DR. WALLACE: I'm a guy who's finishing up my last year in intermediate school right now, and I'll be attending high school this coming fall.

My father pulled me aside this past Saturday and told me that he's going to put me through a new experience this summer. He said it's time for me to get serious about my life and be ready to face the responsibilities of high school by the time I get there.

Specifically, my father told me that I'll be getting up early every morning, seven days a week, this summer. He let me know he's going to be sure to enforce this himself, as he'll be the one to get me out of bed if I'm too lazy to do it on my own. He also told me that I often reply to him with the same comment many times, and the words I use are "I dunno," which of course is a lazy way of saying "I don't know." Finally he made some comment about providing a good future for oneself requires getting on a narrow road, and it's time I merge into that lane! Needless to say, I'm all of a sudden not looking forward to summer. It's true that I sometimes stay up really late at night, and I do have a hard time getting out of bed the next day. But he is making this summer sound more like boot camp than a well-deserved rest after a long school year! Do you think my father is being totally unreasonable, like I do? — Dad Plans to Dominate My Summer, via email

DAD PLANS TO DOMINATE MY SUMMER: His methods do sound a bit strict and contrived, but the general idea of what he is trying to instill in you is actually not a bad thing. I do agree he could use more finesse and encouragement rather than making his plan sound like a summer "boot camp."

Getting up early every day and setting it as a routine will soon solve your habit of staying up too late at night, since fatigue will kick in much earlier in the evenings than you are likely experiencing right now. Getting up early will have you tired earlier in the evenings, and turning in to bed at a more reasonable hour such that you're awake early in the morning with a solid night's sleep under your belt. As to his narrow road leading to adult life, that's basically true, although you still should have some time to live in a hybrid zone between your teen years and adulthood. To me this hybrid means you should be gradually planning for your future, increasingly taking on additional responsibilities effectively, yet still allowing yourself some time to enjoy the fun experiences that youth provides, especially in camaraderie with close friends.

My advice is to look at this summer as a new experience and one you can grow from, rather than as something to dread. See if you can drop a humorous comment here and there to get your dad to smile a little bit even as he is inflicting additional discipline upon you. Building rapport with him as you go through this experience will make it much more palatable for both of you.

MY MOM IS SCHEMING US TO HELP HER CLEAN FOR "SPRING"

DR. WALLACE: I live in a family that has four siblings besides me, so there's seven of us, including our parents. My mom just announced to all of us that the Saturday before Memorial Day weekend, we are all as a family going to participate in a full day of "spring cleaning."

She told me that we will be going through the entire house inside and out, including the garage and backyard, and we're going to declutter and remove a lot of things we don't need and clean areas that we don't often look at.

She said some of the items will be thrown away, and others are going to be donated to charity, and at the end of the day we'll all feel better and be proud that we worked together as a team to accomplish a worthy goal.

I personally think my mother is just scamming us into doing her chores for her! I think it's her idea to get us to help her, so she schemed up this idea to create this cleaning event as a "head start" toward summer. Do you think my mom is just being really clever here, or is this type of family event more common than I ever realized? — Not Thrilled About It, via email

NOT THRILLED ABOUT IT: Spring cleaning indeed is a real thing! The origins of it go back over 3,000 years, often taking place just before the spring equinox. Various cultures handle it in different ways. Some tie it to Lent. In China, it's known as "sweeping the dust" to remove bad luck and welcome good fortune. Ancient cultures also tie this major cleaning event to the timing of when the weather changes enough to allow windows to remain open.

Spring cleaning is also tied to improved health in welcoming in fresh air to eliminate dust and allergens that have accumulated during the "sealed-up" winter months.

Another benefit is that spring cleaning creates a psychological shift and lift for everyone living in a household. Cleaning, reorganizing and resetting a dwelling represents a fresh start and a sense of renewal. It's often tied to the hopes of spring and summer weather after a long and dreary winter. My advice is to embrace it, do your part and be glad that it's only going to take one day out of your busy schedule!

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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