Ask Lola

Dear Lola, I’m constantly fighting with my mum! She’s always on at me to tidy my room and do my homework and do the chores! It’s so annoying! I feel like screaming! She won’t let me go out with friends on a school nights so that makes me the only one who doesn’t go! I’m scared of becoming a loser because of her! What do I do? Deprived Daughter Dear Deprived Daughter, Your mum is just worried about you! Don’t be too hard on her! She wants to make sure you have a promising life ahead of you. If you don’t do your homework, you could fail your exams and not get a good job! Later on in life, you realise that your schooldays are the most important years of your life! Don’t waste them on going out every night. It is okay to have a break once in a while, though. Try to think in her shoes, if you have brothers or sisters or pets, and no one in the house helps cleaning, your Mum may be easily annoyed by the mess! Your Mum loves you, just think calmly and talk it out with her, it’ll be okay. Lola

Dear Lola, I need help to quit smoking! My dad has found out and is extremely angry. He is trying to make me quit. But my friends will think I’m scared of being caught and I’m a wimp. I don’t want that, but I don’t want black lungs, either. What should I do? Secret Smoker Dear Secret Smoker, Tell your friends about the problems of smoking because sometimes people don’t realise the consequences. If your friends aren’t mature enough to accept your decision to quit, then they aren’t real friends. Smoking does kill you and if your friends don’t want to admit that, they are the ones in the wrong. You could try nicotine patches or get some advice from your doctor. You would be the one who lives longer! Live it properly, without smoking. Lola

Dear Lola,

My Dad won’t let me have a dog. I’ve never had one before; I’ve never

had any pet before but I really really really want a dog! My birthday is

coming up and that is the perfect opportunity to get one! We have a big

enough house for 100 dogs! How can I convince him to let me have one?

Dog-Desperate

Dear Dog-Desperate,

Are you really sure you are ready for a dog? A dog is for life not just for

Christmas (or birthday present for that matter!)! If you are super sure you

are ready for a dog, maybe you should research which dog you want and

what dogs need and how to be kept and so on. Try to show your Dad

you are very responsible to look after a dog by showing him that you can

keep a pet. But start small, like a fish or a hamster. Don’t rush straight

away into a big dog you can’t handle. They may be cute as puppies but

they aren’t puppies forever. Trust me.

Lola

Dear Lola

My (so called) best friends force me to tell them my secrets, for

example who I fancy, and then they tell the-person-I-fancy’s best friend

that I fancy him! It’s so embarrassing! They force me to tell them

EVERYTHING! I just want to shout at them that I hate them, but they are

the “leaders” of the girls I hang around with so they turn everyone

against me! (I’ve had that happen one too many times to tell you how

much it hurts.) I’m scared of even coming to school now. I don’t know

what to do.

Secret Spiller

Dear Secret Spiller

You should tell an adult about this. It sounds like these “friends” are

using you to tell them secrets that they can turn into gossip. Try talking

to them about it first. Try calmly telling them how you are feeling and

how this really upsets you. If it is more than you are saying, this could

also be bullying. Talk to an adult about what to do. You should not be

scared to come to school at all. School is meant for learning not being

forced to tell people secrets. That’s not fair.

Lola

If you have a problem and want an answer, send your problem to Newspaper@whickamschool.org. Don’t worry, Lola will never print your name; everything will be confidential and anonymous. You can even think up your own pen name!