a team-high 8 tackles against Cal, further showcasing his takeover abilities.

Demarcus Riddick, LB

Riddick’s 27 total tackles, five tackles for loss, three sacks, a pass deflection and a forced fumble has former Auburn players excited for his sophomore season.

“He’s super talented in terms of everything he brings to the game,” Eugene Asante said at the NFL Scouting Combine. “He’s a fast downhill type of linebacker and I know he is going to blossom into a great player.”

After his week four performance against the Oklahoma Sooners with five solo tackles and a sack, Riddick played a key role in the Tigers defensive gameplan and will be a starter in 2025.

Malik Blocton, DL

In his college debut against Alabama A&M, Blocton wasted no time with three tackles, a sack and two tackles for loss.

Three games later he made his first start against Oklahoma and never looked back. Blocton finished the year with 16 tackles, 1.5 sacks and 4.0 tackles for loss.

“It was a lot of freshmen making an impact early on the defensive line,” KeAndre Lambert-Smith said at the NFL Scouting Combine. “You got guys like Malik Blocton down there ready to prove to everyone he’s a guy.”

Jay Crawford, DB

SEC All-Freshman, Crawford, became a starter around the halfway point of the season and ended the year with a 78.3 coverage grade.

Crawford finished with 15 tackles, seven pass breakups and eight pass deflections. He picked off his first pass in a conference matchup against Kentucky earning him Pro Football Focus team of the week and 247sports true freshman of week.

“We went at it every day,” Lambert-Smith said at the NFL Scouting Combine. “I saw it in him, and I made sure I challenged him to make sure he was ready.”

Keyron Crawford, LB

The transfer outside linebacker showed flashes of how dangerous he can be in coach Durkin’s scheme.

Despite being only credited one tackle against Kentucky, He was the highest graded Tigers defender according to Pro Football Focus that week. He finished with three pressures and three QB hurries.

With just 18 tackles last year, Crawford is due for a breakout season as one of the returning veterans on the Tigers defense.

Kaleb Harris, S

Harris finished with 48 tackles and three pass breakups in the Tigers secondary. In his first Iron Bowl, he totaled nine tackles and a forced a fumble.

At the NFL Scouting Combine, Lambert-Smith said he spent the most time with Harris and believes his sophomore season will turn heads.

“Kaleb is my guy and he’s really mature for his age,” Lambert-Smith said. “We would have talks in the facility all the time and he would ask me a lot of questions for his development.”

Sylvester Smith, S

In six starts last season, Smith finished with 29 tackles and a 33-yard interception against Arkansas.

Possibly starting in the secondary with Harris and Crawford next year, Smith will be a name to watch for in the spring.

Champ Anthony, DB

Before his season-ending leg injury, Anthony was on pace to becoming a vital piece in the Tigers secondary last year.

With a team-best six tackles against New Mexico, Anthony was named a captain that game and gained the trust from his teammates and coaches.

If he’s healthy enough to play, you can expect him back in the starting rotation this fall.

First day of spring practice for Auburn football is scheduled for March 25.

Jerry Humphrey III covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @Jerryhump3 or email him at [email protected].

General

Miss Manners: I stood my ground when an older couple wanted my prime seat

DEAR MISS MANNERS: My child’s choir held a concert at a large, historic church. I arrived early and took a seat on the center aisle, where I would have the best view of the singers.

A short time later, an older couple arrived and asked to share my pew. I stood up to allow them to enter. The gentleman indicated that I should go ahead of them, to which I replied that I would like to stay on the aisle. They seemed taken aback and walked off to find other seats.

Does etiquette dictate that those arriving first to an event held in a church must always move to the middle of the pew? Or, as I thought, is it equally polite to stand and allow others to enter?

GENTLE READER: You acted politely within the facts you describe. But before anyone condemns the elderly couple, Miss Manners will also commend you on a second point: not tackling them in the aisle.

Perhaps they are regular parishioners who sit in these seats every Sunday and had, mistakenly, come to think of them as theirs. Perhaps they have a disability issue and therefore wanted you to move aside — but omitted the necessary politeness of asking you to do so.

If either of these things had been true, your staying put would still not have been impolite. But perhaps their surprise at your refusal to relocate would not have rankled as much, had you known their reasons for asking.

Please send your questions to Miss Manners at missmanners.com, by email to [email protected], or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.

General

Dear Abby: I got some family member sick and now they won’t speak to me

DEAR ABBY: My son and his wife have quit speaking to my husband and me because I gave them COVID. At their invitation, we took a trip with them to Hawaii. I began feeling ill on the plane and tested positive the next day. A couple days later, my son got sick, and then a few days later, his wife got it. I told them repeatedly how sorry I was that I’d infected them and spoiled their vacation.

We always had a close relationship — frequent phone calls, visits, dinners, etc. — but for the last six weeks, nothing. He told his brother he was furious because I tried to “kill” them. I’m at a loss about what to do, if anything. What would Dear Abby do? — GUILTY IN CALIFORNIA

DEAR GUILTY: What Dear Abby would do is give your son some time to cool off and then reach out and apologize again. He needs to grow up. You didn’t make anyone sick on purpose, and it just as easily could have been your son or daughter-in-law infecting you.

Read more Dear Abby and other advice columns.

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

General

Should a late-season loss cause concern for Auburn basketball? Here’s what history suggests

After achieving the highest of regular season highs over the weekend, Auburn men’s basketball was brought back down Tuesday night, losing on the road to Texas A&M.

It came just three days after the Tigers clinched the Southeastern Conference regular season championship with a win over Kentucky. Tuesday’s performance was almost night and day from Saturday’s, a day where Auburn won in Rupp Arena for the first time since 1988.

Auburn’s 83-72 loss to Texas A&M was its largest defeat of the season and the Aggies’ first win over an AP No. 1 team in program history.

In terms of conference implications, there was nothing riding on Tuesday’s game for Auburn. Even when looking ahead to the NCAA Tournament, Auburn had likely already locked up a one-seed and a road Quad I loss shouldn’t do too much to hurt Auburn’s chances at the No. 1 overall seed.

However, that doesn’t make a late-season, double-digit loss any easier to take. But despite a dominant season up to this point, should a late season loss like Tuesday’s be reason for concern?

It’s not totally uncommon for top teams, even championship teams to lose unexpectedly late in the season. College basketball seasons are long, and it’s nearly impossible to run the table, especially in a league as tough as the SEC.

For example, last season’s Alabama team that made the Final Four lost four of its last six games before March Madness, including a 22-point loss to Kentucky and two double-digit losses to Florida. That didn’t stop the Crimson Tide from winning four straight games in the big dance to reach its first Final Four in program history.

Even last season’s seemingly impenetrable UConn suffered a 19-point loss to Creighton on Feb. 20, four games before the end of the regular season.

These losses can come down to a number of things, and sometimes the variables are out of the team’s control. Against Texas A&M Tuesday night, Auburn was without its starting point guard and top perimeter defender Denver Jones, who would have helped against the Aggies’ dynamic guards.

Sometimes an unexpected loss can come down to late-season fatigue, which becomes even easier to slip into if, like Auburn, there’s nothing left to play for in the regular season.

Baylor’s 2021 team — a group that won the national championship — had all but already secured a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament when it began its journey in the Big 12 Tournament.

The Bears had been dominant all season, ranking in the KenPom top three for the entire campaign. But with no real NCAA Tournament implications in the conference tournament, Baylor fell in the semifinals to Oklahoma State, a tough loss to take going into the NCAA Tournament.

That didn’t stop Baylor from completing a dominant run to a national championship, even beating an undefeated and loaded Gonzaga team by 16 in the championship game.

Even Auburn’s Final Four team in 2019 lost by 27 to Kentucky on the road in late February. It was only fitting that a win over the Wildcats in the Elite Eight sent Auburn to its first Final Four in program history.

All of this is to say that one loss — or even a few losses — doesn’t necessarily mean a team is falling apart going into the postseason.

Are there examples of late-season form being a warning sign for the postseason? Sure. Auburn’s 2022 team that spent three weeks as the No. 1 team in the country lost two of its final four games before March Madness — one of them to Texas A&M — and suffered an early exit in the second round.

That team started the season 22-1, but went 6-5 in its final 11 games, including the 18-point loss to seven-seed Miami in the NCAA Tournament Round of 32.

Houston last season is another team that may have been rocked by a late-season setback. The Cougars finished the regular season 28-3, winning the Big 12 outright and spending most of the campaign ranked No. 1 in KenPom.

However, Houston’s last game before the NCAA Tournament was a 69-41 drubbing at the hands of Iowa State. Houston still earned a No. 1 seed, but barely survived a scare from Texas A&M in the second round and lost to Duke in the Sweet Sixteen.

Only time will truly tell what the fate of this year’s Auburn team will be, but if its resume is any indication, it’s more than capable of competing with and beating any team in the country.

One SEC road loss to a top 25 team in early March doesn’t change that.

Peter Rauterkus covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @peter_rauterkus or email him at [email protected]m

General

Justin Thomas has a mid-match ‘Roll Tide’ for Nick Dunlap

While FaceTiming Justin Thomas during the Atlanta Drive Golf Club’s TGL match on Tuesday night, Billy Horschel told the former Alabama All-American that the team had found his replacement in Nick Dunlap. But Thomas, who deemed that comment “rude,” still had a “Roll Tide” for his fellow Crimson Tide alumnus during the match.

With Thomas sitting out Atlanta’s match against Jupiter Links Golf Club on Tuesday, the Drive signed Dunlap to a one-game contract to complete the regular season. With Dunlap playing with Horschel and Lucas Glover, Atlanta posted a 9-1 victory over Jupiter’s Tiger Woods, Max Homa and Tom Kim.

Thomas will be back in Atlanta’s lineup when the Drive starts the inaugural TGL playoffs.

The playoffs begin at 6 p.m. CDT March 17, when the top-seeded Los Angeles Golf Club plays the fourth-seeded New York Golf Club. ESPN2 and ESPN+ will televise the match.

In the other semifinal, the second-seeded Bay Golf Club and the third-seeded Drive square off at 6 p.m. March 18. ESPN and ESPN+ will televise the match.

The best-of-three finals will start at 8 p.m. March 24, with the second match at 6 p.m. March 25, followed by Match 3 if necessary.

Since earning National Freshman of the Year and National Player of the Year awards in 2012 at Alabama and playing on the Crimson Tide’s 2013 NCAA championship team, Thomas has won 15 times on the PGA Tour, including the PGA Championship in 2017 and 2022.

Dunlap is in his first full season on the PGA Tour.

On Jan. 21, 2024, Dunlap stunned the golf world by winning The American Express as a 20-year-old sophomore member of the Alabama men’s golf team. He became the first amateur to win a PGA Tour event since Phil Mickelson in 1991. The victory gave Dunlap the opportunity to accept immediate membership on the PGA Tour.

Dunlap won again on July 21, capturing the Barracuda Championship to become the first player in PGA Tour history to win as an amateur and a professional in the same season.

In December, Dunlap received the Arnold Palmer Award, presented annually to the PGA Tour Rookie of the Year.

The TGL is a golf venture from Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy that is playing its first season. The TGL features six teams of PGA Tour golfers competing in a league format at a high-tech venue with seating for 1,500 spectators in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

Golfers hit shots off tee boxes with real grass, fairway, rough and sand into a 64-by-53-foot simulator screen until they’re within 50 yards of the cup on 15 named holes, including the Spear, Riptide and Serpent.

After that, the virtual golf switches to shots played at the GreenZone, an adaptable green featuring 600 underground devices to change the slope of the putting surface from hole to hole.

Each match features three players from each four-man team. They compete in an alternate-shot format for nine holes, then switch to singles competition for the final six, with each golfer playing two holes.

Dunlap played Homa on the individual holes on Tuesday night and came away with one point for a win on the 13th hole.

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at @AMarkG1.

General

High surf advisory for Mobile and Baldwin counties until 3 a.m. Thursday – breaking waves of 4 to 7 feet expected

On Wednesday at 4:54 a.m. a high surf advisory was issued by the National Weather Service in effect until Thursday at 3 a.m. for Mobile and Baldwin counties.

The weather service adds to anticipate, “Large breaking waves of 4 to 7 feet in the surf zone.”

“Dangerous swimming and surfing conditions and localized beach erosion. Rip currents can sweep even the best swimmers away from shore into deeper water,” states the weather service. “Inexperienced swimmers should remain out of the water due to dangerous surf conditions. Swim near a lifeguard. If caught in a rip current, relax and float. Don’t swim against the current. If able, swim in a direction following the shoreline. If unable to escape, face the shore and call or wave for help.”

Advance Local Weather Alerts is a service provided by United Robots, which uses machine learning to compile the latest data from the National Weather Service.

General

Dear Annie: I caught my stepson stealing from me

Dear Annie: I’ve been married for 23 years, but my husband’s 31-year-old son has been a constant source of conflict. He’s manipulative, turns his father against me, and has lived with us multiple times due to homelessness, jail and house arrest.

Recently, I caught him going through my purse, and he only attempted a weak apology over the phone, which I didn’t accept — so he never apologized again.

I’ve had to install security cameras just to feel safe. He has a history of failed relationships and issues with women, yet my husband refuses to see the problem because he desperately wants a relationship with him. The tension is unbearable; I have no peace at home and feel like checking out emotionally just to cope.

How do I reclaim my home and my sanity when my husband refuses to set boundaries? — Stepson Problem

Dear Stepson Problem: You don’t have a stepson problem; you have a husband problem. His refusal to set boundaries is enabling his son’s behavior at your expense. At 31, this man is not a troubled child; he is a grown adult creating chaos in your home.

Have a serious talk with your husband. Make it clear that you will no longer tolerate being disrespected, manipulated or feeling unsafe in your own home. If he refuses to put your marriage and well-being first, you may need to consider your own next steps — whether that means separating yourself emotionally, physically or both.

Your home should be your sanctuary, not a battleground. Take control of your peace.

Read more Dear Annie and other advice columns.

“How Can I Forgive My Cheating Partner?” is out now! Annie Lane’s second anthology — featuring favorite columns on marriage, infidelity, communication and reconciliation — is available as a paperback and e-book. Visit Creators Publishing for more information. Send your questions for Annie Lane to [email protected].