DR. WALLACE: I live with my father and my two younger brothers. I'm a girl who is 17, and my brothers are 13 and 11. Our mother unfortunately got involved in some pretty bad things, including drugs, and she ended up participating in a robbery that put her in prison for over 10 years.

This now means that I do the cooking and most of the cleaning at our house. I also wash all of the clothes, but I will give my little brothers credit that they do help me from time to time and they also help my father in the backyard and in our garden.

My dad gives me a decent allowance for all the work I do, but I sure would like to save time. He insists on driving me to the market every week to buy groceries even though I've told him many times we can get the same or maybe even better prices with online deliveries directly to our door.

How can I get my father to consider saving us time, fuel and money by having groceries and other small items delivered to our home? After all, we will soon be living in the year 2025, not 1925! Between my homework, my limited social life and my responsibilities at home, I'd like to save time wherever I can. — A Very Busy Teenager, via email

A VERY BUSY TEENAGER: I commend you for doing so much to help your family, and I do agree with the logic you have presented regarding home delivery of recurring items, especially groceries.

Speak to as many of your relatives or family friends as you can and try to find at least one or two of them who do receive products delivered to their homes. At this point, you could have them speak to your father about the convenience, the cost savings and so forth.

On your end, you could create a spreadsheet to show your father what typical items would cost delivered versus what you're paying for them "all-in" considering your fuel and time to retrieve them from the local stores.

Many large companies such as Amazon, Walmart and Costco have same-day delivery of groceries these days, especially if you live in or near a large metropolitan area.

I'M ONLY REQUESTING ONE CUP IN THE MORNING

DR. WALLACE: I turn 17 in three weeks, and I'd really like to have a cup of coffee in the morning before I go to school. My parents are telling me to wait until I'm 18 to have coffee! I think this is ridiculous, since there's no classmate of mine who's not allowed to have coffee or tea whenever they would like it. Do you think it's a problem for a soon-to-be 17-year-old to have a cup of coffee here and there? All I'm asking for is a cup in the morning; I'm not planning to drink it all day. It's pretty cold, and it would warm me up as well. — I'd Like One Cup of Coffee a Day, via email

I'D LIKE ONE CUP OF COFFEE PER DAY: I personally don't see a problem with a single cup of coffee in the morning, even for a teenager who is 16 and not quite yet 17. Many cultures drink hot tea regularly at all ages, which also contains caffeine, albeit in smaller increments.

Recent studies indicate that up to 73% of Americans drink at least one cup of coffee per day, so a slight caffeine boost in the morning is something nearly three-quarters of our nation participates in.

You could also mention to your parents that you're planning to stay away from highly caffeinated energy drinks, which likely would be worse for your overall health than a single cup of coffee in the morning.

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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