DR. WALLACE: It took me a long time to get my mom to agree to let me hang out at the mall with my friends on Saturdays.

There's a group of about 10 of us friends who get together, though it's usually somewhere more like four or seven of us, since not everyone has time to hang out every weekend.

I think it's great that my mom trusts me and lets me hang out with my friends, but the problem is that she doesn't give me any money! Almost all my other friends have money given to them by their parents. We don't need a lot of money, just a moderate amount, as we like to get some food or sometimes see a discount matinee movie.

I'm lucky that my friends generally have mercy on me, and they share their money with me and let me get a bite of some of their snacks they order at the mall. I try to pay some of them back out of my lunch money during the week, but only one or two of them take any money from me.

Why do you think my mom is the only parent who doesn't give me money for the mall? — Embarrassing to Have No Cash, via email

EMBARRASSING TO HAVE NO CASH: Perhaps your mother feels that the fact she's allowing you to go to the mall is more than enough to give to you. It's great that other parents are generous with their kids and that those friends of yours share with you.

Perhaps you can ask your mother if you can do extra chores to earn some money to spend at the mall. Tell her you don't need to earn a lot, just a little so that you don't have to borrow any money from anyone.

If your mother won't pay you for extra chores, perhaps she'll let you do some babysitting or one of your friends' parents might let you do some help at their house, yard or garden to earn a few bucks for the mall. Either way, you would have the pride of earning your own money versus continually needing to rely solely on the generosity of others.

MY FOOTBALL COACH SCOLDED ME OVER MY LUNCH

DR. WALLACE: I'm a starting football player at my high school and a decent player, but there are three or four other guys who are the best on our team.

I really enjoy the camaraderie of hanging out with my teammates and all of our coaches are pretty great as well, so I totally enjoy the experience of being a high school football player.

But the other day at lunchtime, one of our assistant coaches walked by and saw me eating lunch with a girl who is a friend of mine, and this coach commented in front of her that I shouldn't be eating the food I was eating since it wasn't healthy for me! It was one of the entree selections available for our school lunches, so the school obviously approved the specific food.

I asked him about it later, and he said that if I want to take my athletic endeavors seriously, I should eat the proper food to fuel myself so that I can play to my maximum level. Do you feel that my assistant coach had the right to say this to me, or was he out of line to say something while I was eating lunch on campus in front of a friend? — Don't Like Being Scolded, via email

DON'T LIKE BEING SCOLDED: In my opinion, your assistant coach was definitely out of line. He's entitled to his opinion, but nothing more, especially at the high school level. Your food selections, especially those sanctioned by your school, are yours and yours alone.

What makes his action especially egregious from my perspective is that he blurted this out in public to you in front of one of your friends. If he really wanted to discuss this matter with you, he should have done so privately after one of your practices, in a one-on-one setting. And even then, his tone should not have been condescending but rather encouraging only.

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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