DR. WALLACE: I'm a teenager, and my parents force me to go do volunteer work for an hour after church every Sunday, and I do not want to give up that extra hour of my weekend. I do like my church and have many good friends there. However, I don't usually know any of the people we do volunteer work for. I have told my parents this, but they do not listen to me. How can I get them to agree that I do not have to do volunteer work? My biggest problem is that I'm too young to drive and we all go together every Sunday morning in one car to both places. My parents tell me that volunteer work builds character, and they have each been doing it their whole lives, so it's not like they are going to stop doing it anytime soon. — Want My Free Time Instead, via email

WANT MY FREE TIME INSTEAD: First of all, I must inform you that I do agree with your parents that doing volunteer work (usually) builds character. In your case, it might take a bit more time to sink in.

Look at it this way: It is an hour of your life once a week to be of service to others, so I say make the most of it.

It is your parents' job to raise you as they see fit until you are an adult and can make educated decisions yourself. Not every event in your life must revolve around friends and only people familiar to you. There is a whole wide world of strangers out there. You'll be dealing with many of them for decades in your career and daily life once you become an adult, so there's actually some benefit to you in getting a little practice dealing with a few of them now at your present age.

MILITARY BOUND

DR. WALLACE: My dad can't wait until I'm out of the house so he can do whatever he wants without having to deal with feeding and housing me.

As soon as I turn 18 years old, my dad has threatened to sign me up to join the military. Can he do this without my consent? I really don't want to volunteer for any military service, but if he's going to force me, then I'd choose the Navy over the Army.

I love the ocean and am a good surfer already here in Southern California, so I figure if I have to go, I might as well have the ocean as my setting rather than some dusty field somewhere out there. — Surfer Not a Soldier, via email

SURFER NOT A SOLDIER: Your father cannot force you to do anything once you are an adult!

If he signed you up for the military, the recruiter would still need to talk to you and request your authorization and signature to confirm that you voluntarily want to sign up and join the military.

So, even if dad tries to push you, at the appropriate time, you can tell the recruiter you're not interested in joining the military at this point in your life.

And given your father's desire to see you move out on your own, now would be a good time to give serious thought to how you'll plan to support yourself once you turn 18 and need to fend for yourself in this world.

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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