Am I too strict? At what age do you allow your kids to date? or were you allowed to date?

Question

For my girls, it has been 14..... chaperoned parties or dances....16 double dating..... 17 or 18... may go out on a date, but with curfew and I meet the guy first. ( I always show them my gun collection as a predate ritual)... and I show them how well I can shoot. hmmmm

btw, I live in Vegas, so I may be a little more strict than if I were back home.

Answer 1

That's not too terribly strict! Just a dad who cares about his daughter. I let my daughter date at 16, but that was years ago! My other daughter is 4 & who knows how I will feel by then? BTW, I usually ask the guy if he has a preference where he would rather be shot! LOL JK

Answer 2

I think you don't need to show the gun collection.

Here's what the rules were for my kids:

For my daughter: She was only allowed to attend chaperoned parties or school dances or group events until she was 16. At 16 she was allowed to double date and had a curfew of 11:00 p.m. unless it was a special event like a concert. At 17 she could go on a real date but the boy could not be older than 18 and he had to attend her school. I had to have met him prior to the date. He also had to show me his driver's license and proof of insurance and needed to leave a phone number where I could reach his parents. At 18 her curfew was midnight. My daughter had access to birth control and condoms and was given the mother/daughter chat about moral responsibility and about being selective.

My son: He was only allowed to attend group and school functions until he was 16 and had an 11:00 curfew. When he was 16 to 18 he had a midnight curfew which meant he had to have his date home by 11:30. If he broke his curfew he got grounded and lost his driving priviledges. Also, when he was 16 I bought him a box of condoms and told him that if he was going to be sexually active he'd better protect himself and his date - no exceptions.

I was a widow and had to deal with this whole thing by myself. Both kids grew up just fine and so I guess I did it right.

Answer 3

My oldest is 19 and she was allowed to actually go out on a date at the age of 16. I was the one all the boys feared!!! I would always tell the boys, " She better come back from this date EXACTLY the same way she left, here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL........They always brought her back on time. Her curfew was 10:00pm but if I really liked the guy, I'd let her stay out til 11:00. Her father and I always met the boy before she went anywhere with him. We made him give us his cell number, home number, etc. I would NEVER just hand my child to anyone without basically doing a background check on the other person. NOT ON MY WATCH!!........LOL

Answer 4

a little strict... what if you keep the guns hidded and let them date at 16 alone but with a 10 or 9 o'clock curfew