Article posted Thursday, June 12, 2014 11:03am

Dear Mary Pat,

I’m 13 and my mom and dad won’t let me watch movies that are rated R, but all my friends are watching rated R movies.

Last week, my friend had a sleepover and everyone wanted to watch The Conjuring – rated R. So I called my mom and asked if it was okay if I watched it. She said, “No! And those girls’ parents shouldn’t be letting them watch that garbage either.”

We watched a PG-13 movie instead and all the other girls seemed a little mad at me. They told me I shouldn’t have called my mom. Now I’m scared I wouldn’t be invited to other sleepovers? Did I do

the right thing?

Signed,

Does Mom Know Best?

Sturgeon Bay, WI

Dear Does Mom Know Best,

You absolutely did the right thing. Being caught between what your parents want and what your friends want is never easy. You, however, chose to listen to your mom and dad. Your friends might have been mad at you and maybe you won’t get invited to every sleepover. That’s not an easy consequence at your age, or any age. No one likes to disappoint his or her friends. You should be proud though that you listened not only to your parents, but to the voice inside your head that said, “This is not right for me.”

Several decades ago, I wish I would have called my mom to ask permission before I saw Psycho at a sleep over. I can’t remember what it was rated, but one of my friends saw it beforehand and said it wasn’t really scary at all. Trust me when I say I was scared out of my wits and could only take baths for several months after for fear of a knife coming through the shower curtain.

I’m with your mom on this one, I put all scary movies in the “garbage” category. I know that there is a difference between an Oscar nominated movie like Psycho and a slasher movie like Friday the 13th, but I’ll never understand why so many people enjoy being terrorized. I’ll stick with Young Frankenstein, thank you very much.

I hope you keep your level head in every situation that peer pressure might throw you in. You might also want to consider having a couple of video choices of your own the next time you are staying at a friend’s house.

Good luck,

Mary Pat