Raising an Adult

So today I need a little advice from my readers. All parents have been through or are going to go through my current situation. I am speaking of the transformation of ones child from child to what they consider adulthood. (To us parents this would be the teenage years.) With this joyful time of their lives comes dating decisions, like how old should they be, what requirements should be set and what are the ground rules. While, I have been through this already, with my oldest child, he is 24 now and well into making his own decisions. I started out telling my daughter when she was like 10 (and asked for the first boyfriend), that until she could give me the definition of love, she was not old enough. I figured this would give me until she was about 30 or so. No such luck. Now 13, she has decided she is old enough for a boyfriend and that love is different to everyone, so there is no definition per se. So dad tried the, “well when you show responsibility and do your chores without being told, you can have a boyfriend”. Well, guess we need a new tactic or we start entertaining the idea of a boyfriend hanging around. Not that either of us are ready for that, but a convent seems a little extreme (or maybe not).

So my question to all my fellow parents out there is: when should dating start, and how do you decide? Please leave comments with your ideas. I think this is a good topic for discussion amongst friends, family, and every parent out there.

Stay inspired all, and have a wonderful week. Hope to hear all of your views.

Mary