DR. WALLACE: I know that you don't approve of high school students working during the school year, and I agree with you. However, our 17-year-old son has been offered a part-time job working in a local store that sells sports equipment. He is totally into sports and really wants to take this job. The job would require working 20 hours per week, but his potential boss said he could work fewer hours if necessary.

I have relented and agreed to let him work while going to school, but I do not want him to work the full 20 hours. How many hours do you think would be a maximum for my son to work during the school year? He says he will mature faster, and it would be gaining needed experience, which will help him when he applies for a full-time job later. — Mother, Atlanta, Ga.

MOTHER: Your son can mature just as fast by getting good grades in school! I think the maximum number of hours per week would be 10 hours. And, of course, the number should dwindle to zero if his grades suffer.

YOU HAVEN'T LOST MUCH

DR. WALLACE: I'm 16 and I really like Zack, who is the same age. My parents have a rule that they must meet all my friends and all my dates before I go out with them. It so happens that Zack has asked me out, but my parents want to meet him before they will allow me to go out with him. They do not want date night to be the first time they meet him.

I told Zack about this, but he refuses to meet my parents ahead of time. He said they could "grill" him the night of the date. I told him that he had to see them before date night or there would be no date. Then he said, "That's too bad. I guess there will be no date."

Do you think my parents are being fair about this rule? I used to think it was OK, but now I'm starting to wonder. — Kim, Columbus, Ind.

KIM: It's a wise, sensible rule, and asks little enough of the young man who wants to take you out. What's Zack's problem? Is his life so busy he can't work your parents into his schedule? His arrogance, not to mention his indifference about whether he goes out with you, makes me think you haven't lost much.

EVILS OF SECONDHAND SMOKE

DR. WALLACE: You keep harping about the "evils" of breathing secondhand smoke. Do you have info that secondhand smoke does, indeed, cause medical problems? If so, where is it? — Steve, Orlando, Fla.

STEVE: Research on involuntary smoking (also known as secondhand or passive smoking) shows that inhaling someone else's smoke increases the risk of developing lung cancer and other breathing illnesses.

According to the American Cancer Society, a study found that non-smoking women exposed to husbands who smoked a pack of cigarettes a day at home had double the risk of lung cancer as non-smoking women married to nonsmokers. Furthermore, inhaling their husbands' smoke during pregnancy also exposed the unborn child to an added health risk.

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. E-mail him at [email protected]. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creative Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.