DR. WALLACE: You advised a young pregnant girl to tell her parents that she is pregnant so "they'd give her the best possible advice." Well, a very good friend of mine decided to tell her parents after she discovered she was pregnant. She is 16 and a very mature and sensible young lady. She planned to marry the baby's father after she completed high school. Well, when she told her parents about her pregnancy, they went totally ballistic — they disowned her, forced her to have an abortion and sent her to Mexico to be separated from her boyfriend.

Since so many teens read your column and take your advice, please think twice before you give advice to young pregnant girls. — Nameless, San Antonio, Tex.

NAMELESS: It's unfortunate that your friend's parents were insensitive and extremely unwise in the way they "counseled" their daughter. She needed their love and compassion, but wound up having an abortion and being shipped out of the country.

But these parents are not the norm. The great majority of parents, in a similar situation, would have been disappointed hearing their 16-year-old daughter was pregnant and unmarried, but would have offered their love in doing what was best for her.

PARENTS BRAG ABOUT EXCELLENT GRADES

DR. WALLACE: I'm an above-average basketball player and an excellent student. I was a starting player on our basketball team and I really enjoyed being on the team. Because my grade in geometry dipped from an A to a B, my mother made me stop playing basketball so I could spend more time studying geometry.

I have A's in all my other classes. My coach came over to our house and tried to get my mother to change her mind, but she wouldn't, so now I'm off the team and spending more time studying geometry.

I'm getting all A's in the rest of my classes, but not geometry. I'm still getting a B and I'll probably wind up the semester with that grade.

My mother talked with my geometry teacher and asked what I needed to do to bring my grade up to an A. My teacher told her that it was possible that a B was the highest grade I could attain in geometry and that made my mother angry and she left without saying goodbye.

I feel cheated that I was forced to quit the basketball team. I know that a lot of parents would be thrilled if their teen had a report card that had five A's and one B. Since you are a former high school principal, I'd like your opinion of having me quit the basketball team in an attempt to improve my B grade up to an A. — Nameless, San Diego, Calif.

P.S.: My parents were born in Korea and they like to brag about my excellent grades to others in the Korean community.

NAMELESS: I firmly believe parents make a mistake when they take away an enjoyable educational activity as punishment for their student. In your situation, you did not deserve to be punished for your superior grades. You should have been praised. And forcing you to drop basketball also punished your teammates.

P.S.: My parents were born in Ireland and they liked to brag about my high school athletic abilities to others in the Irish community. They were not aware that their son was going to be a late "academic" bloomer!

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.