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It seems that our kids are starting to date younger than we ever did. What role should a father play in developing appropriate boundaries and attitudes ?
Quite often they start dating before a father thinks they are ready (especially with daughters), when will they be ready - when they are 30 if you ask most dads 😆
To me fathers need to talk to their children early about dating - you were after all a "lad" once! and can see any dangers that may occur.
There is so much peer pressure to conform, the biggest laugh of all ( and one that does not become clear until you are older) is that most of their mates are "all mouth and no trousers" - by that I mean they say that they have gone on a date or to "1st base" when really they are as terrified as your child.
It has been documented that the more attentive the dad — and the more he knows about his teenage child's friends — the bigger the impact on the teen's sexual behaviour, While an involved mother can also help stave off a teen’s sexual activity, dads have twice the influence.
Give us your views
mags
I'm through this with some of mine. My son is 21, and I haven't any worries about him. My daughter is now 18, and started dating just before she was 17. The first time she asked if she could stay over with a boy caught me by surprise, so I said no, but then the following day has a chat with her and said that if she asked again, I would agree, as long as she was careful - I'd rather that I knew about what was going on rather than pretending it wasn't happening. She seems to be careful who she goes out with, and I like them when I meet them.
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