DEAR ABBY: I am basically your average seventh-grader with divorced parents. My dad is about to get married again. I like my future stepmom, except for one thing. She never buckles her seat belt. She says it's uncomfortable, and she doesn't like it.
She recently moved here from Colombia, but that does not excuse her from obeying our laws. I don't know what to do. My dad tells her to buckle up, but she never does. What should I do? -- STRAPPED IN TIGHT
DEAR STRAPPED: Most adults hate being told they are wrong by a young person, so if I were you, I would use a light touch and two-pronged attack. The next time your father's fiancee refuses to buckle up, casually mention that the front passenger seat of an automobile is sometimes referred to as the "death seat" for a reason -- that people who have not fastened their seat belts have been known to go headfirst through the windshield. Then change the subject. (Example: "Oh! Did you see that cool red Corvette?")
Your father should also tell her privately that by refusing to buckle up, she's setting a poor example for his child.