patjo asks: Do you think that children are bad because of themselves or their parents?
Hi Patjo –
Well, I don’t know if this is the answer you want, but my answer to your question is… No! Absolutely Not!
I know what you’re asking, but what I’m saying is that I don’t think children are bad! I think children are absolutely fantastic. I think children are magical miracles – funny and brilliant and sweet and fiery and… oh they just smell Continue reading
Jann asks: Hi. Is the love of a teenager easily gone?
Hi Jann –
What an amazing question! I think it’s profound, actually. The bad news is that I can’t offer you a simple answer!
The teenage years are a period of turbulent changes and passions. Between the chemical changes occurring in the body and mind, and the giant changes going on in a teen’s life, the entire world is in flux. I feel like you could equally ask “Is love during wartime easily gone” or “Is love easily gone during an earthquake!”
So you really have two opposing forces in effect here. First, the incredible rate of change can mean that what a teenager feels one day may be totally different a week Continue reading
princess23 asks: I’m 15 years old and never been kissed. Is there something wrong with me? I’m the only girl in my class who hasn’t kissed a guy and it’s kinda embarrassing. HELP ME!!
Oh Princess23!
Thanks for your question about not having been kissed yet.
You see, this is why I find humans so silly! By the time I was a few days old, I’d been kissed, slobbered on, and bitten by so many other puppies I couldn’t begin to count them! And that doesn’t mention how many I’D kissed, slobbered on, and bitten! Now here you are, a 15-year-old princess, and haven’t been kissed at all?! It sounds like a fairy tale!
And of course, in truth, it is! All people’s love lives are fairy Continue reading
Tizolina asks: Hi, I am 14 years old and I kissed my boyfriend. Is that bad?
Hi Tizolina –
Wow, I kissed my first boyfriend when I was probably about four days old! And I’ve been kissing boyfriends, girlfriends, my mom, strangers, teachers, scary dogs, and most of all, my best friend Handsome, ever since. I can’t imagine going through a day without lots and lots of kissing! What would life be without that?!
But of course, doggy kisses are treated very differently in our world than the kisses of a 14-year-old to a boyfriend. Some people don’t like being kissed by dogs because they find us dirty or sloppy (total idiots if you ask me!), but our kisses are never controversial in the way yours can be.
This is because, when it comes to teenage romance, there are so many different values that different people Continue reading
Honey asks: I’m a nine-year-old girl. How can I both do my homework and play, after I get home? I don’t have time!
Hi Honey –
Oh I hate this! I certainly understand why schools assign kids homework – it gives the students a chance to practice what they’ve learned, and builds habits that will help you a lot later in your life – but I’m a huge fan of play! I play all the time, and I think kids learn as much from playing as they ever can learn from homework. So while I want you to do the work you have to, and stay out of trouble (!!), I sure want you to have time to play as well.
What it sounds like you’re really dealing with is what adults call Time Management. That’s a fancy term for planning out your day, to make sure you get what you care most about done.
So let’s try a pretend day, for an example. Let’s say you get home at 4:00 in the Continue reading
SDK asks: Hello, I have 11-year-old daughter and a 9-year-old son. Nowadays I feel my son’s behaviour is very abnormal. He has also become a little bit weak in his studies. He has a habit of reading the newspaper, but he always reads the accident news only! He behaves very rudely to his grandmother also and also become much harsher in his conversation. Some times he speaks of leaving the house and going away. Please, what would you suggest?
Hi SDK –
This is one of those cases where I feel like I’m getting about a hundredth of the information I’d need, to know what to suggest. You know, those nights when there’s a sound of a rustle in a tree outside, and by the time you’ve run out through the dog-door, you can’t see or hear anything, but there’s a hint of a scent that someone was there, but you don’t know where to search? (Well, maybe you haven’t had that exact experience. But hopefully you get what I’m saying!)
Clearly there’s something going on with your son. I wouldn’t worry about the newspaper bit though – it’s actually great that a kid his age is reading the paper at all, and of course stories about accidents are going to be a lot more interesting to a 9-year-old than debates about the Greek economy or settlements in Continue reading
Ninong asks: My daughter (7 years old) is a wonderful, intelligent and socially adept child. Lately, however, she cries and vomits every time we begin her to school. This happens every time she waits for the results of an exam/test or a quiz she has taken in class. I could observe that she literally would count the days when the exam results would be announced getting fidgety as the date draws near. She always (and this is not an exaggeration) would get excellent results and in fact is the top student of her school. She would immediately return to her usual happy and wonderful self as soon as the exam results are announced. Her home-room teacher has observed this behavior and even called my attention to it. We have ruled out bullying and other factors since they are visibly absent in her case. We have assured her that we would be as happy with any result she would get for as long as she tried her best. We have talked to her about this and have kept re-assuring her.
Hi Ninong –
I’m so glad you wrote me about your daughter. This is a very tough problem, and she definitely needs some help.
It is totally normal for children to be anxious about school and exams (In fact, just between us, why they bother giving exams to 7-year-olds is beyond me!). But your daughter’s reactions are not the normal Continue reading
puppy12 asks: This is really hard for me because I’m usually the one to give advice to everyone I know, but I would really like to know how to be complacent about myself with life? It seems like everything just hurts. Why is it so easy for me to give advice to people, but so hard to give myself advice? I just want someone to give me advice for once, and be on the receiving side of attention.
Hi puppy12 –
Thanks for your question about how to get better at taking your own advice.
Well I sure know how that feels! I love the feeling I get from giving advice here. Then when I’m done being the know-it-all on the computer, I go back into my regular life where I have the same problems I always have (how to keep from getting sad when I’m left alone, how to go grocery shopping without anyone noticing I’m a dog, and how to climb trees and really get those squirrels out of here!). I guess it’s always that way with puppies like Continue reading
shhhhhh asks: How can I get to answer the questions of other users, as I really want to give my opinion to others?
Hi shhhhhh –
Thanks for your question about how to comment on the questions on my website.
Great! I love it when people add to my comments, and create conversations about the things we talk about. I’m very well-intentioned, but often someone else can say things I’ve never thought of, that might add to, or even prove to be better than, what I’ve Continue reading
Kate asks: How can we stop teenagers from being crime-minded?
Hi Kate –
What an interesting question!
I think what you’re really asking me is how we can keep teenagers honest, give them a moral sense. Because all sorts of people think about crime all the time; frankly it’s fun! Humans all love to think about breaking the rules, going against society, even such outrageous things as major theft and murder (if we didn’t, bestselling book lists and TV ratings would be VERY different from the way they are!).
My quick and easy (and too simplistic) answer to your question is that you should instill those moral values earlier, when those teenagers are Continue reading