DR. WALLACE: My mother is the type who thinks she knows a lot about every subject and that she's always right. As her teenage daughter, this puts me in an awkward spot about many topics.

Most of them impact my life and freedom, but today, I wanted to ask you about something that I think could be negatively impacting her directly.

Many of my friends have warned me to never pick up a phone call from a number that I don't recognize. They say that in today's day and age, there are a lot of scams out there. If the call is legitimate, the caller will leave a voicemail and you can always call them back.

My mother, however, answers every single call she receives on her cellphone. Not only do I find it annoying that she's always scrambling to answer her phone in front of me, even when we're in deep conversations, but I also worry that she's making herself, and perhaps our family, vulnerable via her desire to do this. — My Mom Says She's Always Right, via email

MY MOM SAYS SHE'S ALWAYS RIGHT: In this instance, your instincts and the directions of your friends are entirely correct. Artificial intelligence has made answering our cell phones quite precarious at times.

It's best to never answer a call from a number you don't recognize or a person you don't know. You can always call someone back if they text you or leave you a voicemail and you know it's a legitimate inquiry.

AI can allow scammers to take the smallest snippets of your voice and have it cloned in order to create a "voice print" that can be used by them to use your voice in future scams and crimes.

Be sure to mention this to your mom so that she can be informed and be correct the next time this topic arises in her presence.

THEIR DISAPPROVAL TROUBLES MY MIND

DR. WALLACE: I will turn 20 years old in about two months. I have a good job and live with a friend in a two-bedroom apartment. We get along well, and my life is enjoyable except for one issue.

My boyfriend is 18 years and two months old, so we're nearly two years apart in age. He's a high school graduate and has a decent job for a guy his age.

The two of us have been dating for six weeks, and we get along great. But when I brought him to a sporting event to meet my parents, I could tell by the look on my father's face that he disapproved. My mother confirmed this and added her disapproval on top of my father's.

Their main complaint was that he looks too young for me since they thought he might be 17 years old at most. His personality is good, and he acted respectfully to my parents, so I think the entirety of their disapproval is our roughly two-year age gap.

We're both adults, so we can obviously do what we please, but it's strange how much my parents' disapproval bothers me in the back of my mind. Is there anything I can do about this? Please don't tell me to break it off with him because that would defeat the entire purpose of this promising and developing relationship. — An "Older" Woman, via email

AN "OLDER" WOMAN: Seeking a parent's approval, or both parents' approval, can be a bigger mental issue than many of us would realize at a first glance.

This is likely what is troubling you. You're seeking parental acceptance of your significant other, even though you know you're in the right and have every reason to continue seeing this relationship through at this point in time.

Do your best to smile and bring up your boyfriend's strong points whenever he's discussed by either one of your parents. Then take comfort in the fact that knowing as the two of you grow older, the 20-month age gap between the two of you will become increasingly less significant.

At some point, the strength of your relationship is very likely to win over your parents' approval, assuming your relationship grows and flourishes over time. And if your relationship does not survive for whatever reason, you'll have the satisfaction of knowing that you gave it every opportunity to succeed on your own terms.

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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