10/21/2011 I agonized a bit over how to broach the subject of the tattoo with “troubled teen.” At first I was angry and wanted to lecture and yell like the old me. Then, after a day went by (we sometimes go two or three days without crossing paths, so this was normal), I was calmer. I talked to my boyfriend who’s had his share of experiences in this regard, and he shed some light on the subject. Our discussion, if…
10/18/2011 The world is divided into two kinds of people: those who have tattoos, and those who are afraid of people with tattoos. –Author Unknown Louie brought his new girlfriend over, and the nicest thing I can say about her is all her tattoos are spelled correctly. –Robert Harling, Steel Magnolias Tattoos to me are are like the Walmart of rebellion. I think I was looking for some kind of outward display of anguish that I was a serious person. –…
Tattoos may deposit more than color underneath the skin. Like car paint pigments. And lead. These are just a couple of the substances that scientists have discovered taint some tattoo inks, raising safety concerns over the widely popular but loosely regulated industry. “Consumers should be aware of the fact that we really don’t know what’s being injected,” warns Linda Katz, director of the Office of Cosmetics and Colors at the Food and Drug Administration. At the moment, the FDA doesn’t…
10/18/2011 Consider the health risks of this invasive procedure before getting—or removing—body art. Tattoos are fast becoming a mark of the 21st century, with one quarter or more of those under the age of 30 adorning their skin with at least one. Whether driven by the urge for personal expression or just plain youthful impulsiveness, most people get tattooed without a clue about the health implications of this invasive skin-puncturing procedure. I’d suggest that all tattooing require a signed consent…
10/17/2011 I truly don’t know what to do about this current situation. If you refer back to my post about the lies my daughter has told me thus far, I wrote that post while in a tongue-in-cheek mood, as if I was only “looking back” on bad times and that they were over. Well, I just bit my tongue and it hurts. There was a big juicy lie on that list—the one that says she doesn’t have a tattoo; after all, she said,…
10/17/2011 So the fall/early winter is birthdayville in my family. Me: September; older daughter: October; my sister: November; toddler nephew: December; and “troubled teen:” December. As my girls get older, it’s more and more impossible to be creative with gifts. A set of nail polishes in a cute box or a CD of a pop band used to go pretty far—now the gifts need to be meaningful and that often means expensive. Troubled teen made it easy for me this…
10/11/2011 Nothing really too mindboggling has gone on with my kid in recent weeks (could be months). No police calls, no catching her with dope, no arguments, no new piercings or tattoos. Her appearance is what’s baffling me. My daughter is beautiful, exotic, you could even say sexy and voluptuous (G-d help me). Why is she uglifying herself? One thing I wonder about is why she changed her gorgeous, thick, black mane to a freaky red/auburn/violet muddle. She’s done it…
9/12/2011 I particularly wanted to find out about my daughters’ age groups. The survey says: Young Adults Aged 18 to 25 In 2010, the rate of current illicit drug use was higher among young adults aged 18 to 25 (21.5 percent) than among youths aged 12 to 17 (10.1 percent) and adults aged 26 or older (6.6 percent). Among young adults, the rates were 18.5 percent for marijuana, 5.9 percent for nonmedical use of psychotherapeutic drugs, 2.0 percent for hallucinogens, and 1.5 percent for cocaine. In 2010,…
8/24/2011 I admit it, I’ve been duped a thousand times by my daughter, and despite knowing it, I continue to fall for her lies. I think it’s wishful thinking that “this time,” she is finally being straightforward and I have nothing to worry about. I catch her in lies all the time, but 50% of the time I can’t really prove anything and 50% of the time I punish her in some way but it doesn’t change her behavior. She’s either…
8/8/2011 I am a mother in despair, in a crisis emotionally and it’s taken me two days to process why I had another lost weekend, time I will never get back. As usual, there’s a long, involved reason. Last week, my “troubled teen” had her final (??) day in court, for what they call a pre-adjudication hearing. Essentially, she had to plead guilty for a shoplifting charge, apologize for it, and they would formally drop all the other pending charges. Then…