DR. WALLACE: My husband and I have a daughter enrolled in an all-girls high school that requires students to wear school uniforms. My daughter wasn't happy at all about having to wear a uniform to high school, but eventually she got over it and complied without grousing and complaining the way she did for the first few weeks.

However, some of her friends at school have been talking with her about how it would be appropriate for the students to wear a few personalized accessories along with their school uniforms. But when they presented this idea to the faculty, and even some of the school's administration, they were quickly shut down and told there would be no modifications or accessories allowed to be added to the school uniforms at all.

Apparently, the girls wanted to wear various colorful ribbons, shoelaces and other similar accessories so that they could express even a little bit of their individuality while they were at school. Being denied this small adjustment, our daughter has resumed her grousing, and it's not a lot of fun to hear a teenage girl constantly complain about having to wear a "bland" high school uniform.

As a former educator and administrator, do you feel the school was out of line to not allow the girls to at least wear a few ribbons of various colors along with their uniforms as long as everyone was allowed to do it? — Daughter Has the School Uniform Blues, by email

DAUGHTER HAS THE SCHOOL UNIFORM BLUES: For schools that do require all students to wear identical uniforms, allowing even small variances from this standard opens the door to a potentially non-ending stream of difficulties, comparisons and complaints. This can also take time, attention and focus away from schoolwork, citizenship, and the growth and development these high schools place a high priority upon.

Once the school allows ribbons of various colors, or other accessories, to be worn, you can imagine there could be various divides, cliques or other situational developments that would run exactly counter to the whole idea of a school uniform in the first place. Your family made the decision to have your daughter attend a school that requires a school uniform, so do your best to explain the logic of school uniforms and discourage your daughter and her friends from pressing forward with their requests, as they will certainly be denied repeatedly.

MY SISTER IS OBSESSED WITH HYPOTHETICAL OCCURRENCES

DR. WALLACE: My younger sister absolutely loves to plan events, get-togethers and parties of all kinds and types. It's almost as if she's auditioning each time for a job in the hospitality industry or as an event planner.

She's still a high school student, and I'm a college student. Sometimes she'll ask me to come over and help her with the preparation the day before or several hours before one of her beloved events. I know she has several idiosyncrasies, but the one that really stands out to me is that she'll constantly question me as to how she can "cover all the bases" so that she can be prepared for any potential eventuality or occurrence that may happen at one of her parties.

She'll literally ask me to think out loud about what could come up or what might happen during one of her events so that she can have the remedy, correction or best way to deal with the situation completely prepared in advance. I do my best to think this through and give her anything that comes to mind, but I find it odd that every time I help her with one of these gigs she sets up, she always spends 15 to 20 minutes near the end of the preparation going over what could potentially go wrong.

I think she's being overly and unnecessarily worried, but she thinks it's absolutely part of the preparation that she needs to do to be an efficient and successful hostess. What's your take on this annoying habit of hers that I have to deal with every time I help her? - She's Obsessed With Covering Every Possible Happenstance, via email

SHE'S OBSESSED WITH COVERING EVERY POSSIBLE HAPPENSTANCE: It's great to think out of the box briefly about things that could happen or occur, but the best way to plan for future events is to learn from all the experiences accumulated in similar past endeavors.

Instead of sitting and trying to think of every remote idea you can come up with to indulge your sister, wrap your mind around what you have witnessed previously in your lifetime. Share those experiences as they unfolded, for better or worse. Talking about actual things that did occur in the past is the best way to prepare for future events. Remind her that she can also request similar stories from her friends, as that may also help her to be more prepared going forward.

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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