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mary-jo-podgurski

Readers respond to column

Last weekÄ¢¹½ÊÓÆµ 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 – and him – at first. I think I was just a scared ...

Feeling anxious about prom

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

Phone use column generates response

Last weekÄ¢¹½ÊÓÆµ 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 I’m bored. I don’t know what to do with myself. ItÄ¢¹½ÊÓÆµ not really that the Olympics are over as much as my parents monitor my social media use on my phone and Chromebook. And I’m allowed to watch only the TV they approve – 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 – I can ask my question too! I hope thatÄ¢¹½ÊÓÆµ okay. I’m the mom of a very inquisitive 5-year-old. When I say inquisitive, I mean there isn’t an hour of the day when I’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 ValentineÄ¢¹½ÊÓÆµ Day. I once loved ...