The Boston Globe

Magazine

Miss Conduct

Advice on visitors who don’t knock

Plus, how to deflect questions about your reproductive choices, and choosing gifts for rich people.

> Several times a parent has come to pick up her son at my home. She does not ring the doorbell or knock; she walks in and calls out “Hello.” Recently my adult daughter’s boyfriend did the same thing. I am of the belief, however old-fashioned, that you ring the bell at someone’s house unless you are a family member. How can I respond to what I consider to be rude behavior without coming off as out of touch and uptight?

D.M. / Concord

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