Kids dating at a young age

STORY: Should You Make Your Child Stop Sucking His Thumb?

The Great Debate" data-reactid="19"STORY: Should You Make Your Child Stop Sucking His Thumb?

No one knows your child better than you, so consider his or her maturity level, and perhaps ask the opinions of parents of teens whom you respect.

So long as kids’ grades aren’t suffering and nothing else is falling by the wayside, let them progress from friendships to dating at their own pace. The vast majority of first loves never make it past high school.

The Great Debate The answer depends on a variety of factors, including personality and maturity level.

Neither of these latter groups appeared to experience any major social or emotional difficulties.

For Ron Eagar, a pediatrician at Denver Health Medical Center, the magic number is 16.

“There’s an enormous difference between a fourteen- or fifteen-year-old and a sixteen- or seventeen-year-old in terms of life experience,” he told Healthy Children.org, the website for the AAP. “Maturity can be measured by willingness to participate sufficiently in household chores, treating others with respect, getting good grades, and managing emotions.’”" data-reactid="35"“Sixteen — and even a bit older — is a good age for dating, provided that the teen is mature,” Leslie Beth Wish, a psychologist and clinical social worker, told She Knows.

” — Erica Diaz, Chino, California.“Forget about it.

You will have absolutely no control over the situation.” — Stephanie Wood, New York City.“Seventeen because at that age they’re old enough to make their decisions and transitioning from junior to senior high.” — Maritz S., Miami, Florida.“Sixteen. Wytiaz, Provo, Utah.“Twenty-five.” — Robert Hearn, Orlando, Florida.