{"id":206520,"date":"2016-08-15T16:00:25","date_gmt":"2016-08-15T08:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/my\/age-teenager-start-dating-206520.html"},"modified":"2016-08-15T16:07:40","modified_gmt":"2016-08-15T08:07:40","slug":"age-teenager-start-dating","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/my\/parenting-my\/family-matters-my\/age-teenager-start-dating-206520.html","title":{"rendered":"Growing Up: What age should your teenager start dating?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"display: block;\" class=\"wrap-img\" id=\"wrap-img-206419\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" itemprop=\"thumbnailUrl\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-206419 img-responsive \" src=\"http:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2016\/08\/gettyimages-592008987-625x342.jpg\" alt=\"Rear view of couple sitting near lake\" width=\"700\" height=\"383\" \/><\/span><\/p> <p>As a parent, you have to be committed to guiding your child through several complex stages of life. You go from changing their diapers, to teaching them how to tie their shoes and eventually helping them understand <a href=\"http:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/lifelove\/coaching-lifelove\/relationship-advice\/how-to-resolve-conflicts-relationship-205641.html\" target=\"_blank\">love and the concept of dating<\/a>. The teen years are not going to be easy on you or your child, so what is the appropriate age for teenagers to start dating and how can you prepare yourself for potential issues?<\/p> <p>Most experts recommend <strong>15 and 16 as the ideal ages to begin dating<\/strong>. For Dr. Ron Eagar, a paediatrician at Denver Health Medical Center, the best age is 16. He told HealthyChildren.org, <em>\u201cThere\u2019s an enormous difference between a 14 or 15-year-old and a 16 or 17-year-old in terms of life experience.\u201d<\/em> The answer also depends other significant factors, such as your child\u2019s personality and level of maturity.<\/p> <p>When it comes to teenage romance, adults generally have a cynical view of it. A boy and a girl stroll down the street holding hands, and all parents can see is their child\u2019s testosterone and oestrogen going out on a date. However, the most important thing is to not make your child feel bad about his or her feelings, even if you think they may be too young to have them. Dr. George Comeric, a Tuscan paediatrician, told HealthyChildren.org, <em>\u201cParents should never minimise or ridicule <\/em>a first<em> love. It is a very important relationship to teenagers, and it\u2019s important for another reason, in that it is their first intimate relationship with someone outside their family\u201d.<\/em><\/p> <p>If your child\u2019s grades are not deteriorating and everything else seems stable, you should <a href=\"http:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/dossier\/how-do-i-live-without-my-necessities-on-vacation\/holidays-how-to-survive-without-my-teenager-121662.html\" target=\"_blank\">allow them to progress<\/a> from friendships to dating at their own pace and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/parenting\/advice-for-mums\/intense-parenting-and-depression-172777.html\" target=\"_blank\">try not to overthink it<\/a>. Trust and empathy are essential for a healthy family relationship, so calmly supervise your teens and let them know that they can come to you if they need someone to talk to.<\/p> <p><em>Jade Yeo<\/em><\/p> <p><em>Photo: Getty Images<\/em><\/p> <h2> <span>Read more:<\/span> <\/h2> <p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/parenting\/parenting-tips\/teach-child-one-language-205608.html\" target=\"_blank\">Should you teach your child more than one language?<\/a><\/p> <p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/parenting\/parenting-tips\/signs-child-might-be-a-bully-200543.html\" target=\"_blank\">Parent Concerns: 5 Signs your child might be a bully<\/a><\/p> ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The culture of teen dating has evolved, but has the age at which it starts changed too?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":65,"featured_media":206521,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"There's no doubt that the culture of teen dating has evolved, but has the age at which it starts changed too? Parents, take note.","_is_translated":false,"_source_post_url":"","is_displayed_in_hp":false,"displayed_in_hp_after_update":false,"is_thumb_featured":false,"template_without_diapo":"","enable_bloc_resume":false,"bloc_resume_post":[],"ctc_post":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13168],"tags":[14122,13401,13673,13881,14123],"class_list":["post-206520","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-family-matters-my","tag-dating-my","tag-family-my","tag-parenting-my","tag-relationships-my","tag-teenager-my"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>What age should your teenager start dating? - Malaysia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"There&#039;s no doubt that the culture of teen dating has evolved, but has the age at which it starts changed too? Parents, take note.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What age should your teenager start dating?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"There&#039;s no doubt that the culture of teen dating has evolved, but has the age at which it starts changed too? Parents, take note.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/my\/parenting-my\/family-matters-my\/age-teenager-start-dating-206520.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Marie France Asia, women&#039;s magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MarieFranceAsia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-08-15T08:00:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-08-15T08:07:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2016\/08\/gettyimages-483597191-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"750\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"410\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"MF editorial team\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@mariefranceasia\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@mariefranceasia\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"MF editorial team\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/my\/parenting-my\/family-matters-my\/age-teenager-start-dating-206520.html#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/my\/parenting-my\/family-matters-my\/age-teenager-start-dating-206520.html\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"MF editorial team\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/#\/schema\/person\/0f0697f1c292693c72954af5a8799336\"},\"headline\":\"Growing Up: What age should your teenager start dating?\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-08-15T08:00:25+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-08-15T08:07:40+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/my\/parenting-my\/family-matters-my\/age-teenager-start-dating-206520.html\"},\"wordCount\":359,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/my\/parenting-my\/family-matters-my\/age-teenager-start-dating-206520.html#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2016\/08\/gettyimages-483597191-1.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"dating\",\"family\",\"parenting\",\"relationships\",\"teenager\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Family matters\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-MY\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/my\/parenting-my\/family-matters-my\/age-teenager-start-dating-206520.html#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/my\/parenting-my\/family-matters-my\/age-teenager-start-dating-206520.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/my\/parenting-my\/family-matters-my\/age-teenager-start-dating-206520.html\",\"name\":\"What age should your teenager start dating?\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/my\/parenting-my\/family-matters-my\/age-teenager-start-dating-206520.html#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/my\/parenting-my\/family-matters-my\/age-teenager-start-dating-206520.html#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2016\/08\/gettyimages-483597191-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-08-15T08:00:25+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-08-15T08:07:40+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/#\/schema\/person\/0f0697f1c292693c72954af5a8799336\"},\"description\":\"There's no doubt that the culture of teen dating has evolved, but has the age at which it starts changed too? Parents, take note.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/my\/parenting-my\/family-matters-my\/age-teenager-start-dating-206520.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-MY\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/my\/parenting-my\/family-matters-my\/age-teenager-start-dating-206520.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-MY\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/my\/parenting-my\/family-matters-my\/age-teenager-start-dating-206520.html#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2016\/08\/gettyimages-483597191-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2016\/08\/gettyimages-483597191-1.jpg\",\"width\":750,\"height\":410,\"caption\":\"Couple holding hands near tents at music festival\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/my\/parenting-my\/family-matters-my\/age-teenager-start-dating-206520.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"http:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Growing Up: What age should your teenager start dating?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/\",\"name\":\"Marie France Asia, women&#039;s magazine\",\"description\":\"Marie France Asia: fashion, health, beauty, love &amp; travel\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"http:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-MY\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/#\/schema\/person\/0f0697f1c292693c72954af5a8799336\",\"name\":\"MF editorial team\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-MY\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/692c4a3c6af32e7cb781d7fa19ff1047df8d7c08a51e112fbd4beeb35383d405?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/692c4a3c6af32e7cb781d7fa19ff1047df8d7c08a51e112fbd4beeb35383d405?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"MF editorial team\"},\"description\":\"Marie France Asia (the English-language sister site of Marie France magazine) brings you what's new and trendy in beauty, fashion, health, travel and more...\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\",\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MarieFranceAsia\",\"http:\/\/instagram.com\/mariefranceasia\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/mariefranceasia\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/my\/author\/editorialasia\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What age should your teenager start dating? - Malaysia","description":"There's no doubt that the culture of teen dating has evolved, but has the age at which it starts changed too? Parents, take note.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What age should your teenager start dating?","og_description":"There's no doubt that the culture of teen dating has evolved, but has the age at which it starts changed too? Parents, take note.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/my\/parenting-my\/family-matters-my\/age-teenager-start-dating-206520.html","og_site_name":"Marie France Asia, women&#039;s magazine","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MarieFranceAsia","article_published_time":"2016-08-15T08:00:25+00:00","article_modified_time":"2016-08-15T08:07:40+00:00","og_image":[{"width":750,"height":410,"url":"https:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2016\/08\/gettyimages-483597191-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"MF editorial team","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@mariefranceasia","twitter_site":"@mariefranceasia","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"MF editorial team","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/my\/parenting-my\/family-matters-my\/age-teenager-start-dating-206520.html#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/my\/parenting-my\/family-matters-my\/age-teenager-start-dating-206520.html"},"author":{"name":"MF editorial team","@id":"http:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/#\/schema\/person\/0f0697f1c292693c72954af5a8799336"},"headline":"Growing Up: What age should your teenager start dating?","datePublished":"2016-08-15T08:00:25+00:00","dateModified":"2016-08-15T08:07:40+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/my\/parenting-my\/family-matters-my\/age-teenager-start-dating-206520.html"},"wordCount":359,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/my\/parenting-my\/family-matters-my\/age-teenager-start-dating-206520.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2016\/08\/gettyimages-483597191-1.jpg","keywords":["dating","family","parenting","relationships","teenager"],"articleSection":["Family matters"],"inLanguage":"en-MY","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/my\/parenting-my\/family-matters-my\/age-teenager-start-dating-206520.html#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/my\/parenting-my\/family-matters-my\/age-teenager-start-dating-206520.html","url":"https:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/my\/parenting-my\/family-matters-my\/age-teenager-start-dating-206520.html","name":"What age should your teenager start dating?","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/my\/parenting-my\/family-matters-my\/age-teenager-start-dating-206520.html#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/my\/parenting-my\/family-matters-my\/age-teenager-start-dating-206520.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2016\/08\/gettyimages-483597191-1.jpg","datePublished":"2016-08-15T08:00:25+00:00","dateModified":"2016-08-15T08:07:40+00:00","author":{"@id":"http:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/#\/schema\/person\/0f0697f1c292693c72954af5a8799336"},"description":"There's no doubt that the culture of teen dating has evolved, but has the age at which it starts changed too? Parents, take note.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/my\/parenting-my\/family-matters-my\/age-teenager-start-dating-206520.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-MY","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/my\/parenting-my\/family-matters-my\/age-teenager-start-dating-206520.html"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-MY","@id":"https:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/my\/parenting-my\/family-matters-my\/age-teenager-start-dating-206520.html#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2016\/08\/gettyimages-483597191-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2016\/08\/gettyimages-483597191-1.jpg","width":750,"height":410,"caption":"Couple holding hands near tents at music festival"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/my\/parenting-my\/family-matters-my\/age-teenager-start-dating-206520.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"http:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Growing Up: What age should your teenager start dating?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"http:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/#website","url":"http:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/","name":"Marie France Asia, women&#039;s magazine","description":"Marie France Asia: fashion, health, beauty, love &amp; travel","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"http:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-MY"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"http:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/#\/schema\/person\/0f0697f1c292693c72954af5a8799336","name":"MF editorial team","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-MY","@id":"http:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/692c4a3c6af32e7cb781d7fa19ff1047df8d7c08a51e112fbd4beeb35383d405?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/692c4a3c6af32e7cb781d7fa19ff1047df8d7c08a51e112fbd4beeb35383d405?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"MF editorial team"},"description":"Marie France Asia (the English-language sister site of Marie France magazine) brings you what's new and trendy in beauty, fashion, health, travel and more...","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MarieFranceAsia","http:\/\/instagram.com\/mariefranceasia","https:\/\/x.com\/mariefranceasia"],"url":"https:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/my\/author\/editorialasia"}]}},"categories_slugs":[{"13168":"family-matters-my"}],"author_name":"MF editorial team","featured_image":{"id":206521,"name":"Couple holding hands near tents at music festival","copyright":"","media":"https:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2016\/08\/gettyimages-483597191-1.jpg","mime_type":"image\/jpeg"},"medias":null,"info_bloc_resume_post":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/my\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/206520","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/my\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/my\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/my\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/65"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/my\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=206520"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/my\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/206520\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/my\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/206521"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/my\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=206520"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/my\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=206520"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mariefranceasia.com\/my\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=206520"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}