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CHATROOM Photos courtesy of Bangkok Post/ AP Letter of the week OFF ONLINE
The problem is that my father and aunt don�t approve of me doing this. They say that I must spend my time reading books. I tell them that it�s my free time, but they don�t agree with me. What should I do? Siriyaporn Noisawat, Songkhla It really depends on what you�re doing when you�re on the Internet, Satang. I don�t think that there�s anything wrong with surfing the Net. In fact, that�s what I spend a great deal of my time doing � for work and also in my free time. It�s a great source of information, and it helps me keep in touch with what�s going on back home. Spending all of your free time IM-ing the friends that you see every day at school is a waste of time, though. You sound like a level-headed person. If you don�t spend too much time on the Internet, I don�t see anything wrong with it. See if you can make some kind of compromise with your family. Maybe you can reach an agreement that for every hour you spend surfing the Net, you�ll spend an equal amount of time reading a book. � Editor THREE RATS
In my house there are three people who were born in the year of the rat � my mom, my older sister and me. My grandmother said that when three rats stay together, they will be very noisy and talkative. Do you believe that? Satida Amnuaychailert, Bangkok I don�t think that there is a specific word for a 12-year period, Satida, but the 12-year cycle is important in the Chinese zodiac. I�m not a big believer in superstitions like the zodiac, Chinese or Western. But as a monkey, I tend to be factual and intellectual, so maybe I�m not the best person to ask. � Editor COMMUNICATION PROBLEM
My father says that Chinese is useful and that there are more Chinese people than French in the world. I think that Chinese is very difficult, and I don�t enjoy it. I�m not brave enough to tell my father that I don�t like it, so I don�t know whether I should study Chinese or French. Namtip Sudputong, Songkhla You may lose this one, May. If you�re not brave enough to stand up for yourself, it�s a sure thing that you�ll be studying Chinese. Even if you do talk to your father about it, as the kid, you may have to go along with what he says. Your father has a point that more people in the world speak Chinese than French, but one of the things that I�ve discovered in my life is that if you don�t enjoy something, you won�t have the passion to become really good at it. I think it�s a tremendous waste of precious time to pursue something that you don�t like. Life is awfully short. You have to decide for yourself what�s most important and then live with whatever decision you make. Good luck. � Editor TROUBLED TEENS
They want to stay away from problems, but they don�t get good advice. They might think that smoking and taking drugs are the best ways to forget their problems. If they become addicted to drugs and they don�t have money to buy them, they might turn to crime or gambling. In the news recently there was a story about teens throwing stones at people. There were many injured people, and somebody died. It�s a big loss for their family, and it�s not fair. Teens do things like this because they think it�s fun, and they want to forget their problems. I want to ask all parents to take care of their children and not allow them to go outside at night. Sirapop Watthanabarameesakul, Nonthaburi People will always do stupid things, Sirapop, and sometimes that stupidity impacts the lives of other, innocent people. You�re right, it�s not fair � but life is seldom fair. Not every disadvantaged teen is sitting on a highway overpass waiting to rain stones down on unsuspecting motorists, and not every privileged kid is studying hard and being respectful to their parents. Background is not a good indicator of whether somebody is going to do something stupid, and just as many hurtful things happen in the light of day as do after the sun goes down. � Editor
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Hello. My name is Satang, and I�m 14 years old. I am very
serious about my studies, but when I finish them, I like to relax. I read
fiction or cartoon books and sometimes like to surf the Internet. 
Hello. I was born in 1996, the year of the rat. I am
12 years old, and this year is also the year of the rat. I know that a period
of 10 years is called a decade and that 100 years is a century. Is there a
special name for 12 years?
Hello, my nickname is May and I�m 15 years old. I
enjoy studying English, but I have a problem about the entrance examination to
other schools. My father wants me to do an entrance exam in a Chinese language
programme, but I don�t like it. I want to do an entrance exam for French.
I have read news about crimes committed by teenagers.
I think that teens commit crimes because of many reasons, like family problems
and lack of
money. 
