DR. WALLACE: I'm 15 and my parents have allowed me to start dating. I realize that dating privileges can be considered an honor and I don't want to abuse the trust my parents have placed in me. I would appreciate it if you would list your five most important dating rules for teens when it comes to keeping parents happy. I promise to cut them out and keep them with me whenever I'm dating. — Jenny, Peoria, Ill.
JENNY: Your request was a challenge and it took me quite some time to formulate a "top five" in teen dating rules designed to keep parents happy. I had to rely on my days as a teen, and as a parent of teens, as well as my teaching experience.
1. Arrive home a few minutes before the designated curfew. Never come home after the time set by your parents unless it is unavoidable. In this rare incident, the parents must be called or notified about the delay if humanly possible.
2. Inform your parents where you will be going on the date and make sure that's where you go.
3. If things don't go as planned and you are being pressured to compromise your moral judgment (drugs, alcohol, sex, etc.), ask to be taken home or call your parents to pick you up.
4. If on a car date, insist that your date (if he is the driver) obey all the traffic laws and drive safely and defensively.
5. Insist that your date come to your house and meet your parents when he picks you up, and insist that he walk you to your front door at date's end.
YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN HONEST
DR. WALLACE: Help! I'm 16 and started attending a different school last month. I'm trying to be nice to everybody because I want to be accepted in my new school and I also want to make a lot of new friends.
Last week a guy in my English class asked me to go to a school basketball game with him. He's a nice guy, but not my type, so I told him that I'm on restriction for six months. He bought my story.
Yesterday another guy asked me to the same basketball game and I said yes because this guy was my type. We went to the game last night and we had a fantastic time. The only blemish is that I saw the guy that I lied to at the game and he saw me. Now I feel like a jerk. What should I do? — Nameless, Baltimore, Md.
NAMELESS: You should have been honest the first time so be honest now! Tell the boy who asked you out first that you lied to him and that you weren't on restriction. Apologize and tell him that even though you two won't be dating, there is no reason why you can't be good friends.
YOU MADE YOUR HIGH SCHOOL PROUD
DR. WALLACE: I remembered reading your column praising teens for being excellent volunteers helping those who are in need. I'd like to inform you that our cheerleaders and pep squad held a car wash on a Saturday afternoon and we earned over $500 dollars, which was donated to the Red Cross to aid those in need after the devastating hurricane that destroyed parts of the East Coast. — Nameless, Chicago, Ill.
NAMELESS: Congratulations! When it comes to volunteering, no group does it better than teens. You made your high school proud!
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 [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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