Topic : Teen Dating

Well you can't help her with getting through the minefield. It is something she needs to experience for herself. She will come to you for help if she needs it. Love is a dificult emotion and the dating, flirting etc that ecompagnies it one of the most difficult social interactions.

She needs to do this on her own only with a bit of support from you so that she can learn how it all works. usually boys and girls start learning this process from around age 11/12 slowly taking it one step further as they get older.  You see that she and her friends are still at the beginning of this process though, I see some behaviour that in reference to what I see here (in a more social (sexual) liberal environment) is innocent. 

I do think your daughter has time to adapt since their relationship moves very slow. So just support her if she needs it and let her figure it out for herself for the rest. Be aware not to be to much onto their relationship since it could create pressure and could make their love fail (and might even get her mad at you.) And seen the relationship you describe it really isn't necesary.

Then another thing. have you given her sex education? And I don't mean just abstinance. If this relationship devellops they might have sex at a point. It would be good if she knows (how) to use a condom, it would be unfortunate if she would be one of the many teen girls that get pregnant.

You don't have to fear that you will give her an ok for going out and having sex. Studies have shown that teens do not have sex earlier (even a bit later) when educated but that it will decrease the chance for STD's and teen pregnancies tremendesly.  (compare figures for US and France or the Netherlands for instance.)

I know that it might feel wierd ackward or even wrong but in the interest of your daughters future you do need to have the talk if you haven't done it already. And don't feel imune to this I once read that a studie showd that 75% of parrents in the US thought that their kids did not have sex while 55% of those kids said that they did.

I'm sorry if I came across a bit harsh now but I think it is important. Now how do you approach the subject? well their are many sites out their that have good advice on how to talk to your daughter. try this site for instance, http://www.teenpregnancy.org/ I thought that it had good info if I remember correctly.

I hope my advice is of any help to you,

xx Oet Gäöl

P.S. if I didn't explain something well enough please reply, I will be happy to explain it further.

though I don't think 14 and 18 years of age mix particularly well because of the enormes age difference. A 14 year old will see dating as kissing while an 18 year old might want to go a bit further. But also on the intrests they will probably differ.

Anyways she is old enough to dat teens start somewhere around that age with dating. But if they are well prepared by their parents they will do it in an age apropriate way.  E.g. 13 and 14 year old will do kissing have dates to the movies etc.

Having the talk is never to early listen to the questions she has. Just as a coincidence this is the week of the springbutterflies in which schoolchildren (age 4 -12) are thouht about relationships, dating and sex in a way that is apropriate for their age. Children will indicate to you how far they are answer their questions and tell a little more and that is all the talk you will need.

You need to prepare her for when things get more serious and she might come into a position she wants to say no in but isn't empowered in her beliefs to do it. You will need to empower those ideas by talking about sex and dating but also by letting her date. Feel blessed that she asked you if she can date which means she want's an open relationship with you. Isn't that better then her sneaking behind your back?

You can't watch her 24/7 you know. This way you'll at least get to know what is going on with her.

Okay, my name is Tiffany and I really need some help here understanding what is going on. I am 17 and my parents are okay with me dating and stuff. My boyfriend is 15 and his parents are totally against everything, and have continuously lied to both of us about how they feel about us being together. His parents are very.... influential and have told him that he needs to not be thinking about dating or anything like that, however, he is a very smart person, and through his parents' pushing him to be more mature than any normal child, he doesn't act his age to say the least. His parents don't understand what they have done to him emotionally and we don't know how to get through to them. We are on the edge of just having a big talk to get our feelings out on the table. It is going so far as to keep us from seeing and talking to each other outside of school.... PERIOD. Please someone explain to me what I could do to make things better. All I want is to feel like I am welcome in his family and I know my feelings for their son are true.

His parents might be worried/anxious that a ‘teenage romance’ will derail their son’s education. The best thing that you and your boyfriend can do is to do your best to get and maintain good grades; that way, they can’t have anything to complain about. Your boyfriend MUST be honest with his parents- if he says he is going to be at a certain place, he needs to be there- that is the only way to build trust with his parents. (I’m not implying that he has been dishonest, just giving a suggestion on how to create a more trusting relationship.) His parents might come from a back ground that was somehow marred by a teenage romance, even if you aren’t aware of it, and they desperately want to shield him from any heartache. This comes from a place of love, however, they have to learn to let him go and live his own life; that is a big part of parental love, too. Their reaction probably has nothing to do with you personally- they probably wouldn’t want him spending too much time with any girl at this age. Do your best to have a conversation with his parents whenever the opportunity arises; ‘make’ them fall for you. However, if they don’t, please know that there isn’t anything terrible about you- they are reserved people and there might not be anything you can ever do to please them!

Hello, I am a teen and turning 16 this year, I would like to epress my own opinion on this topic.

I agree with many of the posts here, and you really do have to consider many things when it comes to dating.

My parents and I don't talk often about dating, and this is mostly because I am not extremely interested in it; and from my experiance with friends etc, I think that - in high school- the most important thing to do is concentrate on school.

However, I am alowed to date and I do not think there is anything wrong with dating. 15, 16 and onwards I think, is a safe age to allow a teenager to date, depending on their maturity and so forth.

I have never had a boyfriend, and still do not feel like "i need one, and -the oh so famous- we're in love-.

It is the parents decision to allow their teens to date, but they should not hold the reins to tight.

On the topic of boundries- teens want to have fun =), and I know that the more rules there are, the more we want to break them.

It is important to talk to your son/daughter about dating early so they know what to expect, and develop a relationship with them so they can feel like they can talk freely with you about the topic.

My parents introduced the topic of dating quite late, and I never knew if I was allowed to date, and what they expected of me. Now, that we have talked, I know what rules are established.

Trust is very important between parents and their kids...