DR. WALLACE: Why do parents worry about their children and then call it "love"? My parents always tell me how much they love me, and they worry every single time I go out on a date or go anywhere away from our home.

I have to text when I arrive, text when I leave, text who is there, text what we are doing and on and on and on! This gets super old and frustrating. It also wastes a lot of my time that I could be spending with my friends.

Not only that, but my parents also searched my room without me knowing about it, and apparently, they were looking for something. I'm not sure what.

Then, whenever I find out about something like this, I kind of lose it and get mad and say things I don't really mean. Then this cycle repeats about a month later.

How can I get my parents to just chill out? — Not a Child, via email

NOT A CHILD: A parent's first priority is to protect you. Parents love their children and want to keep them safe; this is a natural thing. And taking a moment or two to send your parents a text message is actually a very good use of your time. You wouldn't want them calling you every 15 minutes, would you?

My advice is that, if you want to be treated like an adult, you have to act like an adult. Take a few minutes to communicate regularly with your parents, and things will run much smoother for you. Also, don't wait for them to track you down and text you first. Be proactive; text them to reassure them, and if you really want to score bonus points and reduce friction, tell them you love them, too!

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DR. WALLACE: My boyfriend is 17, and he's a nice guy when we are alone or with a small group of friends or another couple.

But a very strange transformation occurs within him when we are at a party with a lot of people or if we are with people we don't know too well. What does he do? He teases me mercilessly and verbally disparages me. He makes me feel as if he doesn't really like me or respect me. He will literally put me down in front of strangers, and he seems to truly enjoy it when one or more of them start to laugh. I'm not sure why he would do this, but I can tell you that I was shocked the first time. I asked him later that night, after his first "outburst," and he said he was sorry and, in fact, apologized profusely, so I didn't give it much more thought. But then, about a month later, we were at another large social gathering, and darn if he didn't do the exact same thing again — even worse!

So, now I know the first time was no mistake. Yes, he apologized again the second time, but I don't care about apologies. I care how he treats me in the first place. I did nothing wrong, untoward or out of line either time.

We are both close to turning 18, and I've invested almost two years of my life with him as his steady girlfriend. Am I being naive in continuing to see him and thinking that his "outbursts" are just strange, harmless occurrences? — Suddenly Uneasy, via email

SUDDENLY UNEASY: Your boyfriend is caught up in trying to make himself look macho in front of people who don't know him well. This is a big red flag in my book. I've heard many stories from young ladies near your age or even a bit older who chose to overlook strange behavior that later morphed into something much worse.

Ask yourself this: Why is he simply not mature enough to show you the respect you deserve, given the steady relationship the two of you have had? Here's a second question to ask yourself: Would you ever do this to him once, much less twice? And finally, if one of your very best girlfriends came to you with exactly this same story, what would you advise her to do?

My answer lies within the lines of these questions, and I trust you are wise enough to see the ugly writing on the wall. Think carefully about this relationship. Would you like to be treated like this (and perhaps much worse) once you've started a family, for example?

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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