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Yea when I turn 16 i care more about suceeding in highschool I honestly dont care about guys.

how would having a boyfriend make you not successful in high school? if a person can't balance his/her or life between personal relationships, school and other extra-curricular activities, then he or she would have to be very inflexible. also, i don't think it's reasonable for parents to not let their kids date 'til they're 16 because they'd mess up in school. what other reasons would parents have to not let them date 'til they're so old?i think parents should realize, that in the times we live in now, it's natural for their teenage children to be attracted to boys, or girls their own age. and isn't easy to keep crushing on someone forever. this could lead to most kids lying or going behind their parents' backs because they're still young and tend to be impulsive. and if it's the sex they're worried about, i think it's upto the parents to instill the right values in their kids and watch out for them constantly instead of telling them they can't date 'til they're 16 so they won't have to worry about it. i don't see what's so wrong in letting your kids experiment with love and relationships at a young age. it's all a part of a long, learning experience.

I listen to my parents and If they don't want me to date till I'm sixteen I have no problem against it. What am I going to do cry about it till I get my way. Uhh no. They have REASONS why. Go ask em...I did and its a perfect reason. Yea when I turn 16 i care more about suceeding in highschool I honestly dont care about guys. Oh yea and getting a car. Im a live in the moment but care about the future type of person.

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What is truly unnatural is establishing rules on these things like you can't go out with anyone untill you're 16.

What's so unnatural about mammals telling their offspring what to do, especially primates? What's so bad about a teenager with discipline and respect for their parents' rules? And you throw that word around too much.

... my mum hates my boyfriend. but she said she's 'letting' me date him until the end of august when i'll be done with my exams. isn't that rather f***ed up?!

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If people avoided kissing for fear of mono... ugh, I don't want to imagine it.

well our girl's swim team would probaly be able to last a whole season if they did ^_^

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but if you live in a more rural area it's comprehensible that a car is viewed as a need.

yeah in the suburbs it's almost even worse because there's a crap load of houses here and... well nothing else so going other places is required to date and you gotta go other places and you need a vehicle to get there.

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hey! mono isn't that bad.... I'm going to shut up now

Ok, I know mono sucks but it's not like wanting to avoid STD's through abstinence. If people avoided kissing for fear of mono... ugh, I don't want to imagine it.

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So having an age limit (this is all as it applies to the states mind, europe with it's clubs for 18s and under and incredible public transit is a horse of a different color) is really not much of a problem and less of a big deal than angst ridden proto-teens make it out to be

The necessity of a car does obey to a completely different mentality, I have to admit. If you live in a big city you can probably rely more on public transportation but if you live in a more rural area it's comprehensible that a car is viewed as a need.

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From catching mononucleosis

hey! mono isn't that bad.... I'm going to shut up now

In the end dating isn't really a practical till your 16 and have a car or can borrow one (yes I know you can get rides from your parents, but it is impossible to be cool when your mother is driving the car.) So having an age limit (this is all as it applies to the states mind, europe with it's clubs for 18s and under and incredible public transit is a horse of a different color) is really not much of a problem and less of a big deal than angst ridden proto-teens make it out to be

Let you date?!
It almost sounds like you where asking your parents to buy you alcohol and cigarettes ffs...

I'm uncapable of understanding why Let is even used here. It is natural to go out with people, either to see a movie or get dinner, or just to get off in a park, there's nothng wrong with it and teens should do it whenever they feel like it. What is truly unnatural is establishing rules on these things like you can't go out with anyone untill you're 16.

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Maybe parents let other kids start at a younger age is because... it bulds a good social life?
I don't know.

Some parents let kids start at a younger age because they aren't over protective and paranoid.

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they are only trying to keep us safe even if we feel there is no reason for them to worrie they still do because they know what it is like to be our age and dont want us to have to suffer or hurt even if it is unevidable they are there to keep us safe to the best of their ability!!

Safe from what? From having a first glimpse of selfish adolescent pseudo-love? From catching mononucleosis? As long as you're not 12 and seeing a 16 year old you're fine. There's nothing dangerous about kissing some kid that sits in teh row behind you in math class...
Learning to handle relationships is one of those things that can't be taught. It's best to let kids experiment things themselves, that way they learn from their own errors and become more mature and conscious people in the process. A parent restricting one's personal life based on fear and paranoia only manages to stunt that persons growth as an individual.

My mom and dad never supported dating but that didnt stop me. But now with a little bit more knowledge ive decided on my own to stop until after high school. Yeah i know most of you are all for dating and i am not saying its bad but just hear me out on this. This year my sister was a senior in high school. She plays basketball andd is really good made all state team had her jersey retired and everything. Her grades were not that great but they were enough to get into college. She had been dating a guy that was a state track and cross country runner. They had been dating for about a year and a half then he broke up with her. She was devastated she didnt know what she was going to do now. Half way into her Senior year of H.S. she didnt talk to anyother seniors. Just the basketball team and the coaches. At prom I was her escort and I was one of three guys that danced with her. And I was one of three guys that let saw her crying as her ex-boyfriend danced with another girl. I was the one that saw her and decided that I would not let that happen to any girl that I ever dated. And what better precaution than to wait until all the break ups of leaving for college dont effect you. Looking back at this it seems ive written an essay but i mean every word of it. Think about dating first.

My mom said I could date when I am 16 but she has changed her rules to 15 which is cool but they are only trying to keep us safe even if we feel there is no reason for them to worrie they still do because they know what it is like to be our age and dont want us to have to suffer or hurt even if it is unevidable they are there to keep us safe to the best of their ability!!

My parents didn't care when I started dating.
Maybe parents let other kids start at a younger age is because... it bulds a good social life?
I don't know.

My mom has always trusted me completely...it's the adolescent boys she doesn't trust. Realistically though, I think if there was a nice guy I wanted to date and I talked to her about it, she would have let me break the "you can't date until you're 16" rule.

I'm 19 now and, wow, I survived the 16 year time limit. Now my orthodontist doesn't want me dating until I'm 35 and my sister says I can't date until I'm married...but to them.

I've been allowed to date since i was in sixth grade, and i think that that's becuz my rent's thought i was mature enough.

My parents both think differently about this topic. My mom doesn't really care because she knows that I am responsible. However, my dad wants me to date until I am 18.

I wonder if they want you to be old enough mentally not physically.

You can't demand trust and respect, it has to be earned.

i think why some parents let there kids date younger than others is because thats the way they feel. some parents take into concederation the consequences and they take more precaution about all the issues that go on today. im not sayin those who let there kids date younger dont care about their children im just sayin maybe they dont think alot into it.

well at least you can date at 16. mine wont let me date in high school period.

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Well um.. according to my parents I'm technically not allowed to date ever, but I can't stay single my whole life. So I'm just supposed to magically wake up one day and be married.

Haha. This just seemed hilarious to me as I read it. Parents are amusing indeed. Most have a very hard time letting go while others are never able to do so.

Well um.. according to my parents I'm technically not allowed to date ever, but I can't stay single my whole life. So I'm just supposed to magically wake up one day and be married. I'm still working the kinks out of that plan. Talk about amusing parents.

I actually don't mind not dating now because I think dating in school is pointless. You're most likely going to end up seeing someone in your school, so when it ends horribly (which, from an observer's experience, is always the case) you're forced to see them every day just to remind you that you've lost that person. Dating just complicates every relationship, so why do it in school where every emotion is magnified and studied by everyone else?

Dating in college makes sense, because there's an actual chance that you'll end up with the person you meet. I'll totally date in college if someone cool comes along (and my parents can live in la la la world, whatver. I know they mean well, but it's completely hypocritical since I know that they dated each other for a long time before marriage)

Ah, I see. Well actually I met my ex on a chat as well. I wasn't looking for anything, we just happen to meet there. We had a long distance relationship for a year, and it ended a couple of months ago. I was going to go see him last September and my parents completely freaked out. But it was more about the fact that I was going to meet someone I met online in person. I wasn't going to go alone though. In the end I couldn't get enough money to go, but my brother was going to be in that area, so he ended up meeting him instead of me. What cruel games destiny plays on us, doesn't it?