Encourage Teens to Wait Before Dating

Dating before age 16 or 17 is not such a good idea. Why? Because these are the most valuable days of your teen's life, and they need to spend their time getting to know themselves rather than another person. With all the pressures of being a teenager, they don't need the added stress of trying to maintain a relationship. I've seen teens, particularly teen girls, lose themselves in a young relationship, and they grow up to become weak and emotionally dependent on someone else.

Allow your kid to get to know him or herself before they invest time and emotions into someone else. They might give you crap for it now, but they WILL thank you later! I know I did.