just wondering why mormons cant date until theyre 16 years of age. there has to be some really good reasons. are they not allowed to at all? or are they just not supposed to but they can?
2007-06-19 12:11:06 · 15 answers · asked by dancer_girl12593 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
I'm not Mormon, but it sounds like a good idea to me to not allow children to date at very young ages.
16 sounds like a good age to start, but with guidelines, a curfew, and under supervision at first.
There would be a lot fewer teen problems if more parents would adopt this rule.
2007-06-19 12:31:58 · answer #1 · answered by JoeBama 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
At 16, the brain is more mature. The decisions you make are better, and you are more able to say no in different situations. This is one reason.
Another is that dating prepares you to find a spouse. Even at 16, you aren't mature enough to make those decisions.
Some parents don't even like their kids going on single dates at sixteen. Some like to keep group dating going for a while. Even some kids think it's a good idea. It's so much easier to not give in to sexual advances if you are in a group of people, besides, it gives you an opportunity to meet other boys or girls you may want to date.
Exclusively dating someone at 16 is discouraged also. That doesn't mean that we don't, just that it is discouraged. I had a friend in hight school, and they had a rule that she could only date the same boy 2 times before going out with someone else. She wasn't LDS, in fact, she was a born again Christian. So, it isn't only LDS people who make rules about dating for their kids.
Here is a website that talks about this. It may help you understand it a little more.
2007-06-19 12:38:20 · answer #2 · answered by odd duck 6 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Because familiarity can induce relaxed standards.
When you first start to date, even holding hands is a little ackward. Once that becomes comfortable, you move onto casual kissing. And it goes on from there. Kids will move onto the next level just to keep things exciting.
One idea behind this age restriction is that kids will be ready for marriage before they get too far along.
2007-06-19 12:23:20 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
The answers above are great, well most of them. In today's society, teenage pregnancy has become the norm and I see that as a problem. 16 yrs. of age in group dates is a great chance to see how others react in today's world. It is also important that single adults continue doing group dating until that special someone comes along. I also advise curfews not just for teenagers, but also set one for yourself. That way the temptation won't get too strong for your ability to resist.
2007-06-19 12:52:18 · answer #4 · answered by LDS of Three and Loving It 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
We believe in free-agency, we are taught not to date until we're 16, but each teenager (depending on their parent's rules) will use their own free-agency to decide to follow it or not.
Basically, it comes down to we want to save sex for marriage - and every stat and real-life experience out there straight forward shows that the younger a person starts dating, the younger they start to engage in sexual behavior.
Anyway, up until 16, dancing is great, friendships and group outings amongst boys and girls are fine - there's no need to drop a social life to follow this teaching.
2007-06-19 12:18:20 · answer #5 · answered by daisyk 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Dating is part of the process of selecting your future spouse. Are you ready for that? If you have dated someone seriously for 6 months and at the end of the time don't know if you want to get married then you are just fooling around..
Do you really want to get married younger than 16?
2007-06-19 12:18:31 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 6⤊ 0⤋
Even then they are supposed to have chaperone's. Sounds smart to me. Besides where can you get a drivers license before 16. You can't vote before 18 ,can't drink alcohol before 21. It all is a part of growing up.
2007-06-19 12:18:06 · answer #7 · answered by easyericlife 4 · 4⤊ 1⤋
Because they belong to a religion where they do whatever their leaders tell them - cult? Actually, 16 is a good age to start dating. Kids are growing up too quickly today. Blame media if you want - but I teach 4th graders and am shocked and amazed each year as they seem to be getting more "street wise". Let's slow down. You're only a kid once - enjoy it.
2007-06-19 12:15:34 · answer #8 · answered by senorarroz 3 · 3⤊ 3⤋
The prophet has asked us not to date until we are 16. part of it might be becuase we are more responsible, and more likely to make a right choice, if a scary situation occured.
2007-06-19 12:14:30 · answer #9 · answered by macncheese27 2 · 5⤊ 2⤋
most people only really start dating when they're around 16 anyway...
what are you going to do before then anyway... get your mom to drive you around?
2007-06-19 12:13:39 · answer #10 · answered by funaholic 5 · 6⤊ 1⤋