Parental views on allowing teens to be in a "serious" relationship in grade school.
I've got one daughter who is a teenager entering her first year of HS. My wife and I started having the discussion three years ago when she entered middle school about how we were going to handle "liking boys", "dating", "going together", being in exclusive relationships etc. while in grade school.
My brother in law and his wife have already gone through this stage of life with their kids (boys and girls) and their "rule" was no exclusive relationships or "dating" in high school. That it was okay to like someone, hang out with them in groups of friends. But as far as getting into the traditional HS dating/"going together" relationship and all that normally comes with it. That was a no go. Their reasons were they felt like it was too much of a distraction in other areas of life, and in a time when they were already learning to deal with all kind of new emotions driven by new chemicals (testosterone and estrogen) in their bodies. That "serious relationships" (in the sense and context of the HS experience) were simply not healthy during this time of their lives. In their words "they're simply not ready for serious relationships". As we discuss things like this with friends of ours whose kids are in the same place in life as ours. We're learning that more and more parents are doing this. Not saying it's right or wrong, doesn't have it's pro's and con's. Just something we're finding as we're about to enter this stage of life with our first high schooler. I'd love to get some thoughts, opinions and personal experiences from some of you who've already gone through this stage with yours or are currently going through it. Parenting, one of the hardest jobs on the planet. LOL!
I've got one daughter who is a teenager entering her first year of HS. My wife and I started having the discussion three years ago when she entered middle school about how we were going to handle "liking boys", "dating", "going together", being in exclusive relationships etc. while in grade school.
My brother in law and his wife have already gone through this stage of life with their kids (boys and girls) and their "rule" was no exclusive relationships or "dating" in high school. That it was okay to like someone, hang out with them in groups of friends. But as far as getting into the traditional HS dating/"going together" relationship and all that normally comes with it. That was a no go. Their reasons were they felt like it was too much of a distraction in other areas of life, and in a time when they were already learning to deal with all kind of new emotions driven by new chemicals (testosterone and estrogen) in their bodies. That "serious relationships" (in the sense and context of the HS experience) were simply not healthy during this time of their lives. In their words "they're simply not ready for serious relationships". As we discuss things like this with friends of ours whose kids are in the same place in life as ours. We're learning that more and more parents are doing this. Not saying it's right or wrong, doesn't have it's pro's and con's. Just something we're finding as we're about to enter this stage of life with our first high schooler. I'd love to get some thoughts, opinions and personal experiences from some of you who've already gone through this stage with yours or are currently going through it. Parenting, one of the hardest jobs on the planet. LOL!