RE: Stream of Consciousness

This is a response to a blog entry a friend of mine made on his myspace account. I have not asked permission to post a link to his blog, so out of respect I will refrain from it.
The blog topic? Concerns with teenage dating.
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My friend, I have to agree with you that teenage dating these days is growing more and more out of control. Teens are definitely getting themselves into deeper relations that they're not yet mature enough in which to handle the consequences.

The first approach you mentioned is one I also find interesting. This approach is that some believe dating should not be allowed before the age of eighteen. I guess I can see how a person can be benefitted by waiting so long, as I was eighteen when I started dating. You are definitely safe from harm until you're grown the way parents want their kids to be. Although I'm not so sure if a person can benefit from waiting so long. I was officially allowed to date at the age of sixteen, but at the time I just didn't find anybody I liked that well... lol. I ended up waiting until I was eighteen before that happened. Still, even though I didn't make the mistakes or have the kind of experiences that my other friends did, I still made mistakes when I matured that may or may not have been just as bad or worse than ones they've made. So do we allow our teens to make those mistakes now or later? They still have to learn the same things either way.

I agree that not allowing kids and teens to interact with members of the opposite sex is a mistake. Socializing is a big part of growing up and is needed to learn to handle society as a whole. In my opinion though, dating has no place before the age of fifteen at the earliest, when a teen enters high school. Anything more than friendships before then is too early.

As far as teens blaming their parents for being too strict or protective... it sounds like they have parents like mine. Their parents care about what their kids are doing and are trying their best to keep them out of trouble. Now I realize there is a limit to all of this and I'm sure there are a few parents that cross the line, but parents asking "who, what, when, where and why" before thier teen goes somewhere is not being overbearing... its just keeping tabs on their kids.

When you talk about society being in a hurry for kids to grow up, I have to say I'm not so sure that we are. I think all people are trying to do is get those kids to be thinking about thier future. High School students that wait forever before deciding about college go under a lot of pressure, only having two years (assuming they start to think about it their junior year) to figure out what to do with the rest of thier lives. Author John C. Maxwell states in his book Talent is Never Enough that "The only thing that relieves pressure is preparation."
The more prepared you are for what you want to accomplish, the better you'll do. Talent alone, like the book title says, is just not enough.

You talk about the group date losing favor... I don't see too many going on group dates nowadays either. I personally have never been on one. As a result, you are correct in saying that its easier to allow oneself to be involved in risky behavior.

I agree with most of what you wrote overall, and thought your entry was very well written. We do need to put protections back up to save our teens, as you said, they are our future. Thank you for sharing your views with me. I enjoyed reading your entry and look forward to the next one as always. :D