DR. WALLACE: The 16-year-old girl I'm dating is really cool, but her father doesn't like me much at all. Let's just say that anytime I happen to be over at her house, I notice he has a deep scowl on his face when he looks my way.

Her dad even threatens to hurt me when I come to pick her up to get something to eat or to just pass some time by hanging out with her. Her dad usually says things like, "If you bring her home past her curfew, I promise I'll make you pay for it." So far, he hasn't been physical with me, but he does continue to threaten me verbally in various ways similar to this.

He even once said that my car looked too expensive for "a guy who flips burgers," and then he started rambling on about how it would be a shame if the brake lines got cut and I crashed "such a pretty car."

Of course, this is not actually my car; it's my father's car. My dad lets me borrow it to go out on dates.

I sure don't want to have anything bad happen to my father's car, especially while I am borrowing it. Should I say something to my girlfriend about all of this or should I just ignore her dad and hope he does not want to actually start a real fight? — An Unwelcome Boyfriend, via email

UNWELCOME BOYFRIEND: At this time, I wouldn't say anything to your girlfriend or her father. It's not worth the risk of ending your happy relationship over it, as long as the two of you are still an item and still enjoy each other's company.

My advice would be to avoid taking these insensitive remarks personally. Her gruff father has a bit of a peacock complex, meaning he wants to spread out his feathers in an attempt to show you he's the boss. Furthermore, he would quite likely be saying all these things to any other guy who dated his daughter. Sooner or later, I believe he'll start to know you better and gradually begin to trust you.

A good strategy in a situation like this is to be overly polite and proactive. Next time you see him say something along the lines of, "Good afternoon, sir" before he even gets a chance to say anything to you first. When he mentions the curfew, tell him you will be sure to follow the rules — and do so at all costs!

Finally, when you have some alone time with your girlfriend, ask her what her father's interests and hobbies are. Maybe he's into sports, music or fitness, for example. Seek to find an area of common ground whereby you can start a polite, brief conversation with him about something he's interested in. If you're able to do this, I trust he'll soon relax, and his rudeness will likely give way to some idle small talk. This is a great way to keep showing him the respect he deserves, and, ideally, for him to reciprocate.

DO BOYS HAVE LARGER BRAINS?

DR. WALLACE: My brother's 17-year-old friend told me that guys are smarter than girls because they have larger brains. I can't believe this is true, because he is really not that smart at all. I'm a girl who is 13 years old, and I'm already quite a bit smarter than he is.

Does the physical size of your brain have anything to do with how smart you are? My head is of a normal size, but trust me: It's filled with a lot of studying, memorization and friendly thoughts for my friends and neighbors. Yes, he has a big head, but I think if I could actually look inside of it, I would see that it's mostly hollow with a lot of long, dreary hallways that lead absolutely nowhere worth visiting! — Smart Girl, via email

SMART GIRL: On average, males do have larger brains than females, but in no way the size does make them smarter. The size of a human brain has nothing to do with intelligence.

Males tend to understand spatial perception, which may be the reason they never want to stop and ask for directions. Females process language more easily, which often makes them very skilled at speaking and reading foreign languages, and of course makes them outstanding conversationalists in their native language or languages as well.

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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