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Maryjopodgurski

Readers respond to column

Last weekÎÞëÊÓÆµ™s column received several responses. Here are a few. Q. Your column last week made me think. My mom and dad split up when I was 10 and mom was alone for a while. Then she met and married my stepdad. I pushed back at her ÎÞëÊÓÆµ“ and him ÎÞëÊÓÆµ“ at first. I think I was just a scared ...

Feeling anxious about prom

Q. IÎÞëÊÓÆµ™m anxious about prom. This happens every year at this time. IÎÞëÊÓÆµ™m a shy person. I do well enough in school. My grades are okay. My teachers donÎÞëÊÓÆµ™t seem to mind if IÎÞëÊÓÆµ™m quiet and keep to myself as long as I do my work. But socially, IÎÞëÊÓÆµ™m not exactly popular. I have a few friends but ...

Phone use column generates response

Last weekÎÞëÊÓÆµ™s column about phone use drew some reactions. Here are a few of the emails/texts I received: Q. Thank you! I have a 14-year-old, and we fought about phone use on the regular. I read your column of March 5th and took the suggestion of creating a contract with our daughter. We sat ...

Finding common ground on digital devices

Q. The Olympics are over and IÎÞëÊÓÆµ™m bored. I donÎÞëÊÓÆµ™t know what to do with myself. ItÎÞëÊÓÆµ™s not really that the Olympics are over as much as my parents monitor my social media use on my phone and Chromebook. And IÎÞëÊÓÆµ™m allowed to watch only the TV they approve ÎÞëÊÓÆµ“ which is how I got so into the ...

Field kids’ tough questions with honesty

Q. I saw your recent response to a parent and thought ÎÞëÊÓÆµ“ I can ask my question too! I hope thatÎÞëÊÓÆµ™s okay. IÎÞëÊÓÆµ™m the mom of a very inquisitive 5-year-old. When I say inquisitive, I mean there isnÎÞëÊÓÆµ™t an hour of the day when IÎÞëÊÓÆµ™m not asked something. I actually enjoy it. She keeps me on my ...

No love for Valentine’s Day

I decided to rerun this column from Feb. 13, 2020, for three reasons. It echoes sentiment I continue to hear from young people, the peer educator response was honest, and it is especially poignant to me since it ran about a month before the pandemic. Q. I hate ValentineÎÞëÊÓÆµ™s Day. I once loved ...