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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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You Can Continue to be HappyDR. WALLACE: I am an only child. I've always wished that I had a brother or sister, but it didn't happen. Yesterday in our sex-education class, the teacher made the comment that an only child lacks some social skills and mental skills because they didn't have the opportunity to learn from their siblings. When I discussed this with my parents, they didn't agree and asked me to get your opinion. If my teacher is correct, do I need to worry? I was a happy teen until now. — Nameless, Indianapolis. NAMELESS: It appears that your teacher needs to do a little more research regarding "only" children. Only children do just fine socially, and there is much evidence that they excel in every area of life. For instance, an extensive study conducted by the American Institute for Research found that "onlies" had higher IQs. They also tested higher in creativity, abstract reasoning, mechanical reasoning, mathematics, reading comprehension and English skills. Furthermore, there are a lot more kids in your situation than there used to be. The percentage of women having just one child has increased from 18 percent to 36 percent in the past 15 years, according to Family Planning Perspectives. Research shows that you can continue to be happy. In fact, maybe happier! BE HONEST WITH BOYFRIEND ABOUT SEX DR. WALLACE: My boyfriend and I have been going out for over five months.
For the past two months, he has really been putting the pressure on me to have sex with him. He uses that "We are in love and lovers have sex" argument. I keep telling him that I'm not ready for a sexual relationship. When I tell him that, he wants to know when I will be ready. I tell him "later." I guess he thinks "later" means our next date, because he becomes sexually aggressive again. I don't plan to have sex until I'm married, so I guess I'm going to have to fend him off until we break up or get married, whichever comes first. Any advice will be gladly accepted. — Nameless, Rock Island, Ill. NAMELESS: You need to tell your boyfriend just what you told me in your letter: You are not going to have sex until you're married and his sexual aggressiveness is a huge turnoff. By merely saying "later," you're giving him false encouragement. This is not a time to be subtle. Tell it like it is. If he truly cares for you, he'll accept your decision and stop being a jerk. If he ends the relationship, rest assured he was more interested in sex than he was in you. 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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