DR. WALLACE: I'm a girl who's not athletic at all, but I just started dating one of the very best athletes at my high school. This of course makes me self-conscious and it has me wanting to practice some sports so that I can appear to be more athletic.

What sport do you recommend that I start practicing so that I can show my guy that I have at least one sports skill? — Not an Athlete Yet, via email

NOT AN ATHLETE YET: Well, I highly doubt your current guy asked you out because he felt you were a good athlete. Rather, I'd guess that your nice personality had more to do with things.

But to answer your question, I'd say "none" of the major sports we all know and think of routinely. Instead, I'd advise you to build up your endurance, agility and strength gradually. Start by walking briskly 15 to 20 minutes a day and build up your time from there. Then practice agility drills. You can set up cones or books in your backyard and step quickly around them as nimbly as possible. Go online to find many videos on this topic!

Agility training brings a host of benefits for individuals of all ages, occupations and fitness needs as it helps with balance, mobility and adaptability to a host of physical situations you may find yourself faced with when playing any type of sport.

Finally, do a bit of light weight training. Seek to simply tone yourself up a bit and build just 10% to 25% more overall strength. Don't try to set any records or strain yourself at all. Simply do a bit of very light to moderate weight training and then stick with it.

If you can do these three things, then you'll have more strength, agility and endurance for any sport you'd like to try your hand at.

HE'S 4 AND ALREADY HAS A CELLPHONE!

DR. WALLACE: I have a 4-year-old brother and my mom bought him a smartphone! This little brute can navigate it pretty darn well, too, and this makes me very uncomfortable.

I'm his 16-year-old sister and I know what type of crazy stuff is out there on the internet, so this worries me a lot.

Why does my mom let him have a phone at this age? If I were a mother, I would not allow anyone under 15 to have a phone these days. — One Surprised Sister, via email

ONE SURPRISED SISTER: I can understand where you are coming from! It could be that your mother is using this phone as a de-facto "pacifier" for your little brother.

In any case, I suggest that you speak to your mother about being sure there are parental controls initiated on this phone. His access should only be to a scant few places, like apps that have been highly vetted quite carefully.

A parent should never use a cellphone as a replacement for parental supervision. I'm not saying that your mother is abdicating her responsibilities as a parent, but I am saying that this phone should be locked down to only allow a few careful places to be accessed.

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.

Photo credit: Wesley Tingey at Unsplash