DR. WALLACE: I'm a 16-year-old girl and my mom and I don't get along very well. In fact, we argue and yell at each other a lot. I've tried to stop fighting with Mom, but I can't seem to get her to stop fighting with me.

Yesterday she said the big problem is that she does everything for me and I do nothing for her. I told her that I do a lot for her and then we got into another big yelling match. I really love my mom and I know she loves me. What can I do to get this problem stopped? — Nameless, Elizabethtown, Ky.

NAMELESS: Yelling and arguing are symptoms of communication breakdown. The situation between Mom and you is so charged with emotion at this point that the simplest discussion triggers an explosion. Figuring out how to have a civil conversation is far more important right now than the actual grievances you want to discuss.

Try this: When you both are in good moods, take Mom out for a snack and discuss things without raising your voices. When the chat ends, tell Mom you love her and want with all your heart to make her feel good.

If you both cultivate the habit of showing respect for one another, the screaming bouts will be history.

YOU WILL HAVE A HEALTHY BABY

DR. WALLACE: I'm 20 and engaged to a wonderful guy. We plan to get married in two years, when he graduates from college.

When I was 15, I experimented with marijuana. I smoked about a dozen joints over a nine-month period. I did not try any other kind of drug except beer. Because of my past history with marijuana, I'm starting to worry that my children might have birth defects. My fiance doesn't know about my little experiment and I've chosen not to tell him unless there is a chance that our future children would be defective because of my past stupidity. What can you tell me about this? - Nameless, Phoenix, Ariz.

NAMELESS: I checked with my family physician and was informed that your experiment with marijuana five years ago would have no ill effects on children you might give birth to in the future.

It's when a mother-to-be indulges in illegal drugs, tobacco or alcohol that the health of the newborn child could be affected.

When you do become pregnant, follow your doctor's instructions faithfully and a healthy baby will bless your family.

PLEASE STAY AWAY FROM CORN SILK

DR. WALLACE: My friend saves all the corn silk whenever she cleans corn for her mom. She then puts it in the oven and dries it (her mom doesn't know). Then, after she lets it "cure" for a month or more, she smokes it in a pipe. She says it's great and wants me to try it. She says that it won't hurt me to inhale the smoke because it's not tobacco.

Her grandfather taught her how to cure corn silk for smoking purposes and still smokes it regularly, and he is over 75 years old. I'm curious to find out what smoking corn silk feels like. Will it hurt me? — Nameless, Flint, Mich.

NAMELESS: Lungs are not intended to function as smoke filters, regardless of the substance smoked. Furthermore, all smoke contains toxic chemicals that are harmful to lung tissues.

Stay away from corn silk, please. And make sure your friend also reads my answer!

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.