Category Archives for "Growing Up"

0 How to get forgiveness from a sibling you’ve hurt

nardy asks: I have an older sister. On our PC there are some bad pics of her. Once I really got mad at her and sent one of them to one of my friends and said she is ugly, and she saw it and cried and said she hates me and she will never EVER forgive me! I apologized, but she asked me to go away and she now never talks to me. I posted on Instagram a pretty pic of her and said that she is pretty and I love her, but she just told me to stop posting pictures of her! What should I do?

Hi nardy –

My advice?  Give her time.

Sometimes I get mad at Handsome, and he tries to do something nice for me, and I’ll stay annoyed (but if it’s him giving me a treat, I will eat it.  I’ll just walk away from him afterwards).  Give her space and time, but keep trying to be nice.  I imagine she’ll forgive you eventually.  But for now, just keep letting her know that you know what was wrong about what you did, and that you’ll never Continue reading

0 What to give as a gift when you have no money

kavin24 asks: Our mum’s b’day is coming up. My younger brother (7) and I (12) don’t have any money with us, and even if we had any we couldn’t go to a shop as our mum always comes with us (our dad works abroad). Can you suggest some things to surprise her?

Hi kavin24 –

I love this question.  Because it brings up a really important topic.  You see, our world today largely relies on economics, which means people buying and selling things.  And in order to keep economies going, people are taught (by other people, by economists, and especially by advertising) that they want to buy and buy and buy, and that their value is determined by what they buy.  So here’s your mum’s birthday, and you can’t buy her anything, and you’re totally Continue reading

0 How to get your parents to do something they don’t want to do

Nardy Asks: I am A Huge Fan Of Justin Bieber, and I want to go to his tour, which is two hours away by car. But my Mom & Dad don’t want to go, they don’t like Justin!! But that’s my dream to go there. What can I do?

Hi Nardy –

Okay, this is one of those times in life when you begin to learn major adult skills.  It’s like with me — when I was a puppy, I could get pretty much anything I wanted from Handsome, just by giving him big eyes and a happy, wishful face.  But after I grew up, it got a bit harder.  And if there was something I wanted reeeeeeeally badly, I needed to figure out exactly how to go about getting it.  Play too puppyish, he’d think there’s something wrong with me.  Be super-nice, he’d just think I’m feeling very loving that day.  Be aggressive and demanding, and he might refuse to reward that behavior by giving it to me.  So I had to learn to think, really hard, about how to (and here’s the most important line in the letter) get him to Continue reading

0 Should teenagers answer online surveys?

kavin24 asks: I’m 14. I want to earn money. I’d prefer to make money online. Is it a good idea to use a paid survey?

Hi kavin24 –

I have to be honest with you; I really don’t know much about these surveys.  But I’m a huge fan of kids finding ways to earn money.  As long as two things are true – that what they’re doing is legal, and that it’s safe.

I’m a very protective mutt, and if there were a way for me to sit with you and look at each of these surveys, I’d be very happy to do it.  But of course I can’t.  And one thing about being 14 is that, no matter how smart, even brilliant, you might be, there’s stuff about life you just Continue reading

0 What are good poems for children?

moavia asks: I want to see poems for kids.

Hi moavia –

Oh there are SOOOO many poems for kids out there!  Here are a few to start with.  None are new or rare, but once you’ve started with these, you’ll be set to discover many new magical ones!

“Mother Goose” – of course the most famous collection of children’s poetry ever.  There’s nothing I can say about it that hasn’t been said a zillion times over.

“A Child’s Garden of Verses” by Robert Louis Stevenson – Pretty old stuff now (19^th century), but Continue reading

0 How to teach a teen not to smoke

smiletrain48 asks: What punishment should be given when a 13-year-old girl is caught smoking?

Hi smiletrain48 –

I’m a big believer in certain sorts of punishment, for certain things.  I never would have learned not to pee in the house, or not to climb onto the couch, unless Handsome had let me know that such things weren’t acceptable.  But in truth, he didn’t have to do much about them.  Once I knew they were outlawed, I was pretty good at avoiding them.

But when I was a puppy, Biting was another story!  I knew he hated it, and I bit him all the time!  Bit his ankles, bit his shoes, bit his Continue reading

2 What to do when overprotective relatives get in the way of relationships

glampie1 asks: I started dating a friend of my brother’s. But then I started to let my friends know (which was a bad idea), and things started to get out of control. He started talking to my best friend (his cousin) and we started arguing, and then we made up. But the only major thing that is wrong with this whole relationship is that my family is too overprotective! What should I do?!

Hi glampie1 –

Boy, is that ever the thing about families!  If you have a not-so-great family, they don’t protect you at all.  And if you have a good one, they just might protect you too much!  So while it’s wonderful to have people caring about you and wanting to protect you, it can also be a drag!  Kind of like my feelings about the fence around my yard – I know Handsome locks me in because he cares about me, but it makes it impossible for me to chase the neighbor’s cat!

The only answer I can come up with for you (I don’t have any for myself!) is for you to talk to your brother and his cousin, and anyone else who’s being too protective of you.  But this can only work if one thing is true:  Do they trust your Continue reading

0 How to tell a friend they’re dating a jerk

sazuna45 asks: I’m really confused. Two of my friends – close ones – are dating, but I know that the guy is hiding a lot from the girl. He told her he stopped drinking but in parties (when she’s not there) he gets drunk and flirts with other girls like a maniac. He even stole money from one of his friends and bought his girlfriend a bag. He’s on weed and he gets into fights against gangs and all. I know all this but I don’t know if I can tell, because she won’t believe me. What do I do?!

Hi sazuna45 –

Wow are you in a tough place with this question!  I have a few thoughts, but there’s no clear answer.

First – you say both of these are close friends of yours.  Are you sure you want to stay close friends with the boy?  He sounds like a lot of trouble to me.  When you mix drinking to excess, semi-cheating, stealing, drug use, and getting in fights…  Is this guy really one who can, to quote the old song “deserve you and be even worthy erv you”?!  Not to mention your girl friend, who he’s being way less than great to.

So one thing you can do is to Continue reading

2 What to do when your best friend moves away

prettyndsweet12 asks: My best friend moved today and it made me sad and I’m crying. How can I learn to cope with her being gone? She was my best friend, and school just doesn’t seem right without her.

Hi prettyndsweet12 –

Losing a best friend is always awful.  Whether it’s from an argument, or them moving away, or them being badly hurt, it’s guaranteed to make you feel terrible.  After all, how many things do we value as much as a best friend?  I hate it when I get a piece of chicken and Handsome pulls it out of my mouth (in fear the bones will splinter in my throat), but I get over it.  But some things are irreplaceable.  And Family and Friends top the list.

I’m not going to even begin to try to Continue reading

2 What to do if you see an animal being abused

Hachiko asks: There’s this dog (a small one) I really want to keep, but my mom won’t let me (In our religion keeping dogs is okay, but they say they’re unpure and better not to keep) and this dog gets beaten by men who work down-stairs. What can I do? I’m just a girl who can’t disobey her parent’s 🙁

Hi Hachiko –

Of course, being a dog, it’s tough for me to talk from the point of view of those who don’t think we’re just the best things around.  But I have to acknowledge that they’re out there, and that they have the right to their opinions.

Someday, you’ll be an adult, and you’ll have the right to make decisions for yourself, like whether or not to have a dog as a pet.  But for now, you’re right, you can’t have it in your parents’ home.  It’s sad, but true.

But there’s another issue here.  Which is that you’re witnessing an Continue reading