Anonymous wrote:When my dc had a girlfriend in 8th grade they barely saw each other outside of school. They held hands at lunch. They texted. It was quite innocent. Both were too busy to get into any shenanigans.

+1 That's our DD, who has not spent time with her "BF" outside of school. That's just the way we like it!

I would not allow an eighth grader to spend a lot on a girlfriend/boyfriend for birthdays, holidays. No bedrooms.

I don’t know what kind of middle school experiences you guys had, but when I had an eighth grade “boyfriend”, it meant going to the movies together, holding hands, one awkward kiss, and then “breaking up” after two weeks. Lol. Don’t overthink it!

Anonymous wrote:Awwww.

Leave a box of condoms in his room.

Don't just leave condoms in his room. Way, way too many young people don't know how to put them on properly and pull them on too tightly without leaving room, which leads to breakages.

When my dc had a girlfriend in 8th grade they barely saw each other outside of school. They held hands at lunch. They texted. It was quite innocent. Both were too busy to get into any shenanigans.

Land the helicopters! Do you all even remember being in MS? They are probably texting more than with other friends, going to movies together and getting to know each other. It's the beginning of learning how to date members of the opposite sex, and it's better they start this under your roof where you can monitor their behavior and mental health than when they are off to college. And hopefully, they are balancing things well: grades aren't slipping, they are still engaged with activities and friends of the same sex (as opposed to going all in 100% of every minute with the new significant other). The rules we had at that age were no hanging out at either home unless a parent was there, and we had to know where they were (but that's a rule no matter who they are with, male or female).

Ask questions. Larlo, how is it going with Larla? Tell me about Larla? Be interested but not not obsessed. Be curious but not invasive. Be there to answer questions. Be a parent

Banning it won’t work - but you should limit the amount of time they spend together. He needs to keep his friends and outside interests. Their lack of relationship boundaries at this age is really bad. A lot of parents will get too invested in the person their kid is dating and it makes it way too serious too fast . Don’t invite her to family events and don’t get involved with her parents outside of brief text check ins.

Yikes.

Not great. Too young.

Don’t leave them alone.

Way too young for this

Awwww.

Leave a box of condoms in his room.

Anonymous wrote:Nah, it's just lots of oral at this age.

That was my daughter with her first boyfriend at 14.

Nah, it's just lots of oral at this age.

clearly you are going to be a grandparent in 8.5 months.

What are they doing when they “hang out”? I wasn’t crazy about the idea of “dating” at that age. I don’t think it’s necessary.

Both are in 8th grade. What’s normal when it to dating at this age? My older son didn’t start dating till junior year of high school, so this is new to us. DS spent a lot on her for Valentine’s Day and they hang out throughout the week frequently.