10 Tips for Dating in High School
September 29, 2008 – 3:02 pm by Kim
High school is a time when most boys and girls start taking an interest in the opposite sex. Granted this may, and usually does, start at an earlier age; high school is when the dating games begin.
Parents, brace yourself for this time of growth and help your teen develop healthy relationship skills.
Here are 10 tips for dating in high school.
- Develop your own personality and be confident with who you are. Get involved in the things you are interested in and you will meet more people like yourself. Remember, you must love yourself before you can love another.
- It is a good idea to date someone that you share common interests with. Find someone that you can relate to, both socially and mentally. Dating someone that is the polar opposite of your personality may be fun and intriguing, but may also be difficult, as you may not share common interests.
- Date someone that you enjoy being with just as they are, not for what they could potentially be. Also, if they are known around school for cheating or have a less than favorable reputation, odds are that they won’t change with you.
- Dating is fun and exciting, but remember you are still a student, friend and daughter or son. Make sure you balance your time wisely and don’t blow off other responsibilities.
- Parents don’t need to accompany you to dinner or the movies, but they should be filled in on what’s going on. Chances are your parents won’t always be crazy about who you bring home and going against their wishes can make things a lot harder than they need to be.
- And parents, reward their honesty. Sure, your child may not be with the person you had hoped for them, but it’s not permanent, so don’t sweat the small stuff.
- High school relationships don’t always last forever, so don’t alienate your friends when you start dating someone. Try to balance your time between friends, family and your someone special and keep all parties happy.
- If things go south in your relationship, avoid gossiping or shining a negative light on that person. If things end poorly, be the bigger person and remain cordial.
- Open communication is the key to a successful relationship. If you can’t be honest with each other, what’s the point of being together?
- Set boundaries for yourself and don’t let anyone cross them. These include emotional, mental and physical boundaries and sharing how you feel about them in order to avoid an uncomfortable or dangerous situation.
- Yes, they may be the quarterback on the football team or the head cheerleader, but that is no reason to obsess over them. Don’t try to grow up too fast or make relationships too serious, you have a lot of growing up ahead of you and can afford to take your time.
