DR. WALLACE: I read your column regularly and I'm appalled at the number of letters and e-mails you receive from teens who dislike their step-parent, and their slander is nothing short of an evil vendetta.

I am a stepmother. My husband's wife died due to an illness and I had never met her. I try and do my very best, but my stepchild is constantly finding ways to keep our family in an uproar over what I do or I don't do. My stepchild treats me like I'm invisible in my own home. I'm not perfect, but I'm involved in activities that can better our community. I work hard to make our home comfortable and never forget a birthday or a special occasion. The thank you always goes to my husband and never to me.

My stepchild can hate me, but that will never bring back a deceased mother, nor will the family ever be "like it once was."

Your thoughts on this matter will be appreciated. Thank you for allowing me to vent. I hope other step-parents who suffer humiliation from stepchildren will know that they are not alone! - Nameless, Elizabethtown, Ky.

NAMELESS: Being a step-parent can be a very difficult task if the preparation did not include all family members discussing how to welcome the step-parent into a new family. Your husband is the one who should have conducted family discussions first alone with his child and then again with you present. It's easy to see that your stepchild was close to her birth mother and resents you taking her place. This wouldn't have happened if family discussions about you entering the family had been successful.

It's your husband's responsibility to do whatever is necessary to change the friction between your stepchild and you. Successful families share love, compassion and honesty with all of their family members.

NEVER DRINK AND DRIVE

DR. WALLACE: Let's be honest. A lot of teens drink and then drive. I'm one of them. I'm 19 and considered a "social drinker." I've never been drunk in my life and I only have two or three drinks at most when I'm at a party. Since I don't have a boyfriend, I drive myself to and from the function. A lot of my friends do the same. All I hear is don't drive after you have been drinking. What's the big deal if I'm not drunk and can drive my car perfectly. Sometimes people talk just to hear themselves speak. — Meg, Moline, Ill.

MEG: Even one drink can affect a person's ability to drive an automobile safely. Alcohol is classified as a depressant drug which acts on the central nervous system, slowing activities of the brain. According to the American Automobile Association, one or two drinks can cause a driver to be impaired.

Even after one drink a driver's foot may slow a fraction of a second in the transfer from the accelerator to the brake pedal. The result could be a tragic accident. Alcohol also has an effect on a driver's vision. Again, one drink can affect depth perception. The more alcohol consumed, the greater the faulty depth perception, poor peripheral vision, and reduced night vision.

Since you have friends who also drive after consuming a few drinks, I'd suggest that you all form a group where one can be the designated non-drinking driver. Even under the best of circumstances, driving is challenging. And alcohol consumption never helps, but can drastically hinder this challenge.

Never drink and drive!

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 Creative Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.