DR. WALLACE: I'm busy as a sophomore in high school. I play sports, do volunteer work and even have a part-time job that my best friend and I work on when we have free time. We make unique crafts we sell on the website Etsy.

My older sister is always asking me why my social life is so lame, but she doesn't get it. She thinks that because I'm now old enough to date that I should be going out on two or three dates a week, but so far, I've only been on four dates over the past five months.

I enjoy dating a bit, but I'm more interested right now in my athletic career and my side hustle business! It's fun, and we are making enough money to start building up saving accounts for our college days in a few years.

I guess if I met the exact right person I'd date more often, but so far I've just been on a few casual dates here and there. Is my sister right about my social life being lame? Am I missing out by not dating more often right now? — Pretty Busy Already, via email

PRETTY BUSY ALREADY: Absolutely not! You are not missing out by not dating more frequently. In fact, you'd have to cut back on your side project a bit to spend more time out and about.

As a sophomore in high school, you have years of dating opportunities in front of you. Take your time, and let things like dates come to you gradually, naturally and organically.

Your sister may have had a different mindset when she was your age, and of course, each individual thinks and acts differently. Don't feel pressured at all to live up to your sister's expectations.

MY PARENTS ARE NOT ONLY STRICT BUT ALSO INFLEXIBLE

DR. WALLACE: I'm a 15-year-old boy who has not gotten into any major trouble. Pretty good for these days, right?

Maybe part of the reason for that is that my parents, especially my father, are very strict. They have all kinds of rules, curfews and expectations that must be met 100% of the time.

I do understand that it's tough to be a parent, but it's also tough to be the son of really strict parents. I do follow the rules, so there has never been any real big friction. I feel I've been doing my part to keep the peace within our family.

But what really bothers me is that my dad is not only strict but also inflexible. For example, weeks in advance, I asked him for a few hours more time for a special occasion that involved my best friend and his family. They have an outing to a local lake to celebrate his uncle's birthday, and they always have a great barbecue and play touch football. Since it's an hour drive each way (and my friend's dad would drive me), this means I'd need more time than I'm usually allowed on a Saturday.

Do you feel my request is reasonable? My father thinks this would make me late and therefore he'd have to ground me. I think he's being ridiculous. — I Need Some Space, via email

I NEED SOME SPACE: In my opinion, your father is making a big mistake. You've followed his rule and stayed out of trouble. The least he could in return is to grant you the space you've earned, especially for a one-off special occasion.

Parents who don't allow some reasonable flexibility unfortunately often end up sowing seeds of discontent in their children. One strategy you might try would be to have your best friend's father pick him up from your house one weekend when you know your father will be around. This may present an opportunity to have him invite you in front of your father and ask your father's permission to do so. If the parents can meet and speak with each other first, your odds of a successful outcome will rise.

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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