Ask Emma

Question: What can you tell a person who causes a scene wherever she goes, and always draws attention to herself no matter how big or how small the problem is. I am talking about my mother, and she is such a drama queen! It hurts me more because I am 15, and she is only 17 years older, and dresses just like me, and people always confuse her for my friend. Having a friend like this, I would have dumped her long ago. But I can’t dump my own mom. Can’t she just stop embarrassing me?
Answer: Your mom must be a vibrant and temperamental individual, and while she embarrasses you to tears, as I imagine, for a lot of other people she might not be looking all that awful. Of course, being 15, I would not be caught dead in public with my mom in tow, but you know what? My mom is 30 years older than me and she had never dressed to my liking when I was your age. So there are worse cases out there than yours. Try to have a friendly talk with your mom and explain your feelings about her causing a scene in public. If it does not help, just ignore it and don’t obsess over small stuff. I think your mom will do her best to be a better friend to you if you politely explain what do you think is wrong about her behavior. Another helpful thing to do would be telling her more often how much you love her and complimenting her on her looks, even if she doesn’t look all that good to you sometimes.