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Double Take

Double Take: Take depression in teens seriously
January 21, 2013
Dear Dr. Wes and Katie: We used to hear a lot about depressed teenagers. Then there was the concern about too many kids being on antidepressants and that medication might even make things worse. What’s your current view of this? I can’t tell if my daughter is just moody like a normal kid or if there’s something more wrong. I don’t want to label her for no good reason.
Double Take: Acquaintance rape a danger for young adults
January 14, 2013
The dynamic of acquaintance rape among teens and young adults is so full of angles, and at times even politics, that I’ve been reticent to move on it. Last week, NPR ran a story about a horrific serial rape in Steubenville, Ohio, that’s landed at least two 16-year-olds in jail. It’s a discussion we need to have.
Double Take: How much to work depends on teen
January 7, 2013
Dear Dr. Wes and Katie: I’ve always heard students benefit by working up to 20 hours per week. Is that still true?
Double Take: Striving and respect: 2 themes for year ahead
December 31, 2012
We arrive tomorrow at the year 2013, in remarkably good shape for a world destroyed on Dec. 21. As one who grew up in the shadow of an oft-imagined Cold War mushroom cloud, I found the threat from long-dead Maya a bit underwhelming.
Double Take: Some advice for a successful family gathering
December 24, 2012
The holidays are here, the kids are home from college or high school and the spirit of the season is everywhere.
Double Take: Tech gifts may require ethics manual
December 17, 2012
Holiday shopping for kids often means high-tech gifts. But there’s one accessory you won’t find in among the chargers and quick-start guides — the ethics manual.
Double Take: Parents should consider Plan B guidance
December 10, 2012
On Nov. 26, the American Academy of Pediatrics placed itself firmly in this camp. In the journal Pediatrics, the Academy officially recommends that doctors begin prescribing emergency contraception in advance for all teens so they can access it within 120 hours of sexual contact.
Double Take: Meaningful career not dependent on salary
December 3, 2012
Dear Dr. Wes and Katie: I was troubled by one sentence in your column on drunken driving. You described Jordan as “a good student who I suspect will eventually knock back a six-figure salary.” I think you wanted to say you expected Jordan to be productive/have a rewarding career/do good things — something more than, even other than, financial success.
Double Take: Pros and cons of legalizing marijuana
November 26, 2012
With the recent passage of laws legalizing recreational marijuana in some states, do you think this is a good idea and do you think it’s going to spread to other states (like maybe ours!)?
Double Take: Myths surround eating disorders, treatment
November 19, 2012
Katie: Anorexia nervosa whittled me down to 90 pounds when I was 15, putting my body mass index in the first percentile of girls my age. I’m not proud of that, but I am proud to write that after regaining the weight I lost, I have achieved happiness and healthiness. I’m sharing my recovery story today for the sake of those who can’t yet say the same.
Double Take: Drunken driving rampant among young adults
November 12, 2012
Jordan is not an alcoholic, at least not by the standards we’ve set for formal diagnosis. Jordan is a good student who I suspect will eventually knock back a six-figure salary. However, like a great many young people, Jordan binge drinks in a way that for any other demographic would indicate severe addiction. We have as a society decided to look the other way and now consider this a normal rite of passage — kids being kids.
Double Take: It’s a dangerous world for teens
November 5, 2012
Homicide is the second leading cause of teen deaths in America, accounting for 13 percent of lost lives from age 12 to 19. Though accidents, most of them in automobiles, kill three times as many teens, 13 percent is still a sobering number to consider. For black teens, the rate is even higher.
Double Take: Be proactive to prevent political disputes at family gatherings
October 29, 2012
Dear Dr. Wes and Katie: I am dreading the holidays. All summer my family argued about politics. I was home from college, and I’m more liberal than my family. By Thanksgiving, we’ll know who wins the next election, and either way it’s going to be horrible. My family doesn’t argue about these things in a civil way. They argue like they’re on Fox News, and it always gets personal. Suggestions?
Double Take: Balance interests, job market when choosing major
October 22, 2012
Considering post-secondary education as little more than an ATM absolutely detracts from the greater and permanent good it can do for each young person it touches. But likewise, treating it only as a path to self-actualization (or worse, a path to the ultimate party) misses the point every bit as much. Instead, late teens must strike a balance between what fulfills them intellectually, spiritually and emotionally, and what will yield a real paycheck.
Double Take: Parents, assume your teen will have sex
October 15, 2012
Here’s what we know: 47 percent of high school students have had sexual intercourse, and 35 percent report being sexually active at any given moment. The average age for first intercourse in the U.S. is 17.