DR. WALLACE: My family often watches TV together, and since I'm the only girl, I sometimes find the commercials so embarrassing!

Feminine hygiene companies are now advertising on regular television, talking about a woman's period. My younger brothers don't understand what pads are or why commercials show blue liquid being poured on them, so they ask my mom. Then, she has to try and explain it very carefully or just change the channel to distract them. How can I let these companies know how embarrassed I am? — Embarrassed Teen Girl, via email

EMBARRASSED TEEN GIRL: Indeed, our modern world readily puts many topics into the limelight that used to be considered sensitive and more private. It's just a fact of life these days.

The key is for your mother and/or you to think in advance how you wish to explain this to your younger brothers. I suggest doing so in a casual, low-key way that does not cause them to sensationalize the situation.

I'm sure your brothers see commercials for diapers for babies, and they likely don't bat an eye over that, even though the subject matter of the functional use of diapers is, of course, sensitive and private. Seek to achieve the same balance in explaining feminine hygiene products casually. To ignore or hide from their questions will only heighten their interest in the topic, and this will be counterproductive to what you seek to accomplish.

Feminine hygiene product companies are still going to advertise on television — and due to the intimate nature of the product it is, indeed, a tricky challenge — but they have the right to promote their products just as any other company would promote their own items.

MOM WON'T TEACH ME THIS

DR. WALLACE: I'm a responsible teenager living at home with my mom and dad. I have been doing kitchen chores such as washing dishes, cooking and cleaning up. I want to learn how to do the laundry and have asked my parents to show me how. My mom refuses to show me, and my dad claims he does not know how to use the washer or dryer since my mom has done all the laundry dating back to the beginning of their marriage.

My mom says she will continue to do the laundry and that although she appreciates my offer to help, I don't need to worry about it.

However, for me it's about learning how to do it correctly! I realize that my mom is pretty territorial about this chore, but there are times on the weekend I'd like to wash just one or two pieces of my clothing so that I don't have to wait a full week for our usual family load of laundry to be done to wear them again.

How can I get her to change her mind and show me how she does it? — Eager to Learn, via email

EAGER TO LEARN: You don't want to get on the bad side of your mother by pestering her when she's busy, especially since she is so territorial about this particular chore. My recommendation is to wait until there is a quiet time when your mother is in a good mood and there's no time pressure involved. Then, simply ask her to show you and tell her exactly why you would like to learn how to do the laundry correctly, since you occasionally want to wash special items of your clothing in advance of the family's weekly load.

There could be an issue regarding the costs and energy usage for washing only a few things at a time, so I'd suggest you get out in front of that and tell her that you'd be happy to wash some similar color items whenever you do an intermittent load of laundry for your own purposes. This could save mom a little time with the weekly load by reducing that volume a bit, 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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