"It's easier to guard a sack of fleas than a girl in love." I knew this too well. Young heart, young love. I think we used our heads. Didn't we? In our modern day with my own growing young people, it isn't as easy as it used to be when "love" was at play with our emotions. Or is it the other way around? Our young and sweet sixteeners, dreamily strum their strings of emotions into a love unfailing. I'm truly serious about it. I was frightened as ever about how to act with our young daughters when they felt the "falling in love" bugs. I think my husband and I didn't do too well.
Unfortunately what parent can do well when the first love comes along. You want to protect your kid and tell them that odds are this isn't the real thing or pray that they don't get their hearts broken. But a large percentage of the time they do get their hearts broken because love can hurt especially the first time. All any of us can do is try to teach our kids the facts of life when it comes to the opposite sex, hope we give them enough solid information and advice that they know right from wrong.
Young love can be painful to both the person male or female that has to experience it the first time and the parent that must help their child through this situation. I have girls, it was not easy watching them go through their different relationships but we got through it.
Love. A much misused word for infatuation. As a youngster I did not know the difference. All I knew is what my emotions and heart told me and it often hurt. Even knowing what we know at our age, how can you really explain the difference between Infatuation and Love !
It is so hard to see your child falling in love and if it doesn't work out they end up heartbroken. I always felt so helpless when their hearts were breaking and there was nothing I could do at the time. My daughter fell in love far too young. She moved in with the guy straight out of high school and a year later got pregnant. They have a beautiful daughter together. They are now separated and she is realizing that he wasn't near as wonderful as she thought he was for all those years. It breaks my heart to see what my daughter and grand daughter have to go through on a daily basis. On the other hand, my son fell in love with a young girl at the age of 15. They got married a few years ago and had a beautiful little boy six months ago. They own their own home and are doing well. They are the perfect little couple. There is no doubt in my mind that these two will be together forever. They are perfect for each other. There is not much you can do as a parent because once they set their mind on somebody there is no changing it. They have to live and learn. You can be there for them when they need you. That is all we can really do as parents. No amount of talking is going to do any good once love is in the air for our children.
@Susan Brown , welcome to the forum. I didn't get married until I was forty-eight. I was kept too busy, between working and raising a son, to spend time on any of the dating rituals.