There are too many excellent advice columns to keep up with, so we're committed to bringing you links to the best advice column questions and answers every week. Here's a roundup of the most interesting, thought-provoking and surprising questions that our favorite columnists addressed in recent days.

Should I Tell My Teenage Daughter I’m Planning To Cut Her Off Financially In Five Months?

I've decided to basically cut off my daughter once she's finished high school, which will be just over five months from now. She didn't do anything wrong. I'm not eager to be rid of her, and I could easily continue to provide her basic needs, but I won't.

I myself lived with my parents into my 20s, but I feel like this did me no favors. I’ve come to believe in “sink or swim” and “hard knock” life philosophies. So please don't argue about this decision.

My only question is when and how to deliver this news to my daughter. I don't want to ruin her birthday or the rest of her senior year, so I may wait until after graduation to tell her she's on her own.

I’ve been trying to instill frugality, budgeting and saving, but my daughter doesn't yet know how important that will soon be for her. If she knew now, she might be better prepared, but I can see how the stress from this might actually be detrimental overall.

My daughter and I have a tender, loving relationship, and I'm sure she will be surprised to find out she's being turned away. Or maybe she will surprise me and fly the nest without being pushed. She actually told me months ago that I shouldn't pay for college; that is actually what got me started down this road.

I hope to still have a relationship with her after this, but I will understand if she doesn't speak to me for a while. Should I continue to gently lead my daughter toward independence without letting on that it will be forced? Or do I need to inform her now that she will be on her own come summer? Again, my decision is firm in that regard, so please don't argue there.

[The Penny Hoarder]

Robin Hartill begs the letter writer to reconsider their plan. “I don’t think you grasp how much things have changed since you were a young adult,” she writes. “Higher education and housing costs have exploded.” Read the rest of her answer.

What Should My Friend Do After Her Boss Called Her Pretending To Be CPS And Then Punished Her For Being Upset?

I am writing this on behalf of a friend, who I’ll call Wendy. Wendy works for a company that provides daycare, a perk for her. By all accounts, she seems to be a decent mom. One day at work, she received a call claiming to be from Child Protective Services accusing her of abuse and neglect. She was on the verge of a breakdown when the caller laughed and revealed herself to be her boss, Winnifred. Winnifred laughed over the “joke.” Wendy was shaken and disturbed, and wound up mentioning it to another coworker. Winnifred later called Wendy to her office and wrote her up for gossiping and taking the incident so seriously. Wendy has been advised to go to HR, but fears to do so due to possible retaliation. Could Wendy be fired for escalating this?

[Ask A Manager]

Alison Green encourages Wendy to go to HR despite the risk of retaliation from Winnifred. “It’s disgusting and outrageous that Winnifred played this ‘joke’ in the first place,” she writes. “But the fact that Winnifred then took formal action against Wendy for being upset about it takes this from ‘shockingly bad’ to ‘super villain territory.’” Read the rest of her answer.

What Was So Bad About Posting My Son And Daughter-In-Law’s Pregnancy News On Facebook Without Permission?

My son married his high school sweetheart six years ago. The couple tried to get pregnant by various means for three years and finally are expecting our first grandchild. We are all deliriously happy.

We’ve been through some ups and downs with this couple. We’ve taken them on trips and hosted them and their friends all through high school and the years after. When they got married, they lived with us for nine months with their large dog so they could save for a house.

This Thanksgiving they announced the gender of the new little one. We had a great afternoon and we drove home.

I was so excited to share with my friends, who know how long we’ve waited. I posted a couple of pics on Facebook (of myself) announcing how thankful I was to become a grandma.

Within minutes, I received a text from my daughter-in-law to remove the post. I did so, but was very upset. I texted my son asking why I could not post and heard nothing until the next morning. I got the snottiest, most hateful text from my daughter-in-law stating the reason was that it was not my place to post, and why would I do this without asking, etc. I was so upset I took two Ambien to shut out the noise and get some sleep.

My husband now acts as if I’m crazy and seems scared to offend anyone besides me.

I am no longer happy and excited. I see a future of walking on eggshells and staying in a lane that was assigned to me by a woman that I’ve loved and supported since she was 16.

[The Washington Post]

Carolyn Hax rules that it is not OK for anyone to share other people’s pregnancy news online without permission. “[T]hink, really think, about the position you put the couple in with your announcement,” she writes. “Consider how worried they will probably be, rationally or otherwise, about the viability of this pregnancy because of their struggle to conceive.” Read the rest of her answer.

How Can I Explain To My Sister-In-Law Why I Don’t Want My Kids Wearing Custom T-Shirts Labeling Them ‘Beauty, Brawn, Brain’?

My husband and I have three kids — a 7-year-old daughter, a 5-year-old son, and a 3-year-old daughter. The 3-year-old year old is somewhat precocious: She speaks in full (and fully comprehensible) sentences, she has a lot of empathy compared to other toddlers, etc. I’ve been told that generally this sort of thing doesn’t really matter in the long run, and that it has no real bearing on future success or intelligence. My family doesn’t make a big deal out of this. My husband’s family, especially my sister-in-law, does. Her Christmas gifts for us this year were a homemade sign (she’s crafty) and custom-made shirts that said “Beauty, Brawn, Brain” with my kids’ names and pictures in descending order of age. This feels gross to me. I don’t want to box my kids into stereotypes. I also don’t want to fight with my SIL because we see her so little, so it wouldn’t be worth it (on the rare occasions that she visits, she does delight in seeing on display what she’s made for us). I don’t want to put this sign on my walls or make use of these shirts, but I know my SIL will comment at some point that we haven’t; besides, I don’t want to receive more gifts of this sort in the future, so I realize I’ll have to talk to her about this. My husband feels the same way I do, but will not stand up to her. How can I talk about how gross and sexist these gifts are without being too accusatory or insulting?

[Slate]

Michelle Herman points out that the letter writer is unlikely to get through to their sister-in-law about the offensiveness of the sign and t-shirts. “If I were you, I’d dispose of the sign and the shirts and leave it at that,” she writes. “If at some future date she does ask why you haven’t hung the sign, then you can tell her, in as few words as possible, that you’re not thrilled about having your kids labeled in this way.” Read the rest of her answer.

How Can I Get Someone To Stop Being Naked In A Gym Locker Room?

Our community workout center provides showers and locker rooms for our swimming pool. We have a small family locker area, but most youngsters come into either the men’s or women’s locker areas.

One woman insists on walking naked around the shower area and the locker area. She even stands naked in front of the mirror as she dries her hair.

Some of the members of our exercise classes have stopped using the locker room just so they don’t encounter this free spirit.

Is there a way to politely get her to cover up?

[Tribune Content Agency]

Amy Dickinson notes that it’s unlikely that the woman in question is breaking any gym rules by being naked in the locker room. “You could try approaching this woman and asking, ‘Would you mind wearing a towel when children are here?’ — but be prepared for her to refuse,” she writes. Read the rest of her answer.

Isn’t It Insulting When Servers Ask ‘Just You?’ When I’m Eating At A Restaurant By Myself?

I am a widow, and I miss my husband very much. We used to go out to dinner together often. I have friends I have dinners with, but sometimes I go out by myself. Every time I do, after I say I am dining alone, the host or hostess asks, "Just you?" It is like an insult — just me? Like I need a reminder that I am alone without a husband.

I recently mentioned this to a friend who told me he experiences the same thing when he dines alone. He, too, considers it insulting. Please share this with readers who work in the hospitality industry.

[UExpress]

Abigail Van Buren observes that the question “Just you?” is likely not intended as an insult. “Your host or server may ask that question because they want to know whether the extra place settings should be removed from the table,” she writes. Read the rest of her answer.