0 why are teens drinking so much today

max asks: What’s the reason for the increase of young teenagers that drink today?

Hi max –

I have to be honest with you, max.  I’ve been looking around the internet, and I’m not seeing clear statistics about an increase.  In fact, in the US, it appears teenage drinking has gone down in the last decade.

But don’t get the idea that I’m saying it’s not a problem.  That reduction might well be because teens are doing more of other substances!

What I think you’re seeing, max, is due to two factors.  One is that as people get older, people younger than them look younger!  So if you were, say twelve, and you saw a fourteen-year-old drinking beer at a party, you were seeing an “older teen.”  But if you’re thirty and you see that same fourteen-year-old, you’re seeing a Continue reading

0 How to get a parent to not touch you so much

jamz12 asks: My Father is always teasing me, so whenever he touches me I get annoyed, yell at him, etc. What should I do to control my emotions? Because I know that I hurt his feelings when I yell at him.

Hi jamz12 –

I love that you’re concerned about your father’s feelings.  That’s a good quality, that will serve you well as your life goes on.

But I wish he showed as much concern for yours.

Look, it’s tough to be a parent.  For the first few years, you have a 24-hour job of taking care of this helpless little being, and the only reward you get is to stuff your face into its tummy and make farting noises with your mouth!  Then the kid gets older, and you love nothing more than the physical connection you have with them – hugs, them falling asleep on you, all that.  Then they get a little older than that… and suddenly they want their own space.  They don’t want you touching them all the time.  And of course, that Continue reading

0 Is it dangerous to date someone too good-looking?

michelle asks: What will you do if a very handsome guy who is every girl`s dream tells you he loves you? Would you accept it because he is every girls dream? Or not?

Hi michelle –

Well, I might be the wrong one to ask.  You see, to my mind, the handsomest guy in the world is the human I live with.  No one in the world makes me happier to see.  That’s why I call him Handsome.

And Handsome tells me he loves me every day.  In a thousand ways.  So what do I do when he tells me that?  Let’s see, I jump on him, I lick his face, I bite his Continue reading

0 How to name a dog

dog asks: What is the name of your dog?

Hi dog –

Umm…  I’m kind of confused.  You see, I am a dog!  I don’t own one.  I guess I could if I had puppies, but I don’t.

Rather, I just have a human.  Now I hear people call him different things all the time, but I call him a name I made up.  You see, just like all dogs, I think my human is the most wonderful, brilliant, and best-smelling person in the world.  And there’s no one whose looks make me happier.  So I call him Continue reading

0 How to train a dog

jamz12 asks: How can I train dogs?

Hi jamz12 –
Well, of course, I’ve never trained a dog.  I have spent most of my lifetime training a human – and at this point I’ve got him feeding me, walking me, and scratching me at that place I really love right there, just on the left side of my tummy, where I can never quite scratch myself in quite the right….  Oooooooohhhhhhhh yeah, that’s it…  Aaaaaaahhhhhh!

There are lots of experts out there, who know how to train difficult dogs, or train dogs to do amazing tricks.  But usually, what people really want is to train their dogs to do three things:  1) be safe; 2) not hurt or bother other people; and 3) be easy to Continue reading

0 Can a girl’s family get into trouble because her boyfriend ran away to her?

dazedandconfused asks: I’m a teenage girl, with a boyfriend. His parents always liked me and mine always liked him. His parents never let him stay over at my house, but the other night he told his mom he was staying at a friend’s, and instead came to my house. Around 10 his parents guessed he wasn’t at his friend’s and started freaking out, and my mom had no clue he wasn’t supposed to be there (she thought he was allowed). So as soon as she figured that out, my mom drove him home. It was around 10:30 when he got there. His parents were really mad. I don’t blame them, but his mom is claiming she’s gonna call the cops about it all. I’m worried to talk to my mom and dad about his mom wanting to involve the cops, but I know I have to. My question for you is, legally, is there really anything the cops can do? My boyfriend willingly lied to his parents and came to my house. It’s not like me or my mom forced him – my mom didn’t even know! Can the police technically get involved with this or would it be seen as a personal “deal with it yourself” thing? If they can, how serious do you think the punishment could be for me, him and/or my parents? And do you think his mom is pushing it too far?

Hi dazedandconfused –

Of course I’m just a dog, and don’t know all the laws where I live, much less for everywhere in the world (and of course I don’t know where you live!).  But I can generally say… No.  Certainly you and your parents have done nothing wrong at all.  And the fact that your mom drove him home the second she found out what was going on proves that she was completely innocent.  And even your boyfriend… the cops probably will tell him to obey his parents, but they don’t stick teens in jail for disobedience to their moms (with all the economic problems the world’s governments are suffering right now, they’d all go completely bankrupt if they had to do that!!!).

But this isn’t necessarily good news for your boyfriend!  You see, police are restrained by laws; if he was arrested, they’d have to treat him with a certain amount of respect, since he’s a nonviolent citizen.  Whereas his Continue reading

0 When to give up on a relationship

MahalnaPrinsesa25 asks: How will you know if you need to give up on a guy?

Hi MahalnaPrinsesa25 –

Giving up on someone is a very difficult and sad thing.  If you’re together, then it means breaking up, which always results in at least one of you getting hurt.  And if you mean just giving up on hopes of getting someone, then that’s the death of a dream – and usually a very beautiful dream.  So it’s not something one wants to do, unless you’re really sure it’s the only way.

So how will you know it’s time?  Well, usually just because you Continue reading

0 How to build confidence and motivation

Sarah asks: Next year I will be participating in my school’s pageant show and am going up against tough competitors. You see, I am a shy person but whatever I put my mind to I DO IT. I need some advice on being motivated. When people look at me, they see this insecure girl. How can I change that and also change me into thinking positive and having confidence in myself?

Hi Sarah –

I’m not sure exactly what you’ll be doing in the show.  Singing, dancing, modeling?  I might have better specific advice if I knew.  But even without that, it strikes me that you’re asking two questions here, and I can take a try at both.

First, how can you get more motivated, and think positively?  You have come to the right expert on that one, Sarah!  We dogs have NO problems with Continue reading

1 How to learn a magic trick

u1urquiola asks: Can you teach me a magic trick?

Hi u1urquiola –

Oh I’d love to show you a magic trick!  Here it is – roast up a big leg of lamb, and once it’s cool enough, put it on the floor.  Turn around for one second, and it will disappear!  Funny part is, so will I!  Isn’t that awesome!!!

Okay, you probably want to learn some tricks that are a bit harder to figure out than that one.  And I’m no good at those (they call it sleight-of-hand for a reason; sleight-of-paw’s a lot harder to achieve!).

I found a good site for some very simple Continue reading

1 How to change someone’s opinion about you

Julia asks: My mom keeps saying I’m the problem, but I haven’t done anything wrong. So how can I make her see that she just has a problem with everything?

Hi Julia –

Thanks for your question about your mom.

This is a really tough question to answer.  For two reasons.  First, because I don’t really know who to believe – have you really never done anything wrong?!  If so, then you’re the most amazing kid I’ve ever heard of!  (The list of all the wrong things I’ve done would fill this website three times over!).

But second, if your mom really just has this negative feeling toward you no matter what you Continue reading