DR. WALLACE: My family and close relatives live in a major city that has an NFL football team. One of my uncles is a huge fan, and since his wife passed away five years ago, he invites family members to the games with him, since he has two seats together at the stadium.

I really enjoy going to these games with him, but there's one thing that makes me uncomfortable. He'll always go to the refreshment stand and bring back two large beers in the first quarter of the game.

He then hands one to me and tells me to take a few good "belts" out of it while it's still cold! He actually uses that word, "belts." The first time, I took a meek sip and handed it back to him. He then told me to take a good belt, not a wimpy sip, so I drank a little more. Once I handed it back to him, he put it underneath his seat and he didn't offer me any more beer the rest of the game. I won't turn 18 for a few more months, and of course the legal drinking age is 21.

I don't really want to say anything to my other relatives or my parents, because I don't want to start a family argument or be uninvited from future games.

I'll be going to a game in late November with him again, so what should I do when he tries to get me to take a few more "belts" of beer? — It Makes Me Feel Uncomfortable, via email

IT MAKES ME FEEL UNCOMFORTABLE: Gladly accept the next invitation from your uncle, but when he hands you the beer, tell him you did a bit of research and you don't want to take even a sip because might get in trouble.

You can correctly tell him that it's possible he could lose his season tickets by offering alcohol to a minor inside the stadium. Explain that you would never want to be responsible for him losing his seeds, since you know he enjoys the games there very much.

Also be sure to protect yourself on the ride home. If he's drinking two beers in the first quarter of the game, and a game typically lasts 3 1/2 hours or so, you're likely safe enough with him going home. But if he drinks more during the game, he may be under the influence, and if so, you need to confront that problem right away.

MY MOM IS OVERBEARING ABOUT THIS

DR WALLACE: I'm 16 1/2 years old, and I live alone with my mother. The two of us get along fine, and she's pretty open talking with me about a lot of stuff, even how I'm becoming a woman. All of that is well and good, but she's overbearing about my social life!

She seems to think there's something wrong with me, because even though she gave me permission to go on dates as of my 16th birthday, she notices that I usually go out with groups of friends, not one-on-one dates.

She's constantly asking me about my social life and if there's any problem that she needs to know about. I simply tell her that I'm comfortable hanging out with my friends and I'll go on some dates when I find the right person. I'm the type of person who doesn't like trying to impress a lot of people all the time, I'd rather just find someone I feel quite comfortable with before going on dates.

I plan to just ignore my mother's overbearing tendencies in this department, but she brought home a brochure from a psychiatrist this weekend and asked me to read it! She thinks I have some kind of psychological problem, which is not the case. I don't want to see this psychologist, so how can I get my mom to understand I'm the normal one and she's the overbearing one? — I Enjoy Taking My Time, via email

I ENJOY TAKING MY TIME: When you bring this topic up, stay calm and let your mother know exactly how you feel and why. You did a good job articulating that in your letter, so I recommend you start by looking your mother in her eyes, telling her that there's absolutely nothing wrong with you, and that it's your social life, not hers.

Go on to tell her that you respect her as a parent, but that you disagree with seeing a psychiatrist at this time. Ask your mother to bring another trusted adult or two into the conversation. I feel your mother would benefit greatly by having other adults hear you explain things. I trust such a meeting will go very well for you, as other adults can hopefully take your mother aside later and get her to understand that she's being far too overbearing indeed. Once that happens, the talk of a psychiatrist should evaporate.

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: Joaquin Romero at Unsplash