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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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Get a One-Way Ticket to SpainDR. WALLACE: I want to respond to the stupid law in the United States that requires a person to reach age 21 before legally consuming a drop of alcohol. I am a college freshman at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif., and if I have a glass of wine at dinner with my girlfriend, I am a lawbreaker. What a bummer! Last year, I spent my senior year in Spain where the minimum drinking age is 16. I was in Spain on a student foreign exchange program. After a strenuous but enjoyable week of studying in the Spanish language, I could relax with my Spanish "brothers" and have a few beers. Now that I've returned to the good old United States, with its archaic drinking laws, things have changed. It's possible that if I went out for a few beers with my Stanford brothers, I could wind up in jail and be labeled a criminal by the idiots who put this outrageous law into effect. Sometimes I wonder why the United States has become the leader for the free world when we can't even enact reasonable drinking age laws. — Ben, Palo Alto, Calif. BEN: It's true that Spain allows those 16 and older to consume alcohol, but it also has a minimum driving age of 18. Most European countries have a lower minimum drinking age than the United States. Teens 14 or older can drink in Switzerland; in Belgium, the drinking age is 15. Only Russia has a minimum age of 21. It is estimated that over 7,000 American lives a year are spared because the minimum drinking age was raised to 21. That's over 7,000 good reasons why the "idiots" who put this law on the books actually knew what they were doing. Always remember that $500 and a passport will get you a one-way ticket to Spain.
I WANT TO MOVE OUT OF MY DYSFUNCTIONAL HOME DR. WALLACE: I live in a very dysfunctional home. My 19-year-old brother is addicted to cocaine and my father is an alcoholic. My dear mother can't function and spends much of her time in the bedroom suffering from depression. I'm 17 and graduated mid-semester from high school. I won't be 18 for three months. I want to move out of this house and live with my grandmother, who wants me to move in with her. My father despises my grandmother (my mother's mother) and said he won't give me permission to move out until I'm 18. If I move out before then, he said he'd call the police and have my grandmother arrested for harboring a "runaway." Is this possible? Every minute I spend in this house is pure agony. I plan to attend a community college in the fall and my grandmother's house is within walking distance, which is important because I don't have a car. Even if I did move out, I'd stay in touch with my mother. She is a dear lost soul and I love her very much. I've tried to talk her into getting a divorce, but she said it would be out of the question. Please, please, answer my letter. — Nameless, Fullerton, Calif. NAMELESS: I checked with the Orange County Department of Social Services and was informed that you can be considered an emancipated minor, since you have already graduated from high school and are over 17 1/2 years old. Simply stated, you can move in with grandmother without your father's permission. I might add, the sooner the better! 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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