DEAR ABBY: My little sister is almost 12. She has been having a lot of behavior problems. I thought it was the stupid videos she watches that made her act like that, but she's getting worse.
One night, her mood was terrible and I noticed she was texting. So while she slept I took her cellphone and started reading the messages. Her texts were about her being a skank, drunk, sexually active, depressed, cutting herself and moving away soon. No one in the family knows or would ever allow this.
I feel the right thing to do is to tell our parents, but I don't want to make the situation worse. Her behavior and attitude stress us out, and her "friends" are the wrong crowd for her. I know it was bad for me to invade her privacy, but something needs to be done. What can I do? -- SISTER WHO CARES IN TEXAS
DEAR CARING SISTER: Tell your parents what you have learned. Your sister's behavior problems and angry or depressed mood must have been noticed by them as well as you. Ask them not to reveal that you looked at the messages, but to insist on some answers from her until they get to the bottom of what's happening. If even half of what your sister is writing and receiving is true, she is headed for serious trouble and is overdue for an intervention.