DEAR ABBY: My daughter, "Brooke," is 12, and already she's causing me to worry. She has a serious boyfriend, "Lyle." It's not a secret. I have been pestering her to bring Lyle to meet me, but she never gets around to it.
Brooke has never been a good student; however, lately she has been getting all A's in homework, but C's and D's in tests and in her school assignments. I suspect that her boyfriend is doing her homework for her. I know that Lyle is in high school because I have heard her talking on the phone to her friends. My problem is, I feel weird accusing him of anything when I haven't met him. Am I wrong? What should I do? -- STUMPED IN BETHESDA
DEAR STUMPED: Start being a mother to your daughter. At 12, Brooke's too young for a serious boyfriend, much less one who's in high school. If you continue to allow her to spend unsupervised time with boys you haven't met and approved, you are shirking your responsibility as a parent. Assert yourself NOW, unless you want to risk being a grandmother before your child reaches high school.