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Love Is the Key to Successful Parenting
DR. WALLACE: I am a single parent of an 11-year-old daughter and a 13-year-old son. I had a lot of problems as a teen because my parents were super lenient in controlling me. Let's say I could do almost anything that I wanted with no questions asked.…Read more.
Give Intelligent Young Women a Break
DR. WALLACE: I'm angry that you encourage all girls, even the mentally, emotionally and physically mature young women who happen to be teenagers, not to get involved with older guys. You are dead wrong in your assumption that older guys and teenage …Read more.
Open and Honest Conversation Is Paramount
DR. WALLACE: Please tell me what to do. I'm 20, married three years and the mother of a 2-year-old son. I love my husband very much, but I'm lonely and depressed. My husband works 12 to 16 hours, 6 days a week. I have no friends, no job and no time …Read more.
My Friend's Mother Helps Her Cheat
DR. WALLACE: We have homework four days a week in world history. I do all my homework by myself, but my best friend's mother helps her with hers. I average a B on my homework, but my friend averages an A. I don't believe this is fair. Both of us are …Read more.
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Don't Force Kids to Eat Foods They Don't LikeDR. WALLACE: I like most vegetables, but there are a few I just don't care for, including carrots and peas. Every time my mother makes one of these vegetables for supper, my dad insists that I eat everything my mother heaps on my plate. When the vegetable is corn, tomatoes, beets, beans, cabbage or even broccoli, I eat them all, but I almost gag on peas or carrots. Please give me your thoughts about teens having to eat everything on their plate. If you say they should, I'll stop complaining, hold my nose and consume foods I detest. But somehow I feel you will rule in my favor. — Nameless, Galesburg, Ill. NAMELESS: Parents should introduce new foods to their children occasionally and ask them to try the new taste, but they should not force the children to finish something that they don't like. In that case, a parent is instilling a lifelong hatred of certain foods. Eating should be pleasurable, not painful. Rarely do adults eat foods they find distasteful. It would be safe to say that the vast majority of parents would be thrilled with their teen's eating pattern if he or she would eat all the wonderful vegetables except peas and carrots! COUPLES WHO LIVE TOGETHER DON'T STAY TOGETHER DR. WALLACE: I read in a teen magazine that couples who live together before getting married have a higher divorce rate than couples who did not live together before saying, "I do!" The magazine did not give a reason. Can you? I would think that couples who lived together before getting married would be better adjusted to each other, and therefore have a lower divorce rate.
LIZ: Several years ago, the psychology department at the University of Nebraska conducted a study on this very subject. While the overall divorce rate is 48 percent, it was 58 percent among couples who lived together first. The reason, researchers found, was that the "live-together-first" couples simply couldn't adjust to the total commitment of marriage after having hedged their bets with the partial commitment of their original arrangement. WEATHER DOESN'T CAUSE THE FLU DR. WALLACE: I live in Goshen, Ind., and we have had a lot of snow. All my friends played in the snow, but my grandmother said that I couldn't because I would catch a cold or the flu. I even said I would wear two coats, but she still said no. My grandmother is afraid that we will get the swine flu. Can you catch the flu playing in the snow? My friend's mom said no. — Nameless, Goshen, Ind. NAMELESS: Your friend's mom is correct. To reduce your chances for catching a cold, stay away from those who have a cold, wash your hands with soap and warm water several times a day, keep your hands away from your mouth or nose, and never share eating utensils or drinking glasses with anyone. Just for the record, orange juice (vitamin C) will not prevent or cure colds, but it promotes good health and tastes good, too! Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. E-mail him at rwallace@galesburg.net. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com. COPYRIGHT 2010 CREATORS.COM
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