'My 12-year-old son has a girlfriend'

Dear Diana, I'm a worried mother of two. My elder son is 18 and is a good student. My younger son is 12 and hardly ever scores high grades.

On top of that, chote ustad has a girlfriend and he’s proud to claim so in front of the family. He even says ludicrous stuff like ‘I’m going to marry her when I grow up’ and doesn’t even bat his eyelids while saying so! My husband is not the strict kind so I’m burdened with the responsibility of maintaining discipline. I don’t know what to do of him. If only I could tell him that at 12 he has many more things to do.
— Surili

Illustration/ Amit Bandre

Dear Surili,
Good heavens! I truly understand what you must be undergoing. It appears that your 12-year-old thinks all this is a joke and talks about his wife-to-be. As the other family members laugh along with him and find it amusing, he thinks he too plays along. You need to talk to your hubby and then sit and discuss with your kid that he can’t be making such statement aloud. I really wonder what the girl and her folks too tolerate all this. Tell him right now it is studies and sports for him. Friends are important but he need not seek a life partner at 12. That can wait for now.u00a0

Diana will solve it!
Write to Diana at diana@mid-day.com, or fax her on 24150009. You can also post letters to Dear Diana, Mid Day, Peninsula Centre, Dr S S Rao Road, opp Mahatma Gandhi Hospital, Parel, Mumbai 400012

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