DR. WALLACE: I'm 14 years old, and I am interested in boys for the first time in my life. There are three boys who want me to become their steady girlfriend, but I don't know which one of them I actually like the most. All three have various good qualities, and all three have excellent character.

One boy is very funny; he can make me laugh hard a dozen times an hour! He does not say anything untoward; it's just that he can come up with funny explanations about everyday life situations. The second boy is very smart and cute; he always offers to help me with my homework. He's somewhat quieter than the other two, but he and I get along great, and we find enough to talk about to keep a good conversation going. The third boy is a good athlete. He tells me that I should be his girlfriend because he's going to be a pro football player someday and that we will enjoy living in a really great house and taking awesome vacations every year!

What should I do? I've never heard of a girl with three boyfriends, and, to be honest, I never, ever dreamed it could be me. But it is my current situation.

And, just to make things even crazier, there's a new boy who just moved into our neighborhood this past summer, and he and I are already becoming fast friends. If we keep enjoying each other's company, I think I might become seriously interested in him, too. So, what is a lucky girl like me to do at this point? — Boy Crazy, via email

BOY CRAZY: Well, that certainly sounds like a nice dilemma to have. At the very least, it's certainly better than the alternative of waiting around hoping to eventually get asked out on a date!

My advice is to enjoy talking with all of the boys but know it isn't necessary to choose any one of them as a boyfriend. If one of them puts pressure on you, tell him to back off, and remember that you indeed have other alternatives to fall back on.

You are just now at the very beginning of your "dating career," so take it slow and ease into things. There is no need to rush into an exclusive relationship at the age of 14. In three or four years, you may want to make that kind of choice, but that is a long way off.

For now, enjoy this moment. Treat each boy with friendship and respect, but let each know that you are too young and not prepared to become a "steady" girlfriend to anyone at this time.

A whole new world is just beginning to open up to you, so enjoy this time in your life. Remember to treat everyone the way you would wish to be treated if the roles were reversed.

BACK-SEAT PASSENGERS NEED TO BUCKLE UP

TEENS: I know sometimes I preach about the dangers of not wearing a seatbelt, but I feel compelled to keep doing so because, quite simply, the proper use of the seatbelt saves lives.

Sometimes teens feel invincible or become careless, and this can lead to tragedy. For instance, a recent headline in the local paper gave me a jolt: "Crash kills teen." It was a story that told of an 18-year-old female who died in an accident on a local freeway. She was riding in the back seat and not wearing a seatbelt. The driver and the front-seat passenger, who were wearing their seatbelts, both survived. Authorities believe the seatbelts helped protect each of them from serious injuries.

Highway Patrol officers reported that, while people in the front seat generally buckle up, back-seat riders are far less likely to do so because the back seat "feels" safe. Yet wearing a seatbelt is the cheapest and most effective protection available, and this should remind people that all passengers should wear seatbelts on every trip — no matter where they are seated in a vehicle. It's imperative to build the habit of snapping a seatbelt on as soon as a person is seated in a vehicle.

In the unfortunate event of an automobile crash, all riders continue to move forward until something stops their forward momentum. This "thing" could be the hard front seat, the windshield or even the person in the front seat.

In addition, not wearing a seatbelt significantly increases the odds of a passenger of a moving vehicle being ejected from the vehicle during an accident. The likelihood of serious injuries or death is much, much higher when a human being is ejected from a moving vehicle during a crash.

The bottom line, teens, is that you must buckle up every time you ride in a vehicle, regardless of where you sit. Your life is much too precious to put at an unnecessary risk!

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.

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