Category Archives for "Kids"

4 Do mothers love their children when they do wrong things.

Ashram asks: Do mothers love their children even if they do wrong things?

Oh Ashram, I can only imagine the responses mothers must be screaming when they read your question! But the answer is pretty simple, really.

There are different kinds of love we feel. You can love some things about someone and hate or fear other things about them at the same time. You can get so mad at someone that you don’t even like them at all, but still love Continue reading

2 How shy people can approach their crushes

Harshita asks: I am really a nervous girl. I am feeling shy to ask even this question! If I love a guy, how will he know whether I love him or we are just friends?

Hi Harshita –

Well, first, I’d direct your attention to Sweetparker’s question about her confusion over two guys (it’s listed in Previous Questions, under Growing Up, Life Skills, Relationships, and School). I talk with her about ways to try to find out what a boy thinks of you.

But I want to throw a couple of other thoughts at you as well. First, know that there’s nothing wrong with being nervous and shy. Most boys think it’s really Continue reading

0 How to teach young children manners.

Jass asks: How can we teach 4-5 year-olds about manners?

Learning Manners is something I know a lot about, Jass. Like most puppies, I was very excitable and misbehaved a lot. So I’ve experienced Handsome teaching me right and wrong ways. Here’s what I can tell you:

1) The most important thing by far is what you do. I see grownups all the time who eat every meal in front of a TV, they use bad words all the time, and they ignore what others want. Then they’re shocked when their kids Continue reading

0 Who Is Shirelle’s Teacher?

ChrisFoxx asks: Who is your teacher?

You mean my obedience teacher? Oh Handsome is usually my trainer, though I was in an obedience class when I was a puppy. The teacher of that was very nice, but neither Handsome nor I remember his name now. The best thing about him was that he taught the humans never to strike their dogs, just to train the dogs to focus, using treats! So training was something I looked forward to, instead of dreading it as most dogs do.

But if you mean who teaches me the things I write here – wow, that’s a simple Continue reading

0 How kids can resolve the generation gap

Tanni asks: What should children do to reduce the generation gap between adults and children?

That’s a fascinating question. Lots of our readers probably don’t know the term “Generation Gap.” It showed up in America in the 1960s when people noticed that parents and kids were disagreeing about way more things than ever before. Of course there’d always been disagreement about things like homework and chores, but now the young people were listening to music their parents couldn’t Continue reading

0 How to resolve lying to your parents.

Lehshan asks: I’m feeling nervous right now. I’m lying to my mother all the time. I didn’t enroll in my summer class. What should I do?

Okay, let me be clear. I have a very long nose. So I’m not making fun of anyone’s nose when I say that the wonderful old story “Pinocchio” really had it together, with the idea that when you tell a lie it just grows bigger and bigger till it’s as clear as the nose on your face. Your job, if you’re dealing with having lied, is to somehow stop it, and resolve the problem, so you can move on from it.

See, dogs don’t lie. We don’t know how to. So we never can get caught in one. We get caught at other things – digging out of our yard, disobeying, stealing food off the Continue reading

0 How to become famous at school

Anand asks: How can I become famous in my school?

That’s a fascinating question, Anand! Thanks!

I definitely understand you wanting to become famous in your school. I had the same frustration once! In my obedience class, I ended up being the best student there – I learned the most, and did my tricks the best on the last day. But I’ll bet there’s not a single dog there who remembers me. You see, they were all way too focused on the treats their owners had to pay me much attention!

In a funny way, it’s really the same in human schools, isn’t it? Everyone there is worried about all sorts of things – wanting to do well on tests, wanting to be liked, wanting to fit in, wanting to stay out of the principal’s office, wanting to get out of this annoying Continue reading

0 What new challenges do today’s five-year-olds face?

Sonia asks: Can you tell me what the challenges are, that have to be overcome by today’s kids of 5 years of age and above?

Wow, Sonia, that’s a huge question! I mean, there are a ton of things that most five-year-olds have overcome: most of them have learned to walk and talk and use the toilet and a lot of other more detailed things. But the answer to your question is: Everything Else! Kids 5 and above have to learn social skills and multiplication; how to ride a bike, drive a car, and analyze history; what to do on a date and how to write correctly in the subjunctive tense (okay I’ll be honest, this dog has absolutely no idea what the subjunctive tense is; it’s just something I Continue reading

0 Would a dog have a Hello Kitty game?

Kutchi Asks: Do you have a Hello Kitty Tea Party game?

Oh my goodness, no! My way of saying “Hello Kitty” is to bark my head off and chase that cat up a tree as fast as I can! If I made a Hello Kitty game, it would be called “Hello Kitty Goodbye Kitty!”

But I know there are millions of kids who just love Hello Kitty things, and so I’m sure if you ask around, you can find someone who has just the game you’re looking for. But I truly don’t think you’ll ever find a dog with one!

2 What to do when your parents disapprove of your boyfriend, especially after he’s hit you.

Bunny Asks: I am sixteen. Last May I had a baby. Yes I know it was wrong and everything, but the father and I really love each other – we have now been together for nearly 3 years… So the problem comes in with my parents… I don’t know what to do about them. They forced me to do adoption 🙁 I wanted to keep him… and so did my boyfriend. We were ready to take responsibility for our actions. Then about 3 mouths after his birth my boyfriend and I had a big fight, and he left bruises on me. My parents never asked me if I was ok, they were just glad cause they thought he was out of my life. We broke up for 7 months, till he realized what he had done. He’s the type of guy that actually learns from his mistakes, he felt so bad about it. We really love each other and really take our relationship seriously, but my parents won’t let me see him, and I can’t take it any more! I have been so depressed lately I don’t even eat. I’ve tried asking them if I can see him, but they won’t budge!!!! Please help!! (and i don’t mind if you post this, I have nothing that I am ashamed of.)

Hi Bunny –

I’m so very very glad you wrote me. You are dealing with a gigantic number of issues here, and some of them are as big as you’ll ever deal with in your life, so it’s terribly important that you talk about all of them.

I’ll offer what I can, but the first thing I want you to do is to PROMISE me that you’ll find someone professional you can talk with about all these. No advice website (written by a dog or anyone else) can replace real talking with a real professional. I’m a big fan of therapists, but if there’s something you’d prefer (a religious leader, a teacher) that could be okay too. If you’re still in school, they probably have a counselor or someone who could help, or at least someone who could point you toward someone who can. If you don’t know anywhere else to look, let me know what city or town you live in, and I’ll do some research to see if I can help find someone for you.

But in the meantime, let me suggest a few things. Okay, first, you say, “it was wrong” to have a Continue reading