If you are a parent, do you think it's a good idea to set a certain age before you allow your kid to go out on a date?

Good question! There are a few things to take into consideration. First, there always needs to be rules and boundaries set in place right from the start, this way, when the teenager is ready to start thinking about dating, the rules are in place and there is no room for mistakes.(which teenagers tend to use as excuses all the time)!

I am a young mother, only 29, but set very strict and effective rules. I put them in terms my kids can understand and everything has a consequence. This just leaves room for less, excuses and mess-ups later down the road.It is extremely important, above all important, to trust your children.

You have to absolutely let them know that you trust them and have faith in them. Besides, you raised them right? There should be an age limit that you set for your kids to begin dating, BUT this can vary with each child.

Some marture earlier than other and some, well, never mature. You should have a very strong and close bond with your child so that your child will talk to you about things and come to you for advice. This way, your teenager does not feel they cannot talk to you or come to you about what is going on in their lives.

Otherwise, you won't know your teenager is even ready to date. If you feel your child is ready to date, then go with your feelings. Nowadays, dating does start earlier than when we were teenagers however, I would not allow dating under the age of 14.

I know, 14? It is crazy, but it is what it is. Kids are dating at even 13 today.

The question is this, what does your child consider dating? The age will also depend on what they consider dating. If they are 14 and just want a "boy" or "girl" friend to come to the house to hang out, then this is not so bad.

There not hiding anything and you can monitor what is going on while meeting the boy or girl. If they are 15 and want to go to dinner with a group of friends, then you should know who these friends are (which you should have already met and got to know) and should trust your teenager to go have dinner with some friends. Now, if you 16 year old wants to go to his/her "girl or "guy" friends house to watch movies because the parents are away, this might not be a good idea.

Especially if you have not met the boy/girl or your child has been avoiding introducing him/her to you! This could mean a whole lot! In the end, it really matters what you feel is right for your child at his/her age.

Remember these facts though: - Do not try to make your children live how you lived over 30 years ago! That is not fair - If you are old fashion, which many of us moms are, do not rub that off on your URL2 may be "our" way of the "right way" to live, but it isn't theres. Remember how much we hated our parents telling us their way was the only way?

- Allow your kids to be who they want to be, not who you want them to be or how you wanted to be and didn't accomplish. You cannot live your dreams and wishes through your kids nor can you make up for your mistakes through them. - They need to live and learn and most of all, they need to learn from their mistakes, let them make them - Support your kids and do the best you can to understand their age and current trends.

The more you understand and support them and try to live in the "new age" the more comfortable they will feel around you and the more chances they will bring their friends around you. - Be a friend and a parent. Give them the support and understanding we only wished our parents would have given us - Do not try to make their choices for them!

This is a HUGE mistake. All you can do is guide them to the water, whether they drink it or not, is their choice Good luck! Just remember, being a role model to your kids and supporting them makes for a happier and healthy relationship.

This means you will be more involved in their lives by their choice. That is a good thing. If you hover over them and try to rule them, you loose em!

As much as possible, I would want my children to start dating when they have graduated college so that would be 20. I myself started dating at 15 so I think with my children's generation and if they really insist, I could let them date maybe at 14 but I always talk to them that they should prioritize their studies first because that's the best thing they can never lost wherever they go. I think my children can understand me.

Maybe a date at home with their friends is more preferable when they're below 14 yet. I want to know also who my children's friends are. Well, if only I could... But you know, my kindergarten child admits that he already has a crush in school and she's the brightest among their class and that she's pretty.

S siblings would tease him and he just laughs it off. If it were me at his age, I really would cry, lol. I even cried when I was teased that someone had a crush on me when I was in my second year high school, lol.

Children now are open to early dating already. What the parents should do is remind the children that they should finish their studies before they would date seriously. Parents should also trust (while monitoring their children's grades) their children when they tell them to so that they would learn to become responsible for their own actions.

I think yes and no. All children, regardless of their age need and want guidelines. This lets them know that you concerned about them.

But as far as a certain age before they can date, it should be an individual thing. Some children mature mentally earlier than others and this would need to be considered. And, also, you should consider if you and your child have an open relationship where the child can talk to you about any subject.

But before a young child could be considered dating, I would set strict guidelines, and if the child is a girl, I would meet, not only the boy, but meet his parents to see if they have the same standards in their home as you do. If their child has no rules, then I would definetely have a problem with the dating situation. And again, as I have learned from my own grandchildren, kids today do not think of dating in the same way as I did when I was in school.

I would make sure that their definition of a date is the same as mine.

Good question! There are a few things to take into consideration. First, there always needs to be rules and boundaries set in place right from the start, this way, when the teenager is ready to start thinking about dating, the rules are in place and there is no room for mistakes.

(which teenagers tend to use as excuses all the time)! I am a young mother, only 29, but set very strict and effective rules. I put them in terms my kids can understand and everything has a consequence.

This just leaves room for less, excuses and mess-ups later down the road. It is extremely important, above all important, to trust your children. You have to absolutely let them know that you trust them and have faith in them.

Besides, you raised them right? There should be an age limit that you set for your kids to begin dating, BUT this can vary with each child. Some marture earlier than other and some, well, never mature.

You should have a very strong and close bond with your child so that your child will talk to you about things and come to you for advice. This way, your teenager does not feel they cannot talk to you or come to you about what is going on in their lives. Otherwise, you won't know your teenager is even ready to date.

If you feel your child is ready to date, then go with your feelings. Nowadays, dating does start earlier than when we were teenagers however, I would not allow dating under the age of 14. I know, 14?

It is crazy, but it is what it is. Kids are dating at even 13 today. The question is this, what does your child consider dating?

The age will also depend on what they consider dating. If they are 14 and just want a "boy" or "girl" friend to come to the house to hang out, then this is not so bad. There not hiding anything and you can monitor what is going on while meeting the boy or girl.

If they are 15 and want to go to dinner with a group of friends, then you should know who these friends are (which you should have already met and got to know) and should trust your teenager to go have dinner with some friends. Now, if you 16 year old wants to go to his/her "girl or "guy" friends house to watch movies because the parents are away, this might not be a good idea. Especially if you have not met the boy/girl or your child has been avoiding introducing him/her to you!

This could mean a whole lot! In the end, it really matters what you feel is right for your child at his/her age. Remember these facts though: - Do not try to make your children live how you lived over 30 years ago!

That is not fair - If you are old fashion, which many of us moms are, do not rub that off on your kids. It may be "our" way of the "right way" to live, but it isn't theres. Remember how much we hated our parents telling us their way was the only way?

- Allow your kids to be who they want to be, not who you want them to be or how you wanted to be and didn't accomplish. You cannot live your dreams and wishes through your kids nor can you make up for your mistakes through them. - They need to live and learn and most of all, they need to learn from their mistakes, let them make them - Support your kids and do the best you can to understand their age and current trends.

The more you understand and support them and try to live in the "new age" the more comfortable they will feel around you and the more chances they will bring their friends around you. - Be a friend and a parent. Give them the support and understanding we only wished our parents would have given us - Do not try to make their choices for them!

This is a HUGE mistake. All you can do is guide them to the water, whether they drink it or not, is their choice Good luck! Just remember, being a role model to your kids and supporting them makes for a happier and healthy relationship.

This means you will be more involved in their lives by their choice. That is a good thing. If you hover over them and try to rule them, you loose em!

As much as possible, I would want my children to start dating when they have graduated college so that would be 20. I myself started dating at 15 so I think with my children's generation and if they really insist, I could let them date maybe at 14 but I always talk to them that they should prioritize their studies first because that's the best thing they can never lost wherever they go. I think my children can understand me.

Maybe a date at home with their friends is more preferable when they're below 14 yet. I want to know also who my children's friends are. Well, if only I could... But you know, my kindergarten child admits that he already has a crush in school and she's the brightest among their class and that she's pretty.

His siblings would tease him and he just laughs it off. If it were me at his age, I really would cry, lol. I even cried when I was teased that someone had a crush on me when I was in my second year high school, lol.

Children now are open to early dating already. What the parents should do is remind the children that they should finish their studies before they would date seriously. Parents should also trust (while monitoring their children's grades) their children when they tell them to so that they would learn to become responsible for their own actions.

A 'date' can mean many things :) When my kids were in primary school sometimes they went over to a boy's house to play or swim, they called it a date and thought they had a boyfriend - it was completely innocent and lots of fun for them....I liked that they had friends that were boys and learned how they played, how they were at home in front of Mum and Dad. When they got older their dates were going to parties and going to the movies with either a bunch of friends as well or just as boyfriend/girlfriend and even then I had no trouble and no problems with them being good and behaving. Again, it taught them that boys are real people too and just like girls in so many ways!

Making a big deal out of relationships means you can loose control over their actions - peer group pressure is far stronger than parental pressure for teenagers, they want to conform and be part of a group - by allowing things like boyfriends and dates they knew I was a reasonable parent who would listen to them....and as such I've known things about my children that I'm sure not every parent would know - I put it down to being open and honest with them and they in turn are honest and open with me.

15 is a good age, if its a date with like a group date. I allowed my daughter to go out with her boyfriend when she was 15 but there were other couples there as well. My boys when they reached that age were also allowed to date in groups.

As a parent it is definitely your responsibility to set an age limit to as to when you will allow your child to date. As a parent, I would try to set a reasonable age limit and also be fair to the child. Although you may not want your child to date until a later age such as 18, this normally causes the child to become angry with the parent, since normally in these cases the child has friends that are dating.

I believe that the most reasonable age for a child to date is 16. As long as you have instilled your morals and values in your child then there should really be no worries. REMEMBER: IF YOU DON'T OPEN THE DOOR, THEN THEY WILL SNEAK OUT THE WINDOW!

Also, Be friends with your child when it comes to their "dating". When he or she comes home ask them how the date went. The more you befriend your child during this time the less likely your child is to do something they aren't suppose to, such as having sex or doing drugs.

I think it a better idea to have a trust with your child so they feel they can tell you anything as well as instill the knowledge to date responsibly. By saying, no you can't date until *this* age you only beg the kid to date before that age. You're setting yourself up for stress, fights and probably won't succeed in keeping the kid from dating anyway.

Yes, as a parent, I think one should set standards, dates, times and places. It is different for girls, they should be kept on a tight wire, and prohibit them from dating until 16 years of age, and then the parents should know complete details about the boy....as for boys age 15 is O;K...no drinking, smoking or gambling for either sex.

I know right now that alot of parents really could care less what their children do. Many can do things that I would have never even asked my parents if I could do LOL. So yes, by all means a parent should tell the child when it is an appropriate time for dating.

I guess I was brought up during the same time as you because my parents were the same way age 16 before dating then it had to be a double date until I was like 17. flickr.com/photos/rosie_hardy/2683351497.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.