DR. WALLACE: I'm 15 and live in kind of a small town, even though our county and its largest city have many more people living there than here. Basically, this larger city is about a 25-minute drive away from us to the north, but there are lots and lots of people there. Our town simply doesn't have a lot of people, and pretty much everyone knows everyone.

My problem is that there are not a lot of available boys that I think enough of to find a boyfriend in our small town. This means if I want to date somebody that I find interesting, I'll have to go outside of our area. But because I'm too young to drive, this means that I need to find another way to meet boys from the larger cities to the north. Do I have to be online to get a boyfriend?

My parents are always telling me to be very cautious whenever I go online on our family computer, so if I do look for a boyfriend online, I'll have to be very careful since my parents will shut down this idea pretty quickly if they find out what I'm doing. — Want a Boyfriend, via email

WANT A BOYFRIEND: First of all, I'd never advise you to do anything behind your parents back. If they've told you they don't want you communicating with people you don't know when you are online, do not lie to your parents about doing this. In fact, don't do it at all in the first place, since you'll be breaking a family rule in doing so.

Instead, start networking. By networking, I mean talking to different people, including adults who may be able to provide you with suitable introductions to boys of your age. Your letter did not mention your family's policy on dating, so I encourage you to sit down with your parents and have an open and honest discussion about your desire to date and their rules for you in this area.

You mentioned wanting to find a boyfriend, but the first step in doing this would be to go on a few successful dates first before you eventually and hopefully find a young man who is compatible with you in a wide variety of important attributes.

You can also inquire about doing volunteer work in your free time, as perhaps there are organizations that could really use your help in the larger cities outside of your area. Some might even provide transportation for you. Of course, get your parents approval in advance for this. I feel strongly you should use networking in personal introductions at your age to find boys to date, rather than going simply onto the internet at this point in your life. People from across the country and around the world often pose to be someone they are not in order to take advantage of young and inexperienced teenagers like you.

My wish for you is to have a fun, safe and steadily evolving positive dating career that is enjoyable and free from the potential pitfalls and dangers that constantly lurk in cyberspace.

CAN MY FATHER TEACH US?

DR. WALLACE: I'm 13 and the oldest of three kids in our family. I have two sets of friends in our neighborhood who enjoy being homeschooled by their mothers. I know you were a former teacher, varsity coach, principal and administrator at various public schools across our country.

I know this because my mother and I read your column regularly, and my mom is pretty familiar with your background, since she has been reading your column much longer than I have. The other day, I asked my mother about the possibility of her homeschooling us, but since she has an excellent full-time job that pays very well, I already kind of knew the answer before I even asked it.

And sure enough, my mother told me that she could not homeschool us because our family depends primarily on her salary. My father works on and off as a construction worker and a manual labor for various types of jobs in our county.

This gave me another idea, and my idea is that perhaps my father could homeschool my two little brothers and me, if he would be interested in doing this. I have not spoken to either of my parents about my idea, and the reason for this is I have a question to ask you first: Are fathers allowed to homeschool kids or are only moms allowed to do this? I ask because there are about six or seven families in our area who I know of that do homeschooling, and every single one of them has the mother doing the homeschooling. — Interested in Being Homeschooled, via email

INTERESTED IN BEING HOMESCHOOLED: Yes, parents of any gender can legally homeschool their children if they elect to do so. Your letter didn't mention specific reasons why you wish to be homeschooled, but your question about your father certainly deserves my answer.

Having said that, you can definitely mention this to your parents, but even if your father does not feel becoming a homeschool teacher is a viable option for him for whatever reason, this does not mean you still cannot be homeschooled.

Many parents form community groups in several areas around our country and set up homeschooling networks whereby different parents teach children who are not necessarily their own biological children.

As a person with extensive public school work experience, I'm well aware of the benefits and drawbacks of public school education as well as similar benefits and drawbacks of homeschooling. In the end, my view is this is a family decision, and I respect every individual family's right to make decisions they feel are best for their particular family.

I do encourage you to have an open discussion with your parents about this matter, especially regarding why you wish to be homeschooled.

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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