DR. WALLACE: Last week, my friend was given a new car for her 18th birthday.

Yesterday, she called me and wanted to go for a ride in her birthday present, so we drove up to a local lake for a girls lunch and then drove back to our hometown.

The only problem was that we are both in the 12th grade at our high school, and since our trip took place on a school day, the school called my mom and asked why I wasn't in school. They found out I was missing by speaking to my little brother, who is a freshman at our school. Little bro said he saw me dressed and leaving for school, so it kind of scared everyone when they all realized I was not in class. Anyhow, my mom also thought I went to school, so when I got home and she had all the facts, I was in big trouble. My mom got really upset and grounded me. She was madder at me than I can remember over the past few years.

I'll admit that I shouldn't have skipped class (it was my very first time doing something like this), but being grounded for two months is, in my opinion, a bit too harsh. Your take on my punishment will be appreciated — whether or not you agree with me. What do you feel is an appropriate punishment for a first-time offender like me? — Class Cutter, via email

CLASS CUTTER: Skipping school is a serious mistake. Many parents who believed their daughters to be at school have received phone calls from authorities for a number of reasons, from car accidents to crimes.

You deserve stiff discipline, but, in my opinion, two to four weeks of restriction should be adequate as long as you promise to never skip school again — and you keep your promise. If and when you commit a second offense (don't!), I would side with your parents no matter what length or type of noncorporal punishment you would be dealt at that time. The key for you and any young person in a similar situation is to both learn from your mistake and make positive changes going forward. Life is a learning process, and wise people of all ages work hard to not repeat their mistakes.

SPORTS VIEWING BREAKS THE TIE

DR. WALLACE: Please settle a family feud for me if you can. Which gender watches television more, teen boys or teen girls? I'm a female and know that my two brothers watch television more than I do. They also waste a lot of time streaming videos of cats and dogs doing weird tricks on the internet. My brothers disagree. They say that even if I don't watch a lot of television or stream a lot of videos, most girls my age do. Your answer is important because I want a responsible adult to side with me — Their Smarter Sister, Longmont, Colorado

SMARTER SISTER: I am sure there are many studies on this topic, but the research moves around and changes quite a bit, especially since the mediums of television and streaming videos have blurred the lines of ratings in the past several years. It used to be that the Nielsen television ratings were the definitive voice on this topic. Nielsen remains important, but young people watch videos and programs via broadcast television, cable television and streaming services such as Netflix, HBO, Hulu, YouTube and Disney, to name a few.

I don't often offer my own opinions, but in this case, I will say that teen boys and girls watch a similar amount of television and online videos. However, there is the huge category of sports, and there I would venture a guess that teen boys watch more sports and sports highlights than girls do.

So, I will side with you that teen boys watch more overall video than teen girls, but please understand that this is purely my opinion, not based on any facts that I could readily source. If you or any of our kind readers are aware of a more complete, technical answer based on valid studies, please feel free to forward them to us for evaluation. We can revisit this topic again in the future. For now, I am going to provide you with only a minor, nondefinitive victory, based solely on my opinion. If your brothers disagree with my opinion, encourage them to source some facts to support their side of this feud.

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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