DR. WALLACE: I'm a girl who is 16 and just got permission to date. My challenge now is to find a guy who's going to ask me out on a date, and that hasn't happened yet, but I hope it does soon.

My mother, however, is already out "farming" in the community trying to line me up with boys, my age that she knows through friends or coworkers! Some of these boys, I don't know at all and some even go to different schools. I saw a picture of a couple of them and they're absolutely not my type, yet my mother keeps pressing me to go out with them.

I want to wait until I need a boy in person that I like, talk to him to see if we have any kind of personal connection first, and then think about going out on a date. Basically, I'd like to find my own dates. Do you think I'm being unreasonable? My mom keeps pressuring me to go out on my very first date with somebody she has handpicked. — Want to Find My Own First Date, via email

WANT TO FIND MY OWN FIRST DATE: I agree completely with your take on this matter. I'm sure your mother feels she's being helpful, and it likely puts her at ease knowing you would be going out with somebody she knows through friends or family.

But this is your dating life we are talking about. You will only ever have one first date in your life, and I think it's completely reasonable for you to be the one making the decision. Of course, your mother has the right to meet who you're dating in advance and do normal parental diligence, but the decision on who you go out with first should be yours and yours alone.

Then, after you've gained some experience in dating, you can tell your mother what types of guys you may or may not be interested in meeting. Don't write your mother off entirely, as down the road she may actually have a good introduction or two for you sometime in the future. But for now, I encourage you to get started as you best see fit.

MY MOM'S DRIVING STYLE IS DANGEROUS!

DR. WALLACE: I'm a sophomore in high school and I have not yet been allowed to drive the family cars. I'm still practicing and will eventually try to get my learner's permit.

This means I have to be in the car with my mother for many things, including shopping trips, grocery runs and visiting our relatives who live a few towns away from us.

What worries me is my mother likes to use the freeway, but she drives so slowly that I feel it's dangerous! She'll barely go 50 miles an hour and many times I'll notice people drive around us and stare at our car as they go by. Some even shake their fist at us in the midst of all of this, but my mom is oblivious. She thinks she's a great driver and she keeps two hands on the wheel and her eyes straight ahead.

Should I say anything to my mom about her driving habits? — Worried She Drives Too Slowly, via email

WORRIED SHE DRIVES TOO SLOWLY: What you're pointing out can be a driving hazard at times.

Rather than saying anything directly to your mother herself, speak to your father, any aunts and uncles or other trusted adults, you know, and explain the situation tactfully and calmly. Just mention that you're a bit concerned because you don't want other vehicles to run into your car from behind

If your mother is making some short trips on a freeway, make sure she's always in the far-right lane and doesn't ever change lanes because it would be extremely dangerous for her to be in the second or third lane from the right, driving at such a slow speed. It may also be possible to request that your mother drive with her flashers on, as if your vehicle has a limitation. This would at least alert drivers behind her that a slow vehicle is in front of them.

But before doing this, see if you can speak to a local member of law-enforcement, a state trooper or a Highway Patrol office and explain the situation. They may allow your mother to use hazards on short trips.

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.

Photo credit: Evan Tang at Unsplash