Dear Queenie,

I am 10 years old. I live with my Dad and Mom in an apartment. I read your column to practice my reading.

I want to get a dog but my Mom says no. She says our apartment is too small. I have a fish tank and two hamsters in a cage and we have a cat but I still want a dog.

My Dad said I could write you a letter to practice my writing.

Queenie, how can I get my Mom to change her mind?—Loves animals

Dear Loves animals,

A small apartment occupied by three people, two hamsters, a cat and I don’t know how many fish must be pretty crowded. A dog, even a little one, would need space to run around and would not be happy being confined like that.

I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I think your mother is right. Maybe some day your parents will move to a larger apartment or even a house with a yard and then you can have a dog.

Meanwhile, you can practise your reading by reading books about how to take care of a dog, so you will be ready when (if) you get one. But please don’t stop reading my column too. And thank you for writing to me.

Dear Queenie,

I am a 21-year-old who has had only one boyfriend for the past two years. The beginning of our relationship was great but lately I have been seeing less and less of him.

I pay all my bills on my own and have always been doing that. All I ever asked of him was time and now even that I don’t get anymore unless he notices that I am drifting away and then he tries to mend things, which only lasts for a few weeks.

I have met this new guy whom I am beginning to like and I have decided that I would prefer being with him than my current boyfriend. I will not cheat on my boyfriend, but every time I get an opportunity to tell him that I want to move on, I fear that I might be doing the wrong thing.

Queenie, I need your advice as to whether I should give it one last try or try moving on with someone who would treat me better. Thank you in advance for your advice.—Caught between two

Dear Caught between two,

There is no reason a woman must confine her attention to one man unless she is married or engaged to be married, which I gather you are not. So feel free to see both these men, and do not feel you are cheating on either one of them.

Of course, it is only fair that you let them both know that your relationship with each of them is not exclusive.

I will say it again and again and again: It is not a good idea for a woman to confine herself to an exclusive relationship too young or too quickly. She should keep herself free to date any number of men until she is absolutely certain that she has met the one with whom she wants to spend the rest of her life, and that he feels the same way about her.

Dear Queenie,

There are a lot of things I would like to talk to my Mom about, like sex and boys and grownup stuff, but she gets all embarrassed and so do I and we never really get to talk about them.

Queenie, how can I get over being embarrassed so we can really talk?—Shy teenager

Dear Shy teenager,

Part of the reason you get embarrassed is probably because you are aware of her embarrassment and respond in kind. It’s too bad a mother and daughter can’t be more open with each other.

Try to schedule a time every day, or at least once or twice a week, when the two of you will sit down together and talk about whatever is on your minds. Agree in advance that you will talk openly about whatever comes up, no matter how embarrassed you feel.

Very often it is much easier for a shy person to talk freely and openly when he/she cannot see the other person. That is why telephone help lines are so popular and so helpful.

If you are both so shy that you just can’t bring yourselves to talk freely at first, try sitting back-to-back or talking on the phone. Or, if you both have access to a computer, try e-mailing each other or meeting in a chat room.

I hope you will both soon be able to relax enough to talk face-to-face.

Dear Queenie,

My husband and I have been married for 11 years now. We have a four-year-old son and he’s so adorable at times.

But the problem is the romance part is missing from our lives. I feel it a lot, but not my husband. Life has changed a lot since our son was born. It has never felt like the first few months when we were newly married. It all felt like a dream at that time.

But now it seems we’ve become old and I have so many responsibilities that romance is nowhere in our lives. Plus the child takes up so much of our time that it is out of the question. He talks a lot whenever we are together and also needs a lot of attention.

What could help in such a case? Gone forever are the good old days. Romance is nowhere in sight. I really miss the intimacy in our relationship.

Also I feel my husband does not balance the time spent with his son and his wife. I feel very left out at times. He gives too much time to our son and, of course, the rest of the time he is at work. Whatever time we have at home is taken up either by the child, the TV or his PC, so what time is left for me?

And by the way, where is the Women’s Desk located? The exact address.

Thank you, Queenie.—Sad and lonely

Dear Sad and lonely,

Romance often seems to go out the window when the children come along, but usually it’s the mother who is worn out and the father who is jealous of the baby. It takes some effort from both parties to keep it alive, but it can be done.

Have you talked this over with your husband? Maybe he thinks you are too tired for romance and the TV and PC are his way of “giving you some space.”

If that’s not the case, a little seductive effort on your part might help. Get out your sexiest negligee, schedule a sleepover for your son with the grandparents or other relatives, or friends with children around the same age, turn down the lights and go to work on your husband.

The Women’s Desk is located at Front Street #141.