DR. WALLACE: I'm a good athlete, and in fact, I was a starting player on my school's varsity softball team before the pandemic shut down our last season. Our team has really good record, and we're very competitive, to say the least.

Well, last week, my boyfriend and I lost track of time, and I was a half-hour past curfew getting home. So, my mom told me I was grounded for a month, which means no dates, no extracurricular activities, nothing at all! She feels this is an appropriate punishment for the 28 minutes I was late getting home that night. I accept my tardiness in getting home, but my mom told me I can't even practice softball with my teammates.

My coach spoke with my mom and couldn't get her to change her mind. My mom said I broke a very important curfew rule and that because of this I have to be punished "comprehensively," to use her terminology.

I don't think I can live with this punishment! It's absolutely not fair. I'm only going to be a teenager for a brief period of time in my life, and I feel I deserve to be able to at least practice with my teammates. I want to play softball so badly!

This particular sport is really my only outstanding talent in life, and it brings me so much joy and camaraderie with my teammates. I just feel the punishment being put upon me is far worse than the "crime" of being 28 minutes late coming home one night. And furthermore, my mom actually really likes and trusts my boyfriend! She is always very polite to him and she talks to him about various topics every time he comes over to visit me or pick me up for a date. They get along really well, so I am simply flabbergasted that my mom is so deeply upset about her precious curfew rule being broken.

What can I do to get my mom to change her mind and lighten up my "sentence" a bit? — Good Softball Player, via email

GOOD SOFTBALL PLAYER: Rarely do I disagree with the discipline a parent doles out, especially in cases when a certain mutually agreed upon rule has been broken. However, in this case, your punishment does seem to be a bit too severe.

School-sponsored team or individual sports programs are part of your overall education and life experience in high school. You obviously have the talent and drive to be a good player, one who has earned a starting position on your very good team.

Therefore, a punishment that prohibits you from participating in your team's activities seems excessive in my book. Being grounded from dating for a month should be a sufficient punishment. After all, it was your dating activity that caused your mother's rule to be broken. Your softball activities did not create nor cause any direct problem for your mother's rules, so I feel that stopping your participation there is excessive.

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: cherylholt at Pixabay