My son Joseph is 12 and wants to know when he can date a girl. The issue came up this week when his friend at the Walworth County Fair here in Wisconsin introduced Joseph to his girlfriend. (!?) Hmmmmm. I said "No." You can ask a girl to go on a ride at the fair but you can't ask her to go on a date.
Dare I ask readers of this blog your thoughts are on this topic?
My view is really old school. My view is SO old school I want to tell Joseph he can court a girl he hopes to marry, but no dating. That ought to get a few comments. I'm up for it. Agree. Disagree. Whatever. But those readers who have not answered the most basic questions that made me start this blog, when are you gonna get typing?
I KNOW there is a need here. The challenge of guiding a son from boyhood to manhood is huge. Meanwhile I will add to this blog as God and time and internet access allow.
1 comment:
Michael John,
Funny how what you write is exactly what I am going through with my sons. I am teaching my oldest son to drive right now (he's 15) so we get a lot of nervous one on one time. Since he is learning to drive and school is starting up again, he asked me the question "Dad, what if I got a girlfriend this year?" We have a rule of "No dating until you are at least 16" so I told him that he needed to wait at least another year before he even considered it. But then I also added "But it is best to wait until you are "In Love" before you even date, which means you must understand what Love is first, and to have a girlfriend just to have a girlfriend is treating her like an object." He responded, "I guess I should wait until I know I want to marry"....So he picked up on the concept...
IN practicality though, I think it is a positive thing for young adults to "group date" so to speak, because they do need to socialize, but that is different than exclusive dating.
Then the question becomes - at what point in age do we as parents "let go" of our kids and let them make their own decisions around dating/courtship? 18 is too young, 20-22 seems like they are in control of their own lives.
Trey
Post a Comment