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Mom + BFF = New BFFs

Her Campus Placeholder Avatar Irene S. Levine

My mom is becoming really buddy-buddy with my best friend. She asks her personal questions about me in front of me making everyone uncomfortable. What can I say to both my mom and my friend to avoid this scenario? I’m happy they like each other but this is too much! 

It seems like you have to have a heart-to-heart with your mom. Tell her that you are proud of her and happy that you can introduce her to your friends but this is a case of TMI — too much information. You are a young adult now and should decide what you want to tell your mother about yourself. Your friend is probably being polite to your mom and is unsure of how she should respond. Maybe you could let her know about the changed policy after you speak to your mom.

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Dr. Irene S. Levine blogs as "The Friendship Doctor" on the Huffington Post and Psychology Today, where she provides readers no-nonsense advice and guidance. Her own blog, The Friendship Blog, has become a unique watering hole for people who want to better understand their friendships. She writes a bimonthly mental health column called Mind Matters for AAAS Science Magazine's online publication, ScienceCareers. Irene’s career straddles two worlds: Trained as a psychologist, she is also an award-winning freelance journalist and author. She spent the major portion of her career as a senior manager and policymaker at the National Institute of Mental Health in Rockville, Maryland. She currently holds a faculty appointment as a Professor of Psychiatry at the New York University School of Medicine. Her writing—focused on health, lifestyles, travel and relationships—has appeared in scores of newspapers (including the Chicago Tribune, Dallas Morning News, New York Times, Newsday, and USA Today) and national magazines (such as AARP Bulletin, Better Homes and Gardens, Bottom Line Health, Health, Ladies Home Journal, Prevention, and Reader's Digest). Her latest book is Best Friends Forever: Surviving a Breakup with Your Best Friend. Offering tools for personal assessment, case stories, and actionable advice for saving, ending, or re-evaluating a relationship, Dr. Levine shows that breakups are sometimes inevitable---even between the best of friends. She is a widely sought-after speaker on the topic of friendship.