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TAGGED : ask mary jo

Address puberty with transparency, love

Q: I’m not a teen, but I’m the parent of a 12-year-old. When I was 12, I took a class you taught about growing up. It was on a Saturday morning at the hospital, and I gave my mom a really hard time about going. You met a group of kids and parents in the lobby and chatted with us, and by the ...

Should 16-year-olds be allowed to vote?

Q. Will you weigh in on a debate we had at school? My social studies teacher posed the question – “16-year-olds should be allowed to vote.” We were assigned sides, and the conversation was intense. Although some of us were given the negative, and defended it, pretty much all of our ...

Could teen be depressed?

Q. I never thought this would happen to me, but could I be experiencing depression? I’m a first-year college student and I thought I’d be happy at this point in my life. I’m at a college I selected carefully. I like most of my classes, I’ve made some friends. I feel like I’m managing ...

Column on suicide provokes reader responses

Here are some responses to my Oct. 9 column on suicide: Q. Thank you for your wise words on suicide. I lost my brother that way when I was a teen. I’m in my 60s and I feel I’ve never really gotten over it. I’ve lived my life, married, had babies, now I’m a grandma to three, and it ...

Teen struggles with another’s suicide

Q. Something really awful happened. My mom’s best friend has a daughter who committed suicide. I didn’t know the daughter that well, but I observed her mom grieve and my mom got all worried about me. I’ve felt depressed off and on in my life but I’ve never even thought of ending it all. ...

Middle school has its challenges

Q. My big brother says I need to stop acting so smart at school. I asked him to clarify and he said, “Stop answering all the questions.” I find that to be ridiculous. I’m at school to learn. I get excited when I know something, so my hand goes right up. He says I won’t be popular if ...