Appropriate age to have a boyfriend?

Dorothy - posted on 05/18/2012

I'm struggling with that same question. My daughter will be a freshman this coming September and has asked if she could have a boyfriend in the 8th grade. At first I thought no way, but than I remembered that I was in the 8th grade when I got my first boyfriend. I allowed it only because I knew the kid since they were in 4th grade and I know the parents. I wanted my daughter to kind of experience the whole I have a boyfriend thing before she goes to high school in a couple of months. Once high school comes into play the older guys will try and prey on the fresman girls as always. Needless to say, her boyfriend lasted only 2 weeks. She was crushed and upset because she had been crushing on him for years. I'm happy she went through it and maybe now high school will not be so challenging with curiosity about what does it feel like to have a boyfriend. 8th grade should probably be the grade I'll say that I would be comfortable with for group dates and so called boyfriend/girlfriend. High school is where I would leave dating for.At 14 you should be able to have a boyfriend, but nothing serious. Couple of movie dates, maybe a kiss here and there, but that's it. Definetly no alone time in any rooms, ALL VISITS SUPERVISED!!!!!!

Pamela - posted on 04/26/2010

Thanks, that helps.

Tara - posted on 04/22/2010

Good luck with this one! I think it's important to look at trust and responsibility when answering this question for yourself--and remember to not let the rest of the 'world' influence what you allow (you will never be able to compete with what "everyone else gets too", trust me :)

With my daughter, and my older son actually, we differentiated between having a bf and dating. They weren't allowed to date until high school. We did allow group dates, though, in 8th grade.

Hope this helps :)

Tara