It’s Valentine’s day today and love is in the air! Roses, stuffed bears, perfumes, chocolates and what ; you can’t help but notice it all around you. These things can influence teens especially. Feeling loved and expressing it for someone isn’t bad but there is a chance they could fall for someone who could harm them emotionally, physically or even both. So if you feel your teens are into Valentine’s day, you need to sit them down and talk bout a certain things before they head out of the door on a date.
Trust is Everything
You need to build a connection with them or it won’t work out at all. I know, dads can be a little apprehensive when it comes to their daughter going on a date but you need to supress these parental impulses and let your children know that you absolutely trust them to make the right choices for themselves.
Don’t Rush it
If they’re going out with someone, ask them who it is and if they are really sure they want to give it a shot. Did they simply meet them online via some stupid dating site or do they know them personally? And finally the crucial question: is it someone they would be comfortable introducing to you? Sometimes, teens simply go for anyone just because they fear for being a single among their friends or for getting over a nasty breakup. But if you are talking it out with them in a friendly way and letting them do some soul-searching, they might come to see sense in all this. Let them know that it’s not the end of the world and its better to wait than to jump for someone they’d later regret dating.
Safety Comes First!
If after all your concerns and queries, they assure you that they want to go for someone, let them. But safety must come first. They might already know about safe sex in their sex-ed classes but it would do them good if it comes from you. And if you believe they are too young for it, be frank in telling them so. Either way, tell them they can always reach out to you if they don’t feel comfortable at any point. It would be best to use some parental control apps for this so they can send you panic alert with location details in an instant.