Category Archives for "Life Skills"

0 What to do if your friends want you to sing but you don’t think you’re good enough

Shellyx asks: My 2 bezzies and I started a band. I don’t think I can sing. I write songs and sing at home but never to them. They keep nagging me to sing but I’m too shy/embarrassed because they’re both really good. They like my songs but they haven’t heard me sing. What do I do? Xxxxx

Hi Shellyx –

Wow do I envy you, that someone wants to hear you sing!  Everyone hates it when I do.  Even Handsome, who loves me more than anything, says I have as ugly a bark as he’s ever heard!

So it seems to me that you’re finding yourself in a very funny situation.  Your friends want you to sing, but you’re afraid that if they hear you sing they won’t like your voice.  But the one way to get them to stop bugging you to sing would be… if you sang!  So my advice is… Continue reading

1 What is racism, and why does it exist?

sazuna45 asks: I’ve been asking a question of people I trust. Kind of a survey: What do you think about racism? How unnecessary/ necessary do you think it is? And what can be the results?

Hi sazuna45 –

Okay, let’s start with a definition.  I define Racism as a particular form of prejudice, in which one makes judgments about a person or group of people based on their race, and not on actual facts.  And usually those judgments are, in some way, negative.

Let me explain what I mean by “usually, in some way, negative.”  Today, one of the most popular sports in the world is Continue reading

1 What to do if your parents treat you worse than your siblings?

rebecca asks: I am 16, and have a 20-year-old sister who my parents love more than me. They’re always telling me I’m good-for-nothing. I mostly do all the hard work like cleaning the house and washing the dishes, and when I am tired, they just tell me get back to work again, and don’t even say a word to my elder sister. If I ask for something, they say no, but if she asks, they give it to her. My parents hate me and hardly appreciate anything good I do. They hardly say any good words to me, and don’t mind if I sleep hungry for weeks. But I don’t hate my sister – I like her – but I can’t stand anymore of our parents’ inappropriate behavior! No matter if I’m right, they always say I’m wrong; many people tell them what a bright and good child I am, but they still don’t change. I don’t know what to do! Please help me!

Hi rebecca –

I just can’t be the only one who reads this and thinks “Well I know the solution to her problem, and it involves a prince, some mice, and a pair of glass slippers!”  You really are living the life of Cinderella, rebecca.  But since I’m only a dog, and not a fairy godmother, I can only offer advice, and not a magical coach!

I think there are two important issues here.  First, there’s the issue of the favoritism your parents are showing your sister.  In terms of that, check out my letter to Bella about a similar problem (just type “Bella” into the search box to your right on this page).

But your problem sounds worse than Continue reading

0 How to set up an exercise regimen

emily asks: What are the best exercises for 12-year-old girls to do? I trampoline and am fairly fit.

Hi emily –

I’m not an expert on exercises, but more importantly, I’m not an expert on You.  There are lots of good exercises that are right for pretty much everyone (swimming, running, chasing squirrels), but you’re at a time in your life when your body is changing faster than it ever will again.  So I’m going to strongly suggest that you get exercise advice from someone who not only knows more than I do, but also can see you and analyze your body’s Continue reading

0 Should you reconnect with a parent who abandoned you?

Emmie asks: My dad was never married to my mum, and he moved away when I was little. He moved to Nottingham and for the past thirteen years I see him once a fortnight. He’s moving back to my town and asked my mum if he could see me more. My mum said that he hadn’t bothered for thirteen years, but I think he’s making amends. How can my mum say she knows, and how can I persuade her?

Hi Emmie –

There’s a lot that’s really painful about parents splitting up, and one of the toughest is what you’re going through.  Human children desperately want their parents to love and care for them, and if a parent seems uninterested in that, it leaves a gigantic wound in the kid.

Then, if that adult later wants more contact with the kid, there’s a great conflict:  On one hand, part of the kid (in your case, the part your mom agrees with) says, “Where were you when I needed you before?  Why should I trust you now?”  While the other says, “At last!  I’m finally getting what I’ve needed my whole Continue reading

0 What to do if your parents wrongly suspect you have a boyfriend

Alondra asks: What should I do when my parents are assuming I have a boyfriend?

Hi Alondra –

Do I have this straight?  Your parents are assuming you have a boyfriend, but you don’t?

If so, then my absolute advice is to give them a major reality check!  You don’t have to be quite this rude, but I’m thinking of something along the lines of “Hello?!  Do you see me with a Continue reading

0 How to recover from embarrassing moments

Shellyx asks: Today in science we had to heat up magnesium under a Bunsen burner. Me and my friend were working in a pair, and I went first. I hadn’t seen anyone else do it, so I was worried. Anyways I put it on the Bunsen burner, holding it with tongs, and it caught fire, with a white flame. I started screaming, “OMG! aghhhh someone blow it out quick, help! Is it meant to do this?!” Everyone (including my crush) was staring at me. The flame went out and my teacher came over, saying, “yes it’s meant to go like that.” My friend was in hysterics. I was so scared, since I’m already petrified of fire! It’s sooo embarrassing! What do I do?

Hi Shellyx –

Oh Wow!  Oh that must have been AWFUL!!!  I can just bet you were as embarrassed as anyone ever has been!!

But I don’t think this is a bad thing at all.  In fact, I think it’s kind of great.

Why?  Two reasons:

First, Embarrassment is simply a very mild version of a much harsher thing called Continue reading

0 Why is it so hard for parents and teenagers to talk about sex?

Tutu asks: What are the barriers on communication between parents and adolescents, about sexuality?

Hi Tutu –

You bring up a great issue.  It is a strange irony in human development, that the age when children begin to pull away from their parents is the same age when they become more sexual, in their body development as well as their minds.

It would certainly make things easier for parents if this were staggered a bit.  For example, if kids went through their years of detachment from their parents before their bodies changed and they became interested in sexuality, so that by that time they were mature enough to have adult Continue reading

0 What is love?

apsara asks: What is love?

Hi aspara –

Wow, how many songs have asked that question!

The word “Love” has an awful lot of meanings.  But to answer you, I really think we should stick to three.

The first is about the most basic attraction.  If you ever study physics, you’ll learn that all energy is about attraction and repulsion.  Particles are either drawn to each other or push away from each other.  Think of what happens if you put two magnets together, and how they’ll do one or the other.  Well I think that same energy exists at all levels of Continue reading

0 How to paint properly

sasai asks: How can I learn to paint properly?

Hi sasai –

Well, this is an issue I can absolutely say I know nothing about!  The first step to painting is being able to hold a paintbrush, and since I don’t have fingers or thumbs, I simply can’t!

But I do know people who paint.  And they would probably tell you two things.  Two things that completely disagree with each other!

The first is that there is no such thing as painting Continue reading