Dating

[Anonymous]

What age do you let your child group date? Date?

DD is 12, and our stance on boyfriends is she can have them, but only interaction is school, facebook, text. She just her first kiss when she was "playing" outside in the neighborhood. DH and I are not delighted, but we are not yet having heart attacks either. What are we supposed to do- follow her for flag football??

This morning she asked me if she could go on a double date this Friday night and I of course told her no, but it got me thinking- when is the right age for this?

Would love to hear what other people have done / are doing.

Sidenote- her friend who tried to arrange the double date is not allowed to have a boyfriend period or date until she is 16, and she has a boyfriend and arranges secret rendezvous...I feel like I would like to communicate with the mom who I don't know well, but not sure on how, if I definitely should and if it is worth creating issues with my own DD who is VERY honest with us.

[Anonymous]

I should add- I was thinking 14 was appropriate for group dates, based on my own experiences.

[Anonymous]

Not now. Just make it clear.
I say 15 for group dates, no time alone.
17 time alone dates, with curfew.

[Anonymous]

LOL....


17 with curfew? where they would go anyway after midnight?

[Anonymous]

I think in an ideal world the 15/17 idea sounds great, but I have to wonder how old PP's kids are b/c this would never fly in real life. You might think it does, but trust me your kids are lieing to you!!!

[Anonymous]

Our rule is group activities in MS (which can include your "boy/girlfriend"), solo dates in HS, no driving with anyone not spedifically approved by parents.

[Anonymous]

A 12 year-old wants to date?? I have an almost 13 year-old boy, and he has shown absolutely NO interest in dating (he's plenty interested in girls and sex, judging by what I've caught him looking at).

[Anonymous]

I have a 9 yr old boy. He and his friends wanted to go on a group date to the movies. I would say it's a group date simply because of the even number of boys and girls...and the major amount of blushing and stammering when DS told me about it. Apparently the boys and girls concoted the idea themselves while on a school field trip. I haven't heard about it from him again, so I haven't made any decisions. But I've always let him have playdates with boys and/or girls, so I"m not really sure how I would suddenly say no to this, since the girls are the same ones he's been playing with since KG. Or why I would suddenly say no, just because one of them is now his "girlfriend", however that manifests itself in 4th grade.

[Anonymous]

15:37 - all I can say is Oh God. I'm not ready for this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A 12 year-old wants to date?? I have an almost 13 year-old boy, and he has shown absolutely NO interest in dating (he's plenty interested in girls and sex, judging by what I've caught him looking at).

Girls and boys do tend to be different- not suprising. Enjoy the reprieve while it lasts!!!