ArcaMax

There are many ways of learning about sex (and being sexual) outside of intercourse. Don't discuss your chastity pledge with your parents until you have a reason to. You can also choose to never discuss this with them. Your body is your own, and you (not your parents) should be in charge of it.

Dear Amy: I'm dismayed by seeing small children, even infants, with screens placed sometimes just inches from their faces.

There is just so much wrong with this. It impedes their health and social development.

A preschool teacher told me that she sees a real difference with the children coming into her classrooms recently; they're having a harder time learning how to be with other children. Her theory is that it's because they're staring at screens too much, rather than relating to the world around them.

This is just my opinion, but I think that lifting up your head and becoming an observer of what's around you is very valuable. It's so sad when I see parents setting up screens at restaurants for their children. How about talking with them, or bringing a book or crayons?

I don't want to sound like a Luddite but I really can't see an upside to this.

Is it ever appropriate to mention the health risks to these parents, who might not know about them? -- Carol

Dear Carol: No.

Obviously, you can try to tell people how to raise their children, but if you make this choice, you should prepare yourself for parents not giving a fig.

I happen to agree with you about screen use (every thoughtful person does), but you should confine your expertise to members of your own family.

Dear Amy: Responding to your answer to "Sad Grandma," many states have grandparents' rights.

If this grandmother's state has them, she can go to court to file for rights of visitation. If she can prove that she and her grandchild have an established bond, she has rights to see her grandchild. -- Reader

Dear Reader: I hope this grandmother exhausts all options before going to court.

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(You can contact Amy Dickinson via email: askamy@tribpub.com. You can also follow her on Twitter @askingamy or "like" her on Facebook. Amy Dickinson's memoir, "The Mighty Queens of Freeville: A Mother, a Daughter and the Town that Raised Them" (Hyperion), is available in bookstores.)