DR. WALLACE: Thanksgiving will be here in a few days, and I have a dilemma! I'm a girl who's 17 and in high school, and my new boyfriend's family invited me to their home for Thanksgiving dinner! We've only been dating for five weeks, but his parents both have already taken a tremendous liking to me and are quite interested in befriending me.

When I mentioned this to my parents, they were extremely against the idea, as they felt that I should attend our family's Thanksgiving dinner since it is a family tradition, and we will have three sets of relatives visiting from out of town.

Our family usually has Thanksgiving dinner from 3 to 3:30 p.m., and his family has Thanksgiving dinner at 5 p.m., according to my understanding.

My mother told me that I should attend our Thanksgiving, eat the normal amount of food that I would normally consume, and then perhaps arrive at his family's Thanksgiving event for dessert only.

But if I do this, I'll miss Thanksgiving dinner with his family! I really like this guy and his family, so I want to establish a Thanksgiving tradition with them, especially since they offered. What can I do about this? — It's a Great Invitation, via email

IT'S A GREAT INVITATION: I feel that your mother has a point here, but there may be a little bit of wiggle room for you to be able to do your best to split the difference.

I feel you should attend your family dinner and eat one plate of food but not load up on a second plate or additional volume. Enjoy that time with your family and your visiting relatives, and be sure to speak to everyone at the table and especially engage those who traveled a long way to visit your family.

Then once this is done, perhaps that'll leave you just enough time to potentially attend the other opportunity where you can eat a similarly medium-sized plate slowly and carefully.

Please remember that if it won't be possible to do both due to scheduling, logistics or your transportation to your boyfriend's house, you need to side with your own family at this point. You've only been in this relationship for five weeks, and although it's a wonderful invitation, your first priority and loyalty should be to your own family. If you and this particular guy get along great over time, there should be many other opportunities to celebrate, perhaps over the holidays or even the New Year's celebration.

MY YOUNGER BROTHER IS ADVENTUROUS AND FEARLESS

DR. WALLACE: I'm worried about my little brother. He's 9 years old, and he's a climber. He climbs up trees and goes up way too high for my comfort level; he literally climbs up fences and can hoist himself onto our family's roof. And anytime he's playing with friends and a baseball or wiffle ball gets lost, he's the one to climb over fences, go into other yards and even snatch a ball before a snarling dog can catch him.

He seems to have the personality of a risk-taker, and he's absolutely fearless! I mentioned this to my parents several times, but they just say he's a bit rambunctious and he'll "grow out of it." Do you think I should remain worried about my brother or just ignore his antics and go about my life? — Little Brother Goes for It, via email

LITTLE BROTHER GOES FOR IT: It's going to be hard for you to police his every move, but what you can do is sit down with him at some time and tell him that he should always slow down, take a deep breath and look carefully before he undertakes these adventures. Let him know that when climbing high up somewhere like a tree or on your family home's roof, one false move could send him tumbling down and getting severely injured — or even dying. Let him know you're only saying this because you love him and care about him.

At least doing this will put those thoughts in the back of his mind, and perhaps his subconscious will replay them from time to time. You can also mention your concerns to other family members who may provide positive influence on your parents to rein in your brother a bit.

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: Element5 Digital at Unsplash