Teen

Sometimes, things turn out just like you thought they would. That new program manager you thought was flirting with you over at the water cooler asks you out. You cut out carbs and lose 5 pounds. And the two "American Idol" finalists everyone was betting on, at least since the moody and glorious Carly Smithson felt the blade last month, are indeed battling for the crown next week. David Archuleta and David Cook -- the clean teen versus the Bed Head by TIGI-coiffed rocker -- should make for a final round marked by big notes and bitten lips.

Al Martinez's column comparing teen-agers with dogs (April 15) was an unfair portrait of teen-agers. He says that if dogs could be taught to walk upright and teen-agers could be taught not to chase cars, there would be no difference between the two. Perhaps he finds this comparison funny, maybe even true. I, being a teen-ager of 16 years, do not find it funny or true. As a matter of fact, I find it insulting and biased. It makes me angry that he and others like him take the view that teen-agers are immature, bratty, un-law-abiding and a general menace to society.

I was pleased to read Peirce's column. At last there is someone who realizes what the high school health-clinic movement is about. These clinics do not promote sex, but knowledge and responsibility. The media bombard us with sex in order to sell their products, but they neglect responsibility. The sexual revolution of the 1960s brought sex out into the open, but America has chosen to ignore that teens are having sexual intercourse. Teen pregnancies are a problem in America, and our society must come to terms with them.

When you are driving in the fast lane with $771,500 in National Highway Traffic Safety money in your pocket to do a "slick" anti-drunk driving campaign targeting teen-agers ("Ads Aim to Curb Teen Drinking" by Michael Stroud, April 4), you're going to go right past the obvious and never see that: --"Slick" ads do not always require paid big-time ad agencies, promoters and film makers to produce, because there are public-spirited Hollywood directors and writers who will waive or reduce their usual fees and put their talent to work with teens themselves, often the best actors.

In "Punishing Teens to Protect Them" (Opinion, June 11), Mike Males' claim that California's graduated driver licensing law is the same as other efforts to restrict youthful behavior is fundamentally flawed. California's law is based not upon restricting behavior but upon building driving skills and introducing teens gradually into the complex driving environment. This is likely the most dangerous environment teens will ever face. Males asserts that European teens experience fewer mishaps when freer to engage in adult behavior.

Are you "helping" a teen-ager, sheltering and feeding a teen-ager "whose parents don't understand them, who don't understand that a little pot or alcohol is used when they are stressed out"? Have you heard them say, "I'm looking for a job" or "It's not my fault" or "Everyone blames me, and I was just standing there" or "It's all the teacher's fault, he didn't explain it, that's why I got an F"? Well, the public is not helping them one bit. Teen-agers who use drugs and/or alcohol are breaking the law and people are enabling them if they give them shelter.

On a recent Friday night, a neighbor's daughter gave a party with a live band. The party began at 7 p.m., her parents were in attendance, and by 8:30 p.m. the police had arrived with complaint in hand to shut them down. The shallow shortsightedness of some people never ceases to amaze me. Here we had a perfect arena for a lot of teen-age kids to hang out, eat, dance, listen to some good music and not bother anybody. Nobody in our immediate cul-de-sac was put out in the least. We were all notified it would be happening, well in advance.

Thomas' article infuriated me more than his self-righteous moralizing usually does. Of course we should tell our teen-agers not to engage in premarital sex! Of course we should set standards of behavior (sexual and otherwise) for our children. But let's not forget that hormones and feelings will often get the best of even the most well-meaning teen-ager. And to cope with that we need adequate birth control information, prenatal care and yes, the choice of abortion. However, the hidden agenda in Thomas' piece was far more insidious.

As a person who has presented smoking cessation programs to adults and teens for the past 15 years, I would like to congratulate the Los Angeles Times and writer Shari Roan for the outstanding article titled "Struggle to Quit" (Feb. 14). I would suggest that the parents (or parent) of any teenage smoker view this article as mandatory reading for themselves, and I would encourage them to do all they can to get a smoking teen to read it. I am currently conducting an American Cancer Society Fresh Start program at Los Robles Medical Center in Thousand Oaks, and there are two teens in the program.