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Permalink Reply by Cailin Yates on August 5, 2008 at 7:31pm

hmmm... NEVER!
haha
Dating as in one on one excursions is likely to be 16 in this house (the oldest is only ten so we'll see...) I think the idea that she could drive herself home if necessary and knows the rules of the road if her "date"is driving so that she knows if safety is being compromised is what we are aiming for with that age. Pretty much being "driven around by friends" will also wait until this age... and then it depends on the kid, my oldest is very "rule" oriented... the next girl not so much :-)

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Permalink Reply by Renee @ fefyfomanna on August 6, 2008 at 11:23am

I've told my dd that she can date only AFTER she's married and she can't get married until she's 35. LOL!

In reality, it will totally depend on the boy. If I don't like or trust him, then she'll still be too young to date.

I only have my one child and I'm fearcely protective of her. And I don't care if anyone thinks I'm being too protective. She's my baby.

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Permalink Reply by Bobbi Moro on August 7, 2008 at 3:31pm

I feel the same way you do. How is the Yates household doing today?

Cailin Yates said:

hmmm... NEVER!
haha
Dating as in one on one excursions is likely to be 16 in this house (the oldest is only ten so we'll see...) I think the idea that she could drive herself home if necessary and knows the rules of the road if her "date"is driving so that she knows if safety is being compromised is what we are aiming for with that age. Pretty much being "driven around by friends" will also wait until this age... and then it depends on the kid, my oldest is very "rule" oriented... the next girl not so much :-)

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Permalink Reply by Mind of a Mom on August 9, 2008 at 9:05pm

My daughter is 14 and she has a "boyfriend" but rest assured his mother and I have had many-a talks. There are many rules at his home and mine. So they "heart" each other and we are both good with it as long as they follow the rules.
Top 3 Rules ~
No going up-stairs to the bedrooms
No being in the (either theirs or my) house alone
Someone must check on them every 20-30 minutes

There are others but these are the top three and so far so good. My daughter and her "I heart you" have been seeing each other since Novenber (so they were 13yrs old when they started to date) but they are not allowed to spend every minute together. Also I have to say my daughter has put him in his place in the understanding that if he doesn't like her rules he can find another someone. This seems to keep the relationship in-line. It is very healthy and happy.
I think the main thing is communication with your child and the other child's parents.

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Permalink Reply by Pamela M. Kramer on August 10, 2008 at 12:52am

16 and that's after she has taken a self defense class and knows how to drive a standard. We stuck to that rule and she has been grateful ever since. She is 19 now. She owns a standard. lol

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Permalink Reply by Dejoni on September 16, 2008 at 11:55am

As the mother of two daughters, I say never. No really, I think it depends on the maturity of the child. I'd say 15 for a group date. 16 to car date...and that's only if I know the boy and have threatened him with bodily harm if he touches my girls.

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Permalink Reply by Finn on September 16, 2008 at 1:23pm

I was 16...so I guess I will let mine start dating at the same age...All though I would rather keep them locked up inside the house and let them date when they move out..lol...I think of the things I did at 16 and it makes me cringe to think my daughter will be that age in a few more years! Oh the hell I will have to put up with..since my mother cursed me to have a child just like I was... :)

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Permalink Reply by Joyce Alla on September 16, 2008 at 3:39pm

My daughter is in 6th grade and she has no interest in boys (thank God!) I'm not as concerned with when she starts dating as I am with keeping the lines of communication open before and during her dating years. Sex was a really taboo topic in my home growing up. I want to be sure my daughter can ask me questions, and answer my inquiries, honestly and comfortably. Yes there will be rules and curfews, but the real key is to help my daughter make good decisions about who she wants to date, where they go, and what happens.

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Permalink Reply by Angela Cooper on September 17, 2008 at 4:02pm

Me personally, I think once they are out of high school but realistically we know that's just not going to happen. So I would say 16. By then I would hope my daughter would have a lot of confidence in herself and in her world to be able to control her thoughts, feelings and life around her.

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Permalink Reply by e&p on September 17, 2008 at 4:29pm

I guess never won't fly, huh? Well, 16...I guess, hehe.

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Permalink Reply by farida on September 19, 2008 at 6:30am

16 I'd say..
@ Mind of a mom- amazing 3 rules.. hehe

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Permalink Reply by Nadine Sheree on September 25, 2008 at 11:18pm

I'd go with never to lol. But realistically - when I was growing up, I was told no dating until 18 and based on my experience I learned this: once teens decide they want to date, they will - not matter what you say. If you forbid it, they just go behind your back. I had wonderful Christian parents, and I knew right from wrong, but I meet a guy and had to hid it so instead of going out openly, we snuck around. And when you can't go out in public, there are limited activities you can engage in.

Yes, I became a teen mom. Yes, my own fault. But, now that we are older and wiser my husband and I have decided that we would rather allow our girls to date under our watchful eye then have them go behind our backs. Will this keep them from having sex? No - but banning dating won't either. We've told our girls they can only go on group dates until highschool. In highschool they will be allowed to date provided they follow curfew and are honest about where they are and with who. If they break curfew or get caught lying, dating priviledges will suffer.

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