Giving a child the privilege of spending time with a member of the opposite sex can be a symbol of trust in your child. But again this must be based on your judgment of how mature and responsible you believe your child to be.

Letting your child associate with members of the opposite sex on a one to basis may not seem particularly appealing at first, but as a mother of two teens observed on an episode of Oprah Winfrey, "having them meet people you don't know behind your back is not such a great idea, either!"

With the variety of exposure and information available today on the Internet, in movies and on television, you may not be sheltering your teens from anything much, by keeping them at home. Even when they are at home they can form attachments talking over the phone or through e-mail and chatting.

Rather than refusing to allow your teen to date, why not encourage him or her to go out in mixed groups or double dates instead? Such outings are safer, more fun and minus the pressure of going out on a strained, tension filled date, where one or both parties might be uncomfortable. The acceptable age for double dates or group dates is usually at seventeen or later.

Explaining to a child the pros and cons of changing a friendship to romance and the fact that it may ruin the friendship often alters the decision to date the person on a regular and serious basis. This offers an adequate amount of time for your teen to mature and make the decision of a serious commitment, later.

Try to help your teen make valuable friendships by looking for indications of inner character rather than outward appearance. A good reputation, good habits and consistent behaviour are traits that can help your teen determine that a particular friendship is worth keeping.

Teach your teen that a date is for someone special, someone who they see themselves with years later i.e., a future partner. It is important for them to identify characteristics they value in a future partner and look for such traits in the person they want to date. This will make them more selective about whom they want to date.

Finally, establish the boundaries yourself even if it is a group date, the final approval of the type of date should come from you.

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