DR. WALLACE: I'm a B-plus student and have no doubt I will be a college freshman in September 2017. My problem is I'm always short of money even with an allowance. I've got a chance to get a good part-time summer job this summer, but if I accept it, I'd also have to work 10 hours a week (Monday through Friday) once school starts in the fall.

This will be my senior year and my parents are not too happy about me working when school is in session because they feel that my studies should be my work and that I should maintain excellent grades. They also think that I'll have plenty of time to work and earn money after I finish my education. My parents didn't say that I couldn't accept this job, but suggested that it would not be ideal to take it. What is your view about this as a former educator and high school principal? — Bev, Orlando, Fla.

BEV: The educational community is evenly split when it comes to students working part-time when school is in session. However, most Americans believe part-time work experience that does not hinder schoolwork is good for teens. They believe young people who are employed part-time learn about the "real" world, learn how to accept responsibility, learn the value of money, and most of all, stay out of trouble.

I encourage teens to work part-time, provided the student is not placed in a stressful work environment and works no more than three hours on school days and no more than 15 hours a week, including weekends.

Many Asian cultures frown on students working part-time while attending school, but for Americans it is a common philosophy. In a study by sociologists at City College New York, more than two-thirds of all 16- and 17-year-old American high school students had part-time employment while attending classes. The study also revealed that only 20 percent of Western European students had part-time jobs, but less than 2 percent of South Korean and Japanese students had part-time jobs.

13-YEAR-OLDS NEED 9 HOURS OF NIGHTLY SLEEP

DR. WALLACE: I'm 13 and my parents make me go to bed at 9 p.m. on school nights because they say that growing teens need a minimum of 10 hours of sleep every night. On the weekends, I must be in bed by 10 and I can't get up until 8 a.m. or later. They keep telling me that any extra sleep I get will help me later on, when I won't be able to get a full 10 hours.

My problem is that I don't like spending 10 hours in bed. Instead of feeling refreshed when I get up, I feel groggy. How many hours of sleep does a growing 13-year-old boy really need? My parents read your column, so I know they will change my in-bed time if you feel 10 hours is overkill. — Zack, Mobile, Ala.

ZACK: Sleep is essential for all of us, especially for maturing teens, but a rigidly imposed sleeping schedule that leaves a person feeling groggy and un-refreshed is not a boon to health. Sleep can't be stored up in the same manner that food (fat) can, so an excess of sleep is essentially wasted.

Simply put, everyone is different. Not all teens require the same amount of sleep to function at maximum energy. People should listen to what their own bodies tell them they need.

However, doctors who specialize in sleep disorders do say that, as a rule of thumb, most 13-year-olds should have nine hours of sleep per night.

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. E-mail 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.

Photo credit: Martin Pettitt