DR. WALLACE: Someone told school authorities that I had a gun stashed in my locker and it was searched illegally by the principal and school nurse. What they found was a starter pistol, which fires blanks, not bullets, and is used to start races. I brought it to school just to show off, not to do harm, but I have been suspended from school for three weeks.

I've been told by an attorney friend of my parents that the police couldn't search a locker without a search warrant, but the school principal can. How can this be? — Nameless, Memphis, Tenn.

NAMELESS: A school operates "in loco parentis" (in place of parents), which means that school authorities can do what a reasonable parent might do in times of stress or possible danger. Since a school is responsible for the safety and welfare of all of its students, authorities can search a student's locker without permission if they suspect something harmful might be in the locker.

Where have you been the last few years? School shootings and heightened security are on everyone's mind. Bringing a starter pistol to school in order to show off was a very unwise decision. The punishment fits your unacceptable behavior.

BICYCLE RIDERS MUST WEAR A HELMET

DR. WALLACE: I just read the article about the parents whose son received a bicycle for his 12th birthday and the boy didn't want to wear his helmet because it was "awkward, unnatural, and uncool." Your advice to insist that he wear a helmet was right on.

When my daughter was about the same age, she had a very bad spill and she had to go to the emergency room. After six hours, 22 X-rays and 11 stitches, we were able to bring her home relatively unhurt.

As her mother, I was doing OK until the next morning, when I picked up her helmet. If she hadn't been wearing it, she would have been killed. She had landed on the front of the helmet, smashing it in. The impact practically broke the helmet in two.

Bicycle helmets are constructed to protect what is inside and I know that they do a pretty good job, if worn correctly. Many times I see children (and adults) with their helmets on the back of their head instead of the top. If my daughter hadn't been wearing her helmet correctly, she would have been badly hurt.

The bottom edge of the helmet should be worn parallel to the ground and should always be buckled, so that if you fly over the top of your handlebars (as my daughter did), your head is still protected. You don't always fall straight back.

If those parents love their son (as I know they do) they will stick to their guns and demand that he wear the helmet. He may not think wearing a helmet is cool, but the risks are just too great not to wear one. — Mom, Portland, Ore.

MOM: Your story will convince many wavering parents to insist that their children have maximum protection when they go for a spin on their bikes. Thanks for sharing this important information with our teen readers and their parents.

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.