QUESTION: My teenage son is talking suicide. Do I take this seriously, or is it a stage?
ANS: Don't let him know you're alarmed, but take it very seriously. Get professional help--a therapist may be called for. Some depressions are treated with drugs (by a psychiatrist), others can be handled with talk therapy. Let a psychiatrist decide.
QUESTION: My college graduate girl is enamored of a shady character whose means of earning money is immoral. She resists all attempts to make her see the light. What else can we do?
ANS: If she's not read "OLiver Twist" by Charles Dickens, start calling her Nancy, and if she asks you why, tell her she reminds you of the character by that name in the novel. She may be curious enough to find out why, but there's little you can do with a girl over eighteen except hope her upbringing will shine through.