DR. WALLACE: My 5-year-old little brother makes up a lot of interesting stories and can come up with some interesting ideas for such a young kid. My mother wants him to only focus on reading and learning how to add and subtract, but I think we should encourage him to continue to explore his obvious strength, which is creativity.

Do you agree with me or my mom? I'm a girl who is 14 and I only wish I were as creative as this little guy! — His Big Sister, via email

HIS BIG SISTER: I agree with both of you! It's great that at this young age your brother already seems to be wise beyond his years. Learning to read and do mathematics are great fundamentals that he can work on now to lay down a great foundation for his future learning and development.

However, I also feel strongly that his creative side should be nurtured and encouraged as well. When you get a chance, have him tell you stories, and try to record them on a cellphone if you have access to one. Maybe even borrow your mother's phone and try to record some of your brother's great creative stories.

You may be able to transcribe his stories and then have your mother use those transcripts as part of his future reading materials.

When a child has a noticeable, innate talent, it's generally a good idea to allow for the full expression of the talent to be allowed to unfurl, and it sounds like your brother fits this mold.

HE SURPRISED ME WITH AN EXPENSIVE GIFT AFTER JUST TWO WEEKS!

DR. WALLACE: I've been dating a guy for only two weeks, and he just gave me a necklace that I can tell is pretty expensive! I like him so far but I'm only now just getting to know him better.

I don't know where he got the money for this piece of jewelry, so it has me wondering how he acquired it. It could be that he's from a wealthy family or that he has a job somewhere. We are both 17 and juniors in high school.

I'm a bit uncomfortable with such a gift and I'm thinking about giving it back to him. What do you think about this? — I Was Quite Surprised, via email

I WAS QUITE SURPRISED: I suggest that you take your curiosity directly to the source. Ask him politely how he was able to get you such an expensive gift. Listen closely and carefully to his explanation.

If you're satisfied with his answer, you can comfortably keep the gift, but do let him know that if he wants it back at any point, you'll be glad to give it back to him and that just because he's giving you an expensive gift, you don't feel obligated at this early stage to do anything outside of your normal dating protocol.

Tell him what you told me, that you are just now getting to know him. Accordingly, if the two of you don't continue to date in the near future, tell him that you'll be happy to return this gift.

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: Lucas Alexander at Unsplash