DR. WALLACE: A group of my friends and I all go to the same high school. We're all girls, and we love going on outings together. We live in the Los Angeles area, and we're planning to take a full day trip to the San Diego Zoo in a few weeks. My four girlfriends and I are all 17 years old. I asked my mom for permission to go on this trip and the money for my admission to the zoo, and she agreed with one condition.

That condition is that I have to take my 12-year-old sister with me! I was shocked and not happy at all about this. We are traveling in a minivan that the mother of one of my friends owns. Her mom is going with us and will be our driver down there and back.

I'm beyond humiliated and frustrated with this request, because none of my friends have to take any of their siblings on the trip. Most of them have brothers who have no interest in the zoo anyway.

I really want to go on this trip, so can you advise me the best way to be allowed to go but not have to have my sister tagging along right behind me the whole time? — This Is Unfair, via email

THIS IS UNFAIR: My advice is to take your mother up on her generous offer and not worry about the fact your little sister will get to go on the trip as well.

Perhaps you could speak to the mother who is driving and ask if your sister could sit up front with her on the ride down to San Diego and the ride home.

This would give you more alone time with your friends, and perhaps some bonding would occur between the two of them on the drive down, and your sister might enjoy the zoo more comfortably alongside a parent from the group rather than all of you older girls.

MY PARENTS DON'T TRUST HIS BROTHER OR HIM

DR. WALLACE: I'm a guy who just completed his junior in high school, and I'm the type of person that has a lot of friends, especially other guys. I played on two varsity sports teams at my high school this past school year, and I expect to be a starter on both teams again during my senior year.

My parents know a lot of my friends pretty well, but there's one in particular they don't want me to hang out with anymore, because they heard from other parents in our community that his older brother has a severe drinking problem — which is true.

But what they don't know is that my friend has never touched a drop of alcohol! In fact, he told me and other guys in our group that his brother is out of control, and it's been a warning sign to him not to start drinking, especially at his age.

Do you think it's fair that my parents are now forbidding me from hanging out with my friend over the summer for this reason? — This Friend Is No Troublemaker, via email.

THIS FRIEND IS NO TROUBLEMAKER: I feel your parents are out of line in this instance. I suggest you bring this particular friend around to hang out at your family home and speak to your parents directly. Encourage him to relate what he has seen up close and what his viewpoint is on the topic of drinking alcohol, especially under the age of 21.

I trust your parents wouldn't enjoy it if one of their coworkers at their job had some sort of problem and the company management assumed they had the exact problem. This kind of association by bloodline is beyond unfair and your parents should wake up and evaluate your friend directly on his own merits.

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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