Love Has Nothing to Do With It by Dr. Robert Wallace on Creators.com

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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.

Love Has Nothing to Do With It

DR. WALLACE: I'm 15 and my boyfriend is 21. My mother read my diary and found out that Eddie and I have been having sex. She said she was going to call the authorities and have him arrested for statutory rape. How can this be? He didn't rape me. We made love together. — Nameless, Jacksonville, Fla.

NAMELESS: Statutory rape occurs when an adult (Eddie) has consensual sexual relations with a minor (you). Love has nothing to do with it. Eddie is guilty of statutory rape.

COLLEGES FOR STUDENTS WITH MOBILITY IMPAIRMENTS

DR. WALLACE: Our daughter is in her junior year in high school. She maintains a 4.0 grade point average and is a very bright young lady. Shelly moves about with the assistance of a wheelchair. She was born with a spine deformity and will be bound to a wheelchair for the rest of her life. That is her only slight setback. She is a wonderful young lady, full of life, and has a smile that brightens the recipient's day.

Of course, Shelly will be attending college in the fall of 2011. She is very bright in science and math and would like to work eventually as a scientist.

I know that most schools of higher learning provide ramps for students who are in wheelchairs, but I was wondering if you know of any school that encourages mobility-impaired students to attend. Thanks much for your consideration. — Mother, San Mateo, Calif.

MOTHER: Contact your local library for the book, "Colleges that Enable" (Park Avenue Press). Authors Jason and Prudence Tweed investigated over 2,000 college and university campuses and recommended nine that provide excellent services for students with mobility impairments.

All of these schools have excellent academic credentials.

They are: University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana; University of Houston; University of Kentucky at Lexington; University of South Carolina at Columbia; University of California at Berkeley; Louisiana Tech University at Ruston; Edinboro University, Pennsylvania; St. Andrew's Presbyterian College at Laurinburg, N.C.; Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio.

Thank you for your inspiring letter about Shelly. She is a living example of how the human spirit can prevail over hardship, and she lets us know there are no real handicaps, just challenges. My best wishes to your whole family.

WHAT IS A NERD AND AN UGLY DUCKLING?

DR. WALLACE: What is your definition of a nerd and an ugly duckling? I'm aware that the nerd is masculine, while the ugly duckling is feminine. — Olivia, Porterville, Calif.

OLIVIA: These words have no precise definitions. They're simply insults — cruel ones — which people often apply to themselves. Those who have overcome such labels know how meaningless they are.

Actor Harrison Ford, for instance, considered himself a nerd as a teen, and actress Julia Roberts said she used to think she was the ugliest duckling of all.

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.