DR. WALLACE: I saw your recent article about how a percentage of older people, especially grandparents, feel that today's teenagers act wilder and more out of control than teens did back in the good old days of our grandparents' generations.

I have a different take on this matter. I feel that "teenagers are teenagers," and they will always seek to try to get away with as much as they can, no matter what era they live in.

Today's difference is that a huge percentage of the current parents of teens are overly permissive, and they allow their teenagers to get away with bad behavior that in the past was not tolerated. This lack of discipline is the reason that today's teenagers act so much wilder and more out of control than previous generations of teenagers did. Don't you agree? — Observing What I See, via email

OBSERVING WHAT I SEE: I still feel that teenagers today face a lot more to deal with versus the previous generations, especially those going back to the middle of the last century.

Social media and technology alone have changed the world and the landscape for teenagers by a tremendous margin when compared with the past generations. And part of this is the disclosure and spotlight that is put on every happening — or transgression. Past generations had the luxury of flying mostly under the radar when it came to their "dirty laundry" being aired for all to see.

And to your point about parenting, yes, today's parents approach parenting from a necessary new perspective versus parents in the past, again due to all that must be dealt with and factored into their thinking and disciplinary standards.

OUR ASSISTANT COACH SWEARS AT US

DR. WALLACE: I play high school sports and am a decent player. I'm not a star but I am a good teammate and I do my job well in our sport.

I don't like how one of our assistant coaches swears at us often during practices. I notice that he says these words only when our head coach is not within earshot of him.

Our head coach has been at our school for three decades and he is well liked and well respected by all our players as well as the local community. This man does not swear or yell at players at all. He calmly but firmly reprimands players when they need it, but he does it in a way that indicates he both cares for and respects the player. He truly wants us to improve our skills and our work ethic at our craft.

I'm not sure our head coach knows how one of his newer assistant coaches is acting. I'm worried about saying anything and I think a lot of my teammates feel the same way. Is there anything we can do that won't put us in a bad light if we tell our coach about what is going on? Nobody really wants to speak up, including me, even though we know we likely should. — Team Player, via email

TEAM PLAYER: Yes, you should find a way to inform your head coach about what is going on here. No head or assistant coach should be using unacceptable language directed at their high school players.

If you are worried about approaching your coach yourself, perhaps you could speak to a few of your teammates and arrange for an anonymous note to be written to your head coach. Explain in the note what the issue is and let the head coach know exactly how many of you are anonymously signing the note so that he will understand just how many other players feel the way you do about this issue.

I feel it's likely that your head coach does not know this is going on and once he does, he will bring a quick and certain stop to it.

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 rwallace@thegreatestgift.com. 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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