DEAR ABBY: My sister sent me an email asking what I was getting our mom for her birthday because she had very few ideas. I told her I was planning to get Mom a gift card so she could buy a book for her ereader. Two days later, my sister emailed me back telling me she liked my idea so much she used it and mailed Mom the same gift card herself. She said it’s “no big deal” if we got Mom the same thing. It’s a big deal to me. I think it was rude and inconsiderate. She says I’m being “ridiculous” because “it’s only a gift card” and it doesn’t matter if Mom got two of them. To me, if you ask what I’m getting someone as a gift, it’s rude to run out and buy that item yourself. Who do you agree with? LEARNED A LESSON IN LEWISBURG, PA.

DEAR LEARNED A LESSON: I agree with you. But rather than hold a grudge, take the lesson to heart. The next time your sister asks you for gift suggestions for a relative, tell her, “Gee, I haven’t decided yet.”

DEAR ABBY: I am an 11- year-old boy who lives in San Francisco. I read your column in the San Francisco Chronicle every day. I love your thinking and wish I could be as sensible as you. I just wanted to ask: How old do you think someone should be to read your column? I know your column can be possibly inappropriate, but love reading it anyway. T.P. IN S.F.

DEAR T.P.: You are not the only young person who reads my column. (I printed a letter from a 7-year-old earlier this week.) I have been told that my column has been used for many years to start important conversations between people of all ages. When I was growing up, no literature in our house was off limits — and any question I asked my parents was given a straight answer. I hope it’s the same in your family because if it is, you will grow up to be at LEAST as “sensible” as me.

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Write Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.