kids and dating

[aggie49]

at what age do you feel you should let your kids date i feel 16 years old is acceptable my 13 year old says i am being unfair and i told her she is way to young to be worrying about dating and there our answer is no to her dating so she is mad at us now and her sister who is 17 told her to worry about her education before dating that she has plenty of time to think about boys after she gets a education and i agree but she didn't want to list to us patents but she is listening to her sister thank god i thought i had a few years before dealing with this again went threw it with the 17 year old but thankfully she is more into her education then the boys

[vickysue]

I think 13 is way too early myself.  I didn't get to date until I was 16. Oh there were times we went as a crowd to a movie or a ball game. But never as dates. And not until I turned 15.  By then most of us had our drivers lic. and were going places anyway. Just like I said no dates.  We also had a curfew and had to be in the house by 10 p.m.  except during ballgames if they played overtime. or we were driving home from another town.

[killers2]

Umm i don't have a daughter or son but I want to say 16 for formal dates.  It is really up to the person but if you shelter your kids 9 times out of 10 they will end up doing it anyway.

[djohnson43]

I really think 13 is too young and some may call me hypocritical because my 13 year old does have a boyfriend. Sort of... Where we live we have several counties around us. One of her two best friends goes to school in the county on one side of ours and the other in the county on the other side, but there is still others. She see's her boyfriend at services on Friday night and at Sunday school because he is about 45 minutes from our house. They haven't gone on an official date but have been together with youth group events or when there was a party the whole congregation is attending.   

[hshue800]

16 is a good age

[Penwoir]

I agree with most others. I think about 16 is the minimum age one should consider dating. That doesn't mean that close friends can't come out with our family and we can all have fun together, however for an actual date, like a couple going to the movies or whatever, I think 16 years old should be the minimum. I would take into consideration how mature the child is but even so, I don't think I would reduce this age more than a few months.

[Forp]

I depends on how mature you think your kid is.  One 16 year old may be going on 27 mentally.  Another 16 year old may have the emotions of a 7 year old.  Each case has to be looked at individually.

[dancer139]

so many kids today are so different,,,,   in how they are brought up and how mature they are.   my daughter was mature for her age but i didn't let her starting dating till she was 16 unless there was a group of them going all together then she could go at 15.  Today kids start dating at 12 or 13,,,,  that is just so wrong on all counts. they are still babies !!!!

[luvh8tragedy87]

16 is a good age. I can speak from personal experience that 13-14 years old is too young. Not that my parents let me date at that age. I snuck out, definitely the worse thing I ever did growing up. I remember being at that age though and feeling pressure from my peers to be with someone. It didn't help any that I had low self-esteem. I'm 28 now and I wish I could go back and tell 14 year old me to just cool it, you have plenty of time.

[Getinonthis]

13 is definitely too young, I've seen parents out of fear allow this and it has led to premature events and multiple
date and boyfriends, Image what that tally will look like at 16? While you are the parent it's your role and responsibility to lead your child down the right path. While today you may be hated for it tomorrow she will love you even more. So thankful your 17 daughter is a good example of that (your good parenting).

[Screwedupclick4life337]

I agree with most people on here 16 is a starting point

[ricdsm]

My son  is  17 now  and  I  made  him  wait  until  he  was  16. 

[debidoo]

Oh wow yea 13 is too young.  Let her be mad - one day hopefully she will be glad you were trying to take care of her.  16 is plenty young enough so stick to your guns on this.  Kids whew !

[julesday]

Never start dating at a young age. I found out the hard way. It brings so much stress that a child is not old enough to handle yet.

[sgluckadoo]

Dating at 13 is way to early. Some 13 year olds have gone through puberty and some have not, which can make things even trickier. If she is associating with a group of 13yos that are dating then I would try to find her a new peer group before she engages in risky behavior. That age is not conducive to good decision making and kids are prone to doing whatever their friends are doing.

16 is a good number, but some 16 year olds may not have the level of maturity needed. just depends on the kid.