“My mother and I agreed to go with whatever you suggest. She says I am too young to have a boyfriend. I say I am not. I am 15. He (17) lives near me and it would be easy for me to see him without her knowing. My mother and I have been very close. I want to keep it that way. Please tell us what to do. If you say I am too young what age is not too young?”

I have known 30-year-olds who are too “young” to date, and I’ve met the occasional teenager who was more ready for marriage than some who were on their third spouse.

Nonetheless, I will not side with you or your mother. This is a matter for the two of you to address.

I am a newspaper columnist. I live on the other side of the world from you. It is unlikely we will ever meet. Your mother, on the other hand, has loved you from your beginnings. She has probably nurtured you through thick and thin and it is likely that she knows you at least as well as she knows herself.

Negotiating with your mother, and then ultimately obeying and pleasing her, will do far more for you and your relationships than anything you will ever read from me.