DR. WALLACE: Earlier this summer, I snuck out of my room at our house and went out through my window to hang out with some of my friends at a nearby lake. We had a great time, and nobody got into any type of trouble at all, even though we were there well past 1 a.m.

I'm a 16-year-old girl, and so when I came back home, my 14-year-old brother noticed me coming back through my window into my room because he heard noise since his room is next to mine. Later when we discussed it quietly and privately the next morning, he swore he wouldn't say anything to our parents. He basically agreed that he would cover for me, and I thanked him deeply for that.

Then less than a week later, he and I got into an argument on a Saturday morning about who had to complete certain preassigned family chores in our backyard. When he didn't get his way with me — because he was absolutely in the wrong for not doing his fair share of the chores — he bolted into the kitchen and told my parents that he had seen me the night I snuck back into my room!

They believed him, and now I'm facing a full month of being grounded here in the summertime. My social life is now absolutely ruined! How can I get my parents to not believe my brother? A month of time grounded in the summer is cruel and unusual punishment! And the bottom line is that nobody did anything bad at the lake, so this whole thing is really just a non-event anyway. — He Promised Not to Tell, via email

HE PROMISED NOT TO TELL: You're learning a hard lesson the hard way. First, you did indeed sneak out of your family home at night without permission, so you deserve to suffer the consequences. You basically created your own problem, and your brother simply was the delivery system to illuminate your transgression.

Yes, your brother could have had your back this one time, but he quickly revealed his immaturity and threw your secret out at his first opportunity to try to help his own selfish interests.

Asking me how I can help you to "get your parents not to believe him," when he was telling the truth here, demonstrates your own lack of integrity.

Serve your punishment and learn your life lessons. Don't expect to not be punished for breaking rules. Don't expect young, immature relatives or friends to be reliable at keeping secrets, and finally, don't expect columnists to dishonestly help you create reasons to avoid punishments that you alone earned.

Having said this, I do understand how rough the timing is to be grounded for long in the summertime. It's absolutely going to crimp your social life quite a bit. My only suggestion here is to not complain any more to your parents about the length of your punishment. Instead, follow their rules during your grounding and be as helpful around the house as you can.

After two weeks, ask earnestly if there are any extra chores or helpful actions you can take that might help you to reduce your grounding time a bit. A positive attitude coupled with telling your parents (and meaning it) that you've learned your lesson may help you out a little here. And even if it doesn't, you'll be doing your part to promote family harmony rather than seeking ways to manipulate the situation exclusively to your advantage.

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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