DR. WALLACE: My little brother is literally driving me crazy! I'm a girl who likes to study quietly and be uninterrupted, as I take my academic career quite seriously. My 12-year-old brother, on the other hand, seems to delight himself by interrupting me several times each evening while I'm trying to study.

Normally, I can laugh off his interruptions and quickly regain my focus. But the past two weeks, he's latched onto a new word and he won't let go of it. I think I made the mistake of telling him that it was tremendously outdated, and he was showing himself to be foolish by persisting in using it.

The word in question is "groovy," and apparently, he saw it in a documentary film about the 1960s counterculture movement. Not only does he use this word "groovy" in multiple incorrect applications all day long, but he also started writing rap songs, using the word groovy in every second or third line.

Normally, it wouldn't break my train of thought, but with him prancing up and down the hallways, spewing terrible rap lyrics in a very loud voice, and constantly saying, groovy, I'll admit it's gotten under my skin!

What can I do about this? I've mentioned it to my parents and their reply was simply, "ignore him, he'll grow out of it." Well, it's been two weeks now and he's not growing out of anything. — Little Bro is Ridiculous, via email

LITTLE BRO IS RIDICULOUS: I do like your parents' advice as a starting point, but if after weeks of ignoring him and seeing him persisting with his poor behavior, perhaps it is indeed time to try a new approach.

Instead of taking an adversarial stance with your little brother, tell him that you think he's really creative and that he may want to find a couple of his friends who enjoy his love of music and creativity. Encourage him to try to write a few songs with his friends and see what they could possibly do together, as this would give him another outlet rather than simply using you as a sounding board 100% of the time.

If you can get on your brother's good side, this way, this will allow you an opportunity to ask him politely to hold off making noise when you're studying, but that you will happily listen to him when you have time later and that you'll even give him constructive suggestion, suggestions and idea ideas on how he could make his songs better.

It may sound counterintuitive, but engaging with him in such a manner may get much better results than simply yelling at him. And by the way, your parents should be able to rein him in better, but in lieu of this, see if you can find your own solution.

HOW CAN I HELP MY SISTER OUT OF HER SHELL?

DR. WALLACE: I'm a boy who's in the eighth grade and my little sister attends the same school and she's in the seventh grade. We attend an intermediate school.

I get along with my friends really well and I play sports and have a fun time. I'm looking forward to going to high school next year. But my little sister is extremely shy and quiet, and from what I can tell, she doesn't talk to anybody all day long at school. She's the most timid girl I've ever seen. She just goes to school, does her homework and doesn't say anything to anyone else the rest of the day.

I feel really bad for her, and I'm not sure who's to blame for the situation she's in. What can I do about this, if anything? Should I say anything to my parents or should I just stay quiet? I try to keep an eye on my sister at school the best I can, but I'm always hanging out with my friends and she never comes up to talk to us. Next year, I'll be off to high school and I'll be really worried about her being in the eighth grade and never talking to anyone. — My Sister is Beyond Timid, via email

MY SISTER IS BEYOND TIMID: Survey all of the friends that you have that you enjoy hanging out with and see if any of them have sisters, the same age as your sister, or even a year younger. From there, see if you can create an introduction or an opportunity where you can introduce your sister to one of these other girls to see if there may be a spark of camaraderie.

Even a girl a year younger would be valuable since she would be attending the same intermediate school as your sister next year, even though there would be a year apart in terms of grade.

Finally, realize that although your sister is quiet and introverted, there's nothing wrong with this at a young age, as many boys and girls eventually grow out of their ultra-shy behavior. They may not become suddenly gregarious overnight, but they will gradually be more comfortable, conversing in social situations and socializing, at least moderately, in an increasing manner over time.

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.

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