Peer Pressure
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
Getting past a false reputation in high school
Dear Straight Talk: I’m 16 and my sister (a senior) has the deserved reputation of a "slut." Our mom is an alcoholic who will sleep with anybody, even with my sister and me right in the next room, so I think my sister learned from…
9 Comments
Daughter is shaving pubic hair. What does it mean?
Dear Straight Talk: I don't know who to talk to. I walked in on my daughter (17), undressing, and couldn't help but see that she shaves her pubic hair. I didn't say a thing and decided to write you instead. Are all the girls…
1 Comment
Former bully victim asks, “Do panelists stand up to bullies?”
Dear Straight Talk: I saw the movie, “Bully” recently. Having had a taste of being bullied in high school — and witnessing far worse — it really affected me. One girl I knew would have spit thrown all over her desk…
0 Comments
Boy wants to be straight, has trouble fitting in
DEAR STRAIGHT TALK: Everybody knows what high school is like: people do drugs, drink, and have sex. I’m one of the few who is different. I've gotten looks of disgust when I say that smoking marijuana or drinking is bad —…
2 Comments
Facebook: It’s amazing who’s looking at your posts!
DEAR STRAIGHT TALK: When are kids going to learn that anything posted on the Internet is potentially exposed to the world? As a hiring manager, I am floored by the number of applicants…
1 Comment
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…
2 Comments
Strip poker sheds clothes, shreds friends
DEAR STRAIGHT TALK: Last weekend at a birthday slumber party, one of the pushier girls suggested we turn our regular poker game into strip poker. Well, I was the only one who chose not…
5 Comments
A bullying solution that really works
DEAR READERS: If your school could have a superpower, what would it be? If it’s an anti-bullying superpower, you’re in luck. I’d like to shout from the rooftops about the “Safe School Ambassadors”…
1 Comment
Girls speak frankly about hook-up scene
DEAR STRAIGHT TALK: I counsel teens on college and career choices and have been learning about “hook-up” culture. I’m concerned that sexual activity, starting with girls…
