DR. WALLACE: I'm a girl who is 15 and will turn 16 the first week of April, so I'm almost at the age I can begin dating. Since I'm only two months away from this milestone, I feel I need to have a little money available on a regular basis to buy some clothing accessories, makeup tools or shoes at some of my favorite discount stores.

My parents are the overprotective type who do provide for me well, but they control my ability to earn extra money for these things! I asked to be able to work as a local babysitter or a cashier at a store on Saturday afternoons to earn a little money, but my parents won't let me! They say it's too dangerous for someone my age to work outside the home these days.

And even worse, my parents are not into giving out regular allowances to me and my siblings. We get items bought for us at the beginning of the school year, but that's it. I need even a bit of spending money with my dating career approaching fast. — I'd Like To Work Now, via email

I'D LIKE TO WORK NOW: Would it be possible to perhaps babysit at your home? If your mother and father would approve, there may be a family or two in your neighborhood who might be open to that sort of arrangement.

Otherwise, your best bet may be to see if you can find a home-based job that you can do in your spare time to earn a bit of money. Of course, you need to garner the approval of your parents in advance for this, but it may be suitable as it would keep you at home while you work to make them happy for now.

And one additional way to sell this idea would be to tell your parents that you'd also like them to help you open a savings account at a bank so that you can save at least 25% of everything you earn. Most parents would be happy to help their children learn and develop a good financial habit like building a savings account.

I'M FACING A REALLY TOUGH DECISION

DR. WALLACE: Sadly, my parents are in the process of splitting up. There are three of us siblings. Our parents have told us that they will allow us each to live with either parent as a primary home and they would accept that. I love my parents equally, which makes my decision really tough.

My father has just moved to a new city three hours north of our former family home. My older brother, who is a junior in high school, has stated he's moving up there with my father and my younger sister has decided to live here with our mother.

My brother and I are close, since I'm a freshman at the same high school and we play a lot of sports together. To their credit, neither of my parents have spoken poorly about the other one or tried to recruit me to live in one home or the other.

My concern is that I'm getting a gut feeling to stay put with my mother as I really like my high school and would have three more years there. I also feel it would be weird for all three of us men to just take off and leave the two women alone. But I also believe that my father and especially my brother feel it is a "lock" that I'll be moving in with my father, so they both would be shocked if my announcement goes the other way. What do you feel I should do? — Torn Not of My Choosing, via email

TORN NOT OF MY CHOOSING: Based strictly on the narrow set of details outlined in your letter, I advise you to follow your gut feeling and stay put with your mother. You'd only have one more year in high school together with your brother anyhow, and you stated that you really like your high school. Three more full years there, plus being around to provide love and support to your mother and younger sister, sounds like a good situation to me.

I also trust that your father will visit you and your sister and that you and she can visit him as well. Three hours by vehicle is indeed far, but manageable at least occasionally.

Life has put you in a tough situation. Make your decision and do your very best to keep in touch with all four of your four core family members. Call and text those you don't end up living with regularly and seek to be as supportive and helpful as you can during this trying time for everyone.

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. Email him at [email protected]. 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.

Photo credit: Mathieu Stern at Unsplash