Dear Maggie,

My fifteen-year-old daughter is bound and determined to get a belly button ring, and I’m completely against it. Her dad won’t get involved one way or the other. So I get to be the bad guy. This began as a small disagreement, but it’s blown up into her barely speaking to me, shouting matches between us, and a general sense of chaos that’s impacting the entire family. What’s the solution?

Signed,

Exhausted Mother