Family Life - In General
Son’s internet romance worries Dad
DEAR STRAIGHT TALK: My oldest, age 15, is in a long-term, long-distance relationship with "the one." He is constantly asking to visit her. I have concerns about the level of supervision there (every interaction has involved questionable…
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Mom asks: Are my curfew and dating rules too strict?
DEAR STRAIGHT TALK: My 17-year-old daughter has a serious almost-18-year-old boyfriend. She says I’m too restrictive. I feel a midnight curfew is reasonable and that she may not go to his home since I don’t know if an adult…
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Young people lament downside of digital age
DEAR READERS: What bugs you most about the world? How would you make the world better? Every winter, I pose these questions to the panel. This year, technology took a bruising. Real relationships, thinking deeply, embracing boredom, and…
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Generous Aunt gets no thanks
DEAR STRAIGHT TALK: Each year I give my niece and nephew an expensive gift of something they want or need. I often include money. If I'm there for the holidays, they say thank you but I have never once received a thank-you letter.…
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Dad’s suggestive touching embitters daughter
DEAR STRAIGHT TALK: I'm 17 and lucky to have an involved dad who believes in his kids. But he finds a way to pat my bottom or touch me closer to my chest than I am comfortable with any boy doing. Because of this, I avoid standing…
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Should parents restrict access to son’s troubled friend?
DEAR STRAIGHT TALK: What should I do? My son is 16 and wants to hang out with someone who is a very bad influence and I don’t know how to go about preventing that. Whenever they spend…
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Risks of risqué Halloween dressing
DEAR STRAIGHT TALK: You wrote last week about how risqué attire can draw unwanted attention and lead to trouble if a girl is naive or insecure. How does this relate to Halloween? My daughter…
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This gay-straight sleepover not black and white
DEAR STRAIGHT TALK: Our daughter is gay/bisexual. We have no problem with that. I have read your gay-straight sleepover columns, but they are focused on friendships. My gay/bi teen wants…
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Want to be an alcoholic? Start drinking young
DEAR STRAIGHT TALK: I still have the photo. I’m at my best friend’s house and her mom and stepdad are serving us whiskey and Coke. I am 15. It was my first alcohol. From that…
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Where do you stand on the f-bomb?
Dear Straight Talk: People in their teens and twenties are telling me that the f-word is used everywhere, on TV, in everyday life, by all ages, including parents around their young children, who then use it in school. They say it doesn’t…
