DEAR ABBY: I turned 17 last month. I have a boyfriend who is 20, but my parents don't know about him yet. He wants to get an apartment and have me move in with him on my 18th birthday. However, I promised my mother and father that I would take care of them. I want him to find an apartment nearby, with the promise that I'll move in with him when I'm ready. How can I do that without disappointing him or hurting my parents' feelings? -- UNDECIDED IN PENNSYLVANIA
DEAR UNDECIDED: Stop hiding this man from your parents because what you're doing is immature and dishonest. If his feelings for you are sincere, he would want to meet them, and he wouldn't ask you to do anything you weren't ready to do.
While the idea of moving in with him may seem romantic, there are more important things you need to accomplish before you do. First among them is to become self-supporting so you can live independently on your own. That way, if things don't work out with him as you would like, you won't be out on the street with nowhere to go.
Children weren't put on this Earth to spend their adult lives taking care of their parents. Unless yours are the exception, both of them should be young and vigorous enough to take care of each other.