Dads Talk About Their Teen Daughters Dating

This isn’t an easy subject for a lot of guys but when a member of the Life of Dad community asked for advice over his reaction to his 14-year-old’s new boyfriend, the fellas responded! If your child prefers to date a fellow Christian, you may recommend them to Christian Singles Get Filled Up From Our Faith Instilled Blog.

Dads Talk About Their Teen Girls Dating

Anthony Robson: Maybe a little too much. Gotta let them grow up on their own. Speak to the young lads folks. Come to a compromise with your daughter. We have to protect our children but we have to let them grow too and part of growing is making their own decisions (good and bad) without you looking over her shoulder.

P.S. I have 12 and 10 year old daughters so I might agree with you more in a few years.

Brittany Ratz: So here’s a story. I was 16. Had a boyfriend. My father let him come over to the house and we could sit in the living room. We were also allowed to run the store together (we did cavern tours). Long story short he walked in on us having sex. The tighter the leash the more they rebel. Talk to her. Trust her. Don’t get mad at her when she comes to you. I was terrified of my dad because I couldn’t talk to him, and that just made me rebel. In my opinion 14 is way too young for any of that. 16 is too young. BUT, education is the best route. It’s better they know all that it entails (diseases, protection) than to be sheltered.

Bobby Walker: 14 is too young to date. Stick to your guns. Nothing good can happen from a couple of 14 year olds dating. I have 3 teens who survived just fine without a date until 16 or 17 years old!!

Ray Jeffas: You are being ridiculous for not knowing what goes on over there. Invite his parents to dinner. Build a relationship with them too. Respect is taught, make sure your daughter knows to respect herself and her body and she will make good decisions.
Telling her no you cant will only make her want to more.

Douglas Saba: Fair… and I’d even go so far as to require parent-supervised “Dates”. You might have to sit through some weird movies, but…

Charlie McNees: Had an ex with a very strict religious family. I was 16 she was 14, we were intimate almost every day even though we were not allowed to be anywhere but the living room while at her house. You can do a lot in 5-10 minutes if you’re determined. Whatever she wants to do, she will do regardless of your wishes. So teach her about safe sex, because she’ll be having it eventually. Just don’t tighten the leash, because she’ll just try harder to break free and rebel. She’ll lie about where she is and sneak out. Moral of the story is, she’ll do what she wants, but wouldn’t you rather know where she is than be in the dark and wonder if she will be in her room if you check on her in the middle of the night?

Harris Hill: Only ridiculous if you’d treat her any differently if she was a boy. I’d maybe get to know his parents and express your concerns with them and see if you can come to some agreement. Trying to control people just means they’ll end up doing what they want anyway and then not communicating with you. If she’s educated about your concerns then she should be capable of looking out for herself. If this is when it starts then there’s nothing you can or should be doing other than having good communication and educating her about life and trusting her to be at least partly responsible.

Mickey Sticks: My first love was 14 when I was 17. Her dad was a cop, and he took me for a short drive and had a talk with me. I knew where I stood from that moment on, and not that I would have tried anything with her, but when things got a little heated sometimes, it was enough to make me stop and say “wait a minute.” She was being a bit rebellious toward her dad, but I wasn’t going to have any of it!

Duane Ressler: Completely fair. My 14-year-old son had a girlfriend and they went on a couple day time “dates” at the mall but there was never any hanging out at either house. Same will apply to my daughter at that age.

How have you, are you or will you handle your teens dating life? Tell us on Facebook!

Flickr photo Courtney Carmody.