Category Archives for "Parenting"

0 What’s the best method for teaching children?

khinnyinethu asks: What is the best method for teaching children? How important are exams?

Hi khinnyinethu –

This question is asked all over the place today, though often it’s tied in with a caveat of “within a shrinking budget.”  Obviously, I’m a huge believer in the importance of children’s education, and wish that more humans would devote more funds to it, since, as the song says “I believe the children are our future!”  In fact, can anyone possibly disagree?!

There are more theories of education out there than I could possibly list, or even know.  But I do know a few things about kids, that I think should be included in any method of teaching them.

First of all, children’s brains are twice the size of dogs’ brains, but at the core they’re the same.  So humans shouldn’t lose sight of what dog trainers know:  Keep it as simple as you can, be direct and consistent, and know that rewards work better than Continue reading

1 What are some appropriate movies for 13-year-olds?

sazuna45 asks: Do you know some good movies for thirteen year olds? Here are the genres: 1) Comedy 2) Mystery 3) Horror 4)Romantic comdey 5) Thriller. Any help will be appreciated ?

Hi sazuna45 –

Oh I know lots of movies (Handsome’s a big movie nut).  The tough question here is when you ask about ones for 13-year-olds.  Some teens of that age are really mature and like very adult themes.  Others get bored or scared by movies like that.  So I’m going to try to aim for the middle.  (And of course, I have to warn you, just as with music, my tastes are a little old!).

Comedy:  So many of the big comedies of the last few years have been really raunchy and adult (from “The Hangover” to “Little Miss Continue reading

0 How to help a friend through grief

NARDY asks: My best friend is sad because her father died. She is always upset and when I speak to my other friends she always asks me to stay with her. I’m trying to make her happy, but I can’t. What can I do?

Hi NARDY –

My friend, you’re dealing with one of the toughest issues there is.  Actually you’re dealing with two.

Grief is always difficult, and everybody has to go through it.  There are small griefs (like when an ice cream cone falls on the ground before you can eat it), and really painful ones (like when someone you’re dating breaks up with you), and then there are those griefs that are so awful they change your entire way of living and seeing the Continue reading

0 How to handle getting injections

ktarr asks: We’re having injections at school I’m soo worried it will hurt. I know I’m gonna cry and look like a right baby in front of the other girls and then the boys (and my crush) who will see us afterwards.

Hi ktarr –

Oh I know just how you feel!  I hate injections too!  The only thing I hate even more is that my veterinarian has some vaccinations she sprays up my nose!  Remember dogs’ noses are way more sensitive than people’s, and oh do I HATE that!  But shots come in second.  And Handsome has always hated them too.  Hate Hate Hate them!!!

But then… there’s the issue of disease.  I hate getting sick too.  And of course, you’re in a very special situation, where you have to be as strong and healthy as you can, for your baby.

So here’s the only advice I can give.  Don’t look at the Continue reading

0 What besides studying are universities looking for?

shiraz asks: I am a sixteen-year-old girl. I’m studying sooooo hard to get a scholarship and go to Canada, because in Iran we don’t have any universities as good as theirs. I’ve really put my heart into it, because I think that the only way I can get in is to study and study and study. What do you think?

Hi shiraz –

You ask if the way to get into a good Canadian university is to study and study and study?  I completely agree.  In fact, you might want to add a few more “study and study”s to it!

The other thing I’d suggest, though, is that many western colleges and universities care a lot about other things as well as grades.  One of them is Diversity, and you should score great on that, just by the fact of coming from Iran.  But another one is Continue reading

0 How to find one’s feminine energy

Lovedino123lady asks: How do you be more ladylike and girly?

Hi Lovedino123lady –

Well, my friend, no one has ever accused me of being ladylike.  If I’m compared to anyone in that famous movie about dogs, I’m way more Tramp than Lady!  But I’ll try to help you out anyway.

The fact that you’re asking me this question probably means that you have a sense of what appears more girly or ladylike:  wearing dresses instead of pants, sashaying around instead of walking with direction, not punching or biting anyone!

But I don’t think that’s what you’re really asking about.  I think what you’re really after is how to increase your Continue reading

0 How to deal with a parent after you’ve failed at something

mame asks: I am really depressed right now and don’t know what to do. One of my guy friends asked me to be his prom date and so I said yes. I told my mum about it and she didn’t seem to have a problem with it. Now the prom is very near and I need to be preparing for it in terms of clothing and stuff like that. But now I’m afraid to ask my mum about the prom, because I have failed my exams. I don’t know what to do!

Hi mame –

Your question is downright painful, because we all know that feeling!  You already feel bad about the exams, and you don’t want to make things worse for yourself, or especially between you and your mum.

Now I don’t know your mother, but I know a lot of women, and I can’t help but think that there’s a really good chance that she’ll actually be kinder than you think.

You see, all your life, she’s been an authority figure to you, the one who tells you what to do, and who takes pride in your successes and is disappointed when you fail.  But there was a time before that, before you, when she was a young Continue reading

1 How to get your parents to buy you something

nardy asks: How can I convince my parents to buy me my dream phone? Every time I’ve asked, they say next week, and the last time I told mother to buy me that phone, she told me to shut up or she won’t buy it for me. I really want it quickly. What can I do?

Hi nardy –

So I’m going to be kind of mean here, but I have no doubt that everyone who reads your letter on my website will have a little laugh at one sentence in it.  When you say “the last time I told my mother to buy me that phone…” you probably hit on the biggest problem you’ve got.  Parents do NOT like to be told what to do.  Sometimes you might want to, or have to, order them to do something (such as “Wake up, Mommy!  The house is on fire!”), but they’re never going to like the way it Continue reading

0 How to get assistance for HIV

Winnie asks: Where can I take my 16-year-old boy who is HIV positive for assistance?

Hi Winnie –

I am so deeply sorry about your son.  While doctors have done a really amazing job of finding ways to control HIV, since it showed up just three decades ago, it is still a terrifying situation to live in.

Winnie, I don’t know where you live, but most governments have special Continue reading

1 What to do when someone asks you for sex

Alana asks: A boy asked me for sex. What should I do?

Hi Alana –

Well, I’m going to assume, from your question, that you don’t think that having sex with him right now is a good idea.  So my first answer to you is that the best thing for you to do is to say “No.”  Clearly and unequivocally.

However, I don’t want to give the wrong view here.  The boy hasn’t done anything wrong.  He Continue reading