Books by Dr. M

Where Should I Sit at Lunch? The Ultimate 24/7 Guide to Surviving the High School Years, by Harriet S. Mosatche, PhD
Where Should I Sit at Lunch? The Ultimate 24/7 Guide to Surviving the High School Years

Readers Comments

— March 24, 2024 —

Hi! I've been coming back to your advice column here and there for the past 3 to 4 years. I just wanted to say I really like it. I'll admit, I used to submit a ton of things to get a reply but now I enjoy going through your replies to other people. It has really helped me in some situations so thank you :)

— Ash, 14

 

Dear Ash,

I appreciate your letter and loyalty to our advice column. I'm glad you're finding it helpful now to look at our responses to other people's questions. I hope you'll continue to review our answers to others, and whenever you have a dilemma or problem you need help with please consider writing to AskDrM.org.

signed, Dr. M.
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— September 9, 2023 —

Hello. I just wanted to say that your advice column has been so helpful to me, so thank you so much for what you are doing.

— Thank you, 14

 

Dear Thank you,

All the advisers who write for AskDrM.org appreciate your comment. Since our work is totally voluntary, we enjoy reading submissions, like yours, that let us know that our advice has been helpful. I continue to read each letter that comes in, even though most of them will not be answered on our website. We deeply value the questions and comments that are sent to us. Thank you for taking the time to write to us.

signed, Dr. M.
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— March 29, 2023 —

I don't ask questions here but I read answers and they have helped me so much. The advice has helped me get over my social anxiety and insecurity. Thank you SOOOOOOOOOO much. It wouldn't have been possible without your advice.

— Happy, 13

 

Dear Happy,

Even though you haven't submitted questions to AskDrM.org, it's great to know that you have found our advice to other readers helpful to you. Thanks very much for letting us know. I hope you'll continue to read our column, and if there's ever a time you have a question that hasn't already been answered, please submit it to us.

signed, Dr. M.
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— February 9, 2023 —

I just wanted to say thank you for answering one of my questions a while back. It means a lot to me, so thanks.

— Thankful, 14

 

Dear Thankful,

All the advisers at AskDrM.org appreciate your note of thanks. A lot of people are disappointed when we don't answer their questions, so it's nice to get acknowledgment of a question we did answer. I hope our advice continues to be helpful to you.

signed, Dr. M.
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— December 4, 2022 —

What happens to the submissions that are not chosen to be answered? Are they discarded and the website moves onto the next newest batch of questions?

— Ikuya, 20

 

Dear Ikuya,

I only discard the questions that are similar to ones we've already answered, submissions that are not clear, obvious joke submissions, questions that are no longer relevant (such as referring to a particular occasion that has passed), or ones that are not appropriate for AskDrM.org. Sometimes, I do go back to the saved questions, particularly if they're relevant to current issues. Currently, I have a database of thousands of unanswered questions.

signed, Dr. M.
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— November 4, 2022 —

Hi Dr. M! I first discovered this website when I was in 6th or 7th grade (I believe) and it was absolutely life-changing! I found your dedication to supporting and uplifting youth inspiring and I would scroll through the pages of this website for hours to read the advice you had given others. Therapy was not a financial option for me at the time so I would read what was posted on this site and see the answers you had given other children and teens that applied to my own situation. Over the years, I've visited this website at least once a month and have consistently read the pieces of advice you've posted. Through thick and thin, hard times, breakups, moving, and growing up, this website has been a constant grounding force in my life. And now that I've started college, it's crazy to look back and see how far you've come, how far I've come, and how far this advice column has come. I hope to one day get my doctorate and create a website just like this to support others, the same way this site has supported me! Thank you so much for everything! Please keep doing what you're doing, your advice, knowledge, and genuine care is incredible and a site like this is so rare to find. I feel like I've genuinely been able to navigate my teenage years from elementary school to a college freshman because of this website. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!

— Grateful, 18

 

Dear Grateful,

I was incredibly moved by your letter. I have always hoped that our advice not only provided guidance to the person who wrote to us, but to other readers of AskDrM.org as well. Your words mean so much to me and the other advisers and will inspire us to keep reading every submission and continue to offer advice to our readers. I am grateful to you for being such a loyal and long-term reader, and for telling us about your journey. I hope our advice column continues to help you as you make your way through college and beyond. I admire your ambition and desire to help others—those qualities have long guided me. Please keep in touch with us.

signed, Dr. M.
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— September 24, 2022 —

Hello Dr. M,

I am very curious about your job. May I ask what you do in your job and why you decided to be a doctor? I don't have any problems, but one of my friend does. He has emotional issues and wanted to commit suicide once. He didn't and now he still has emotional issues but it's gotten better now.

— Jaden, 12

 

Dear Jaden,

I have had many jobs since I received my PhD in developmental psychology. I decided to pursue this field because it was a way of helping people—children, adolescents, and adults—and also allowed me to hold a variety of rewarding positions. At one time I was a psychology professor and the chair of a college psychology department. I have also been a leadership coach and the head of research and program development for a national non-profit youth organization. Regardless of the position I held, I was also always involved in one writing project or another. I started working as an online adviser 25 years ago, and I have written many books and articles. I'm working on a new book right now.

You also mentioned your friend who, at one time, was thinking about suicide. I'm glad he's gotten better, but you and all your friends should know that 988 is a new phone number that allows you to get help 24/7 for yourself or someone else.

signed, Dr. M.
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— August 26, 2022 —

Hi! I've asked a couple of questions on here before and I don't think I've ever been replied to. Does the person who asks a question get notified in some way that their questions have been responded to? Hope that makes sense!

— Nat, 17

 

Dear Nat,

Since we want to retain the anonymity of people who write to us, we have no way of knowing who has submitted a question and therefore no way to notify people that their questions have been answered on our site. The best advice I can offer to you is to read our column often so you won't miss seeing if one of your questions has been answered online.

signed, Dr. M.
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— July 31, 2022 —

I would just like to thank you for answering my question. Once school starts I will take your advice to the next level. Thank you sooooooooooooo much!

— Thankful Girl, 12

 

Dear Thankful Girl,

It's not often that we get feedback about our advice, and I'm very happy to learn that you found our advice so helpful.

signed, Dr. M.
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— June 19, 2022 —

I was just wondering how many people you think read your website. Your advice has helped me a lot!

— Janie, 9

 

Dear Janie,

I'm glad to learn that the advice we've given on our website has helped you, and I hope you will continue to benefit from our advice. I don't know how many people read our column. We get many more questions than we're able to answer, but I do read every single submission.

signed, Dr. M.
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— June 5, 2022 —

Have you ever had an instance of someone scamming you guys with posts?

— Sally, 16

 

Dear Sally,

Most of the time when we get hoax submissions, it's easy for us to tell that they're not serious questions. But once in a while, we are fooled and answer a question that was obviously sent to our website to deceive us. The problem for our readers is that this action is not a harmless prank because by answering a joke question, we are depriving our readers of an answer to a real issue someone else is having.

signed, Dr. M.
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— April 23, 2022 —

Hey! I have been reading your advice for about a year now and was curious how you pick which questions you answer. Do you try to post the most unique questions? Or just the questions that you think people need help with the most? Just curious.

— Joshua, 18

 

Dear Joshua,

I'm happy to hear that you've been reading our advice column and hope it's been helpful to you. You're right that I pick questions for our advisers to answer based on a variety of factors, including: those that detail issues that lots of people are grappling with, those that depict unique perspectives that would interest our readers, and those that are so serious that they need our advice as soon as possible.

signed, Dr. M.
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— April 9, 2022 —

Why do you think advice columns are so popular? Can't wait for your next post!

— Ann, 16

 

Dear Ann,

Thanks so much for your enthusiasm about our column. That's why we continue to post new questions and answers. I think that advice columns are popular with readers for several reasons, including the following: 1) being curious about other people's issues, 2) recognizing that others are dealing with similar problems to one's own, 3) gaining perspective about the broad range of issues people deal with, 4) seeing whether the advice that's given can be applied to one's own life, and 5) considering if they would have given similar advice in a specific situation.

signed, Dr. M.
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— March 26, 2022 —

How many questions do you usually get in a week?

— A, 16

 

Dear A,

The number of questions that are submitted each week vary greatly. Sometimes we are inundated with questions, such as when a class has been told about AskDrM.org. The average is probably around 25, which means that since we only answer at most five questions every two weeks, most people's questions are not answered. But I read every single question that is submitted.

signed, Dr. M.
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— March 13, 2022 —

Are there certain subjects that get brought up a lot and if so, what are they?

— Quinn, 15

 

Dear Quinn,

Many of the questions we receive are about relationships—uncertainty about a particular romantic relationship (for example, whether the relationship seems to be balanced). A lot of questions focus on friendships that have become toxic and how to handle those situations. We also get many questions or complaints about parents, particularly about restrictions or perceived favoritism of one child over another. Some of the questions relate to school or teacher issues. From parents, we often get questions related to romantic relationships their children are involved in, of which the parents disapprove.

signed, Dr. M.
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— January 14, 2022 —

I just wanted to say thank you for making this advice column. I posted before, and I thought no one would answer it, but you guys did! Thank you so much! You gave me just the thing I needed at the right time.

— Anonymous, 10

 

Dear Anonymous,

You're very kind to thank us for this advice column. All of our advisers are volunteers committed to helping people. I'm so glad you found that our advice gave you the support you needed. We get so many questions that we can only answer a small proportion of them. But we encourage people to look through previously answered questions because sometimes they might find the answer to the challenge they're now facing.

signed, Dr. M.
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— December 4, 2021 —

About how many questions do you receive each week? Are there ever times when you don't have enough submissions in a certain category to post about it? I noticed that you haven't posted anything for the "Parents of Kids" section in a few months.

— Just Wondering, 14

 

Dear Just Wondering,

The number of submissions we get each week varies widely, but we have not been getting many questions from parents of young children recently. Our site is most popular with kids and teens, but we continue to be open to questions from parents and grandparents.

signed, Dr. M.
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— November 22, 2021 —

Hi! I don't need advice (Well I do but that's not what I'm writing about right now). I was going through my photos and deleting some to free up storage when I saw a screenshot of me asking a question about friendships on June 30, 2020. Well I totally forgot to check back here to see if someone replied until I found that same screenshot today, Nov 12, 2021. I saw that Emily answered it on October 31, 2020 (if you want to go back and see). I was super surprised to see someone answered and when I read it I felt super relieved. I'm still struggling with friendships (in a different way) but the advice she gave really helped me come to terms with what I was talking about then. I don't see any email addresses or form of contact on the website, which is why I'm sending this. I know I'm probably not going to get a reply seeing as this isn't a question but I just wanted to let you guys know that this actually helped and that this is a great thing that you all are doing. So thank you to you all and thank you especially to Emily!!! College is just around the corner for me and I'm actually feeling excited to try and make some new friends— no matter if they are childhood friends or not.

— Anonymous, 17

 

Dear Anonymous,

Thank you so much for letting us know the impact of the advice we provide on our site. I passed on your kind words to Emily who has been an adviser for about 10 years. I hope you'll continue to read our column and send us questions as you go on to college and face new challenges.

signed, Dr. M.
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— October 13, 2021 —

I have posted to this site many times and never got a response. At first I was angry but then after sending a question I saw someone else's question you did post and it answered mine. Then I looked at more of other people's posts and I can see you guys are really helping the best you can and I understand you can't get to everyone but it feels good to know that someone is trying to help so thank you.

— GratefulThankful, 14

 

Dear GratefulThankful,

I really appreciate your letter. You show great understanding of the position we're in as we choose to answer some questions and not others. I'm glad you were able to recognize that by reading answers to other people's questions you received help with your own issue. Please keep sending questions to us since you never know when we'll choose one of yours to answer.

signed, Dr. M.
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— September 26, 2021 —

What made you want to have an advice column?

— Ash, 12

 

Dear Ash,

I always enjoyed reading advice columns in the newspaper. When I was working for the Girl Scouts of the USA in 1994 (way before you were born), I had the idea that readers of their website would like to be able to submit questions seeking advice. The column was very successful and we received thousands of submissions each week from around the world. When I left the Girl Scout organization, I decided to continue to offer advice online, but to expand my audience to include boys, young adults, and parents. I've been joined my other volunteer advisers who care as much as I do about helping people, and the site AskDrM.org has been online since 2008.

signed, Dr. M.
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— July 31, 2021 —

Is this site LGBTQ+ friendly? I love reading your posts and want to ask for advice but I want to make sure I won't be judged for it.

— Introvert, 17

 

Dear Introvert,

This site is LGBTQ+ friendly, and we would love you to submit questions to us. Our advisers try to be non-judgmental in making suggestions since we know that is the most effective approach and increases the likelihood of readers listening to what we have to say.

signed, Dr. M.
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— May 15, 2021 —

When your latest advice posts are up, do you only choose to answer a question from the "new batch" of questions, or do you also pick ones from a couple/few months ago? Hope my question made sense because I had no idea how to word it.

— Nyx, 18

 

Dear Nyx,

I understood your question perfectly. Usually, the questions selected are a combination of newer and older submissions.

signed, Dr. M.
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— May 1, 2021 —

How do you choose which question you want to answer? What if there are a couple questions in the same section you really want to answer but you can only choose one.

— Ash, 12

 

Dear Ash,

I use a number of different considerations in picking questions to answer: those that represent a common theme among submissions, questions that seem to need an immediate answer, topics that are in the news, and unusual and interesting clearly written questions. I do not respond to questions that don't seem real or do not give enough information for our advisers to respond to. If I decide that a question merits an answer but I have already chosen the questions for a particular week's column, I will save that for a later column.

signed, Dr. M.
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— March 20, 2021 —

If a question is not posted, where does it get answered?

— M, 12

 

Dear M,

Unfortunately, those questions that are not posted on AskDrM.org are not answered by our advisers. But you should know that I continue to read every question that is submitted.

signed, Dr. M.
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— March 6, 2021 —

Do you see people you've answered before, or people whose questions you've seen ask questions again? If you do, are you happy they come to you for advice again?

— Ash, 11

 

Dear Ash,

In many instances, our readers ask a second or third question because a new situation has come up in their lives. They may have received a helpful answer before or read insightful suggestions in our column. We're certainly happy that people value our advice. We do try to answer questions from a variety of different people from diverse backgrounds and ages.

signed, Dr. M.
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— February 20, 2021 —

Hello! I was just wondering if you still had the old posts that no longer show up when I scroll to the bottom. I was looking for an old question I asked and used the advice often. Is there any way to access those?

— Joanna, 12

 

Dear Joanna,

About once a year, we remove all the old posts. Since they have been taken off the website, the best chance for you to find an old question would be by going to the Waybackmachine and searching for our site. I'm really glad you found our advice helpful to you in the past and hope you'll continue to read our column and send us your questions.

signed, Dr. M.
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— January 23, 2021 —

Hi! I've never done this before, but I need your help. I have a couple of problems of my own, but I don't want to talk about it with my family. I really want to write to your advice column, but I'm afraid that if I tell my mom she'll get angry with me and say that I can't solve problems on my own. What do I do?

— Christy, 11

 

Dear Christy,

First, tell your mom that hundreds of kids your age write to us for advice. Second, share our site with her. If she has questions she also can write to us since we have a Parents of Kids column. Let her know that I've been doing this online advice column since 1997. Share my bio with her and that of the other advisers' as well. Our viewpoint has always been that when it's possible to go to family members and friends for support, that's great—but when that's not possible because of the nature of the question, or the nature of the relationship with others—it's important to seek outside advice. This site was created to provide a safe place to vent, to ask questions, and to get objective advice. Everyone who works on the site, from the web designer to the advisers supports this column as volunteers, people who care about making the world a bit better.

signed, Dr. M.
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— December 14, 2020 —

How do I know when you send the advice?

— Ateret, 10

 

Dear Ateret,

We post new answers every two weeks so check back often to see if we answered one of your questions.

signed, Dr. M.
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— November 26, 2020 —

What is your favorite part about the advice column?

— Hassan, 12

 

Dear Hassan,

I love hearing from our readers and learning about the evolving challenges people are facing. But my favorite part of doing this advice column is feeling that I'm helping people by listening to them and offering suggestions that can lead them to effectively manage the issues they're encountering.

signed, Dr. M.
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— October 31, 2020 —

I would really love more questions (especially my own) to be answered. Even emailing a response individually would be better than not getting an answer at all. This is because everyone here gives great advice and it would be great to have personal advice given to me.

— Brooke, 18

 

Dear Brooke,

I'm happy to hear that you appreciate our advice—that's why we continue to write our column. But I'm sorry that we haven't been able to respond to your particular questions. We get many more submissions than we're able to answer and, as an all-volunteer endeavor, we can't reply individually to questions. However, I suggest that you continue to send us your questions, and, hopefully, one day you will be surprised to find that we have posted our advice to you.

signed, Dr. M.
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— June 28, 2020 —

What is your favorite thing about writing this advice column?

— Mari, 15

 

Dear Mari,

What is most rewarding about writing for AskDrM.org is knowing that I'm helping people around the world figure how to best handle the challenges they face. Readers write to tell us that our advice gave them options they hadn't considered before. Although we don't answer most of the questions that are submitted, I hope it makes a difference that our readers know that I read every single letter. Readers have also told us that even when their specific questions are not answered, they benefit from the answers we've posted for other people's questions. Please continue to send us questions and give us feedback.

signed, Dr. M.
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— May 16, 2020 —

Hi. I just wanted to tell you that I love your advice column. My question is: what date is your next post?

— Rose, 12

 

Dear Rose,

I'm so happy to learn that you love our advice column. We post new questions and answers—one for each of our columns (Kids, Teens, Young Adults, Parents of Kids, and Parents of Teens and Young Adults) every two weeks. I hope you will continue to be a fan of our website.

signed, Dr. M.
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— May 2, 2020 —

Hi I just wanted to say that I love reading your posts and have found answers to some of my problems without having to write to you guys about it. I just wanted to say thank you and I can't wait to see your next posts!

— S, 14

 

Dear S,

I'm glad that our advice has been helpful to you, and we love writing posts for our readers. Thank you so much for your wonderful letter.

signed, Dr. M.
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— April 19, 2020 —

I love your advice column and I was wondering how often do you post new questions?

— Wondering, 15

 

Dear Wondering,

Thanks so much for letting us know how much you enjoy reading our advice. We post five new questions and answers every two weeks, but I read every single question that is submitted.

signed, Dr. M.
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— November 9, 2019 —

Hi. I love reading questions and the advice you give, but how can we trust that you guys are professionals and know what you are talking about? Just wondering. Thanks.

— Questioning, 15

 

Dear Questioning,

You raised a crucial question, and I'm proud to provide you with information about the credentials of our advisers. Three of us have PhDs (Dr. B, Dr. L, and me). Kim has a PsyD degree. Mrs. B is a clinical social worker with decades of experience handling issues like the kinds we hear from our readers. One adviser is a lawyer, one is a teacher and artist, and two are college students. We are fortunate to have all these people volunteer their time and expertise writing for AskDrM.org. As the founder of the site, I review the advice the advisers provide before posting the columns.

On the website, we note that: "Our answers reflect our personal opinions only and are meant solely for informational purposes. They do not constitute legal, financial, medical, or any other form of professional advice and should not be construed as such, nor are they replacements for the advice, diagnosis, or treatment that can only be provided by a licensed physician, mental health professional, or financial expert, and should not be considered as a substitute for such advice." We all hope you continue to enjoy reading our column!

signed, Dr. M.
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— September 27, 2019 —

I just wanted to reach out to let you know how grateful I am for all your advice. I've written to a lot of different advice columns with the same problems in desperate times—and you're the only one who has ever responded! Even though it took a few months to get some advice, you really helped me through my problems. Thanks so much!

— Totally Thankful, 11

 

Dear Totally Thankful,

I appreciate your letter, which shows that you recognize the time and thought all the advisers on AskDrM.org give to answering questions. I am delighted to learn that you found our advice helpful, and I hope you will continue to read our column and send us your questions.

signed, Dr. M.
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— June 15, 2019 —

A question went through my mind recently for your Comments section, do you ever get hate mail? I usually would assume websites you can contact would often receive letters like that, but this is an advice column. I don't believe you'd get hate if you help people. So, do you receive hate mail or "prank" like messages?

— Curious, 16

 

Dear Curious,

We do get prank mail, but it's usually easy to spot. Such letters may be a question based on the character from a popular book or may mention every possible issue anyone could have, or that includes curse words. We might also get questions that are designed to shock—but it doesn't do that since we've heard it all! We also get letters from readers who complain about how long it's taken us to answer a particular question or that we haven't provided a response to their message. For the most part, the issues that are submitted are serious and honest ones, and we're sorry that we can't answer more of them. But all of us involved in the AskDrM.org site are volunteers, and we're doing as much as we can. I am happy to let you know that we do get many letters of appreciation from readers, and we're grateful for those. We don't expect everyone to agree with our advice or always to find what we say helpful, but we stay true to the purpose of this site, which is to make suggestions to readers in an anonymous, non-judgmental way. From the time the website was created, I have read every single submission. I want all our readers to know that every "voice" counts.

signed, Dr. M.
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— June 4, 2019 —

Your advice column is excellent! I can't wait for the next posts!

— L, 11

 

Dear L,

Thanks very much for your positive feedback. I hope you continue to find our columns informative and interesting.

signed, Dr. M.
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— May 4, 2019 —

Hi, I love your website, and I just wanted to ask you: What days do you post answers regularly? Thanks.

— Kylie, 11

 

Dear Kylie,

Thanks for being a loyal fan of our website. We usually post new questions and answers every other weekend.

signed, Dr. M.
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— March 22, 2019 —

I love your website and the columns, but I need advice soon! There are a lot of problems, and I need help!

— Desperate, 11

 

Dear Desperate,

I'm glad that you love our website, and we love hearing from our readers. Although we only post answers to a small percentage of the questions we receive, I do read all of them. And you might find some answers that are relevant to your situation in the advice we've already posted.

signed, Dr. M.
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— March 10, 2019 —

Hi, I like your website, but I wish you could post more columns regularly! If not, can you recommend some other advice column sites for kids?

— Desperate, 12

 

Dear Desperate,

I am so glad you like our website, and we're committed to writing new columns every other week. While you're waiting for our latest update, you might check out advice books from the library, compose questions to submit to us, or even formulate answers of your own to some of the problems that appear on our site.

signed, Dr. M.
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— October 21, 2018 —

I've written to you many times, but I never once got an answer. I have problems going on in my life and need advice. My parents don't know what to do, and I can't exactly confide in my friends. As I never get advice, my issues get worse. I bet you won't even post this comment.

— Angry, 13

 

Dear Angry,

Since we get thousands of questions, we only get to answer a very small portion of them online. I'm sorry that we didn't respond to yours in the past. Look at some of the answers we've already posted to find advice that you can apply to the situation you're in. Since you say that your parents don't know how to help you and you can't confide in your friends, think about other people you can go to for advice—perhaps a school nurse, a caring teacher, or a counselor at your school. It's important to seek out someone who can support you as you figure out how to solve the issues that challenge you.

signed, Dr. M.
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— August 10, 2018 —

Hi! This site has really helped me through so many tough things. I did submit a question a little while ago, but I didn't see it answered. Today I was looking back through the advice and saw you guys really did answer it! I just wanted to thank you!

— Smile, 12

 

Dear Smile,

I'm glad you found the answer to your question and really appreciate your letting us know how helpful our site has been to you.

signed, Dr. M.
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— July 16, 2018 —

Dr. M and Dr. B are delighted to announce that now they are also answering questions at BoxedGeneration.com. This new site is for adults who are dealing with the generations above them (parents and grandparents), the generations below them (children and grandchildren), and their peers (spouses, friends, and cousins). Together, AskDrM.org and BoxedGeneration.com, provide readers of all ages with the practical advice they need.

signed, Dr. M.
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— May 20, 2018 —

Hello! First off, I love your advice column and I think you answer all the questions very thoughtfully. But, my question is: Are there any other advice columns you could recommend to your readers? I've been trying to find more, but have found none as good as yours! Thank you!

— Sabre, 13

 

Dear Sabre,

I'm glad you're such a fan of our advice column! We really appreciate your positive feedback. I can't recommend other columns because I haven't evaluated them to see if their advisers have the expertise, experience, and research knowledge needed to give appropriate responses. Please continue to write to us with your questions.

signed, Dr. M.
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— April 8, 2018 —

I sent my message a MONTH ago and didn't get a response! I was Desperate and now my problem is getting worse! Why was my problem never answered? I need help!

— Even More Desperate, 9

 

Dear Even More Desperate,

I'm sorry that we didn't answer your question. We get so many questions that we can only answer a very small portion of them. Please continue to write to us and one of those times we might pick your question to be answered on our site. In the meantime, please try to find a trusted adult who can give you advice and support.

signed, Dr. M.
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— February 25, 2018 —

Hi, to make a long story short, my friend told me she was considering suicide and I ordered a welfare check on her. In the end, she told me about some abuse that had occurred in the recent months and this situation has resulted in her father disowning her. I just wanted to know if I did the right thing. Just to assure you, she did say the words, "I am going to kill myself." I hope you can respond quickly. Thank you.

— K, 15

 

Dear K,

You absolutely did the right thing! Whenever someone says they're going to kill themselves, you have to take the threat seriously. Whether it's telling a parent, a school nurse, child protective services, or a suicide prevention organization, you need to take action immediately. Think about how you would feel if you didn't do anything and your friend actually committed suicide. You stepped in when you were supposed to.

signed, Dr. M.
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