Alcohol
Should Mom share her prom-night story?
Dear Straight Talk: My daughter, 17, always attends prom. She is curious about my prom experience. I wasn't popular in high school, but right before graduating, a boy I'd just met asked me to his school's prom. WOW!…
5 Comments
Friend might have drinking problem
Dear Straight Talk: I think this friend, "Tamara", has a drinking problem. I realize she's not much different than 10 other people I know, but she strikes me as drinking, not just to have fun, but to numb out problems with her father,…
1 Comment
Girl raped while passed out from drinking
DEAR STRAIGHT TALK: I am helping a friend in my dorm through a terrible experience. She passed out from drinking at a party and was put in a bedroom to sleep it off. She woke up in pain with somebody on top of her. It was like a bad…
3 Comments
Learning warning signs of suicide saves lives
DEAR STRAIGHT TALK: Regarding last week’s column about the boy who committed suicide, a friend of mine also did lots of increasingly negative drinking, smoking weed and partying.…
1 Comment
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…
3 Comments
Real-life advice to take to college
DEAR STRAIGHT TALK: My daughter starts college next week and I’m wondering what real-life advice the panel and you have for her. I am concerned about hookups, binge-drinking and depression,…
0 Comments
Four Loko a recipe for adolescent disaster
DEAR STRAIGHT TALK: I’m in college and “Simon,” who is over 21, is throwing a New Year’s party. He bought two cases of Four Loko after it was banned and plans to…
3 Comments
Should parents drug test their teens?
DEAR STRAIGHT TALK: Lauren, I am curious if you had ever tackled the subject of home drug testing. A lot of parents can’t imagine their teens are using drugs, but the sad fact is,…
10 Comments
Can you trust calling parents for a ride?
DEAR STRAIGHT TALK: My boyfriend got drunk on Fourth of July and, still, I let him drive me home. Nobody could give me a ride and the alternative was calling my parents. They would have…
2 Comments
Teens like—but don’t respect—parents who allow booze parties
DEAR STRAIGHT TALK: My son is 18, a senior, and I recently met one his friend’s parents. I was floored when she told me she allows kids to drink at her house as long as they stay…
