DR. WALLACE: I have a boyfriend who is a bit older than I am and he's also way more experienced as well. He wants us to get physical soon and he's advising me to start taking birth control pills.

I mentioned to him that if he used protection it would really cut down on the risk of me becoming pregnant. However, he told me that he's not going to do that for any girl he's dating.

I like him, but I'm now worried about my body and what pills might do to me. It seems like he's putting all of the pressure and responsibility on me to not get myself pregnant. And he is always telling me, "It's your responsibility since you're the one who could get pregnant." It seems like he's not going to budge, so I don't know what to do since I don't have any pills to take and I'm not sure if I would feel safe taking them anyway. — I Feel Stuck and Vulnerable, via email

I FEEL STUCK AND VULNERABLE: I recommend you stop seeing this guy immediately. His cavalier attitude demonstrates extreme selfishness, plus a lack of concern for your health.

Your letter did not mention your age, but it indicated he's older and more experienced. Tell him to take his experience down the road somewhere else.

Don't start getting physical with this guy. If you were to happen to become pregnant, what do you think the odds would be that he would stick around and help you? I suspect they are not very good.

All young girls and women should follow their own hearts and minds when it comes to taking care of their physical and mental health. This guy does not seem to care one iota about either one of these issues where you are concerned. It appears he only seeks physical pleasure from you, and if you relent and go against your valid feelings of vulnerability, you may wind up very sorry in the near future. Therefore, get out of this relationship immediately, and do not partake in any physical activity with this selfish, uncaring guy.

WE DON'T SHOP MUCH, AND MOST GOES TO MY SISTER ANYHOW

DR. WALLACE: My mom is a single mother who is really great to me in many ways. She's loving, she works hard, and she takes great care of me and my 11-year-old little sister.

We three females are very frugal since we don't have a lot of extra money to spend after we pay our monthly bills. My mom usually spends just a bit of money on my sister's clothes, mostly at discount stores like Ross, T.J. Maxx and Marshalls. But she rarely lets me get anything there because my mom and I are roughly the same size now that I'm 17. Therefore, she lets me wear all of her clothes! This is of course kind, but to be honest her sense of fashion and mine is quite different.

This means that only about 40% of her clothes at best would I ever consider wearing to school. We don't have a lot of my old "hand me down" clothes for my sister anymore, so this is why she gets items from those stores and I usually don't. What can I do about this? I'm really "fashion-challenged" at my high school. — Same Size as Mom Has Its Drawbacks, via email

SAME SIZE AS MOM HAS ITS DRAWBACKS: You are indeed in a tough position when it comes to your clothes, and I can both understand and appreciate your mother's reasoning — even if she's a touch unaware of how you feel about all her clothes.

Perhaps you can seek out some part-time jobs in your neighborhood or even start networking to see if there are families who could use babysitting jobs. You could even offer to these families to do some babysitting in exchange for a T.J. Maxx gift card, for example. Some of your neighbors, especially the mothers, may truly wish to step up to help you out a bit. You should be forthright with them and let them know that your mom works long and hard to provide, and that you'd like to also work hard and responsibly so that you pick up just a bit more current fashion to wear daily to your school.

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 o 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: freestocks at Unsplash