What can parents do to help their daughters enter the dating world safely and with confidence?

Leaving my teenage years behind just 5 years ago, I can say that the three most important factors that will help aid a teen girl to be safe in her dating life are:

(1) Having a strong support system at home, which means telling your daughter that she can always come to you if she ever needs help or even has a question;

(2) Having a good role model that can help the daughter in answering tough questions or making tough decisions which will force her to ask the question "What would _______ do if she were in my situation?"

(3) Keeping your daughter well-informed about the realities of dating, sex, STDs, instead of shielding her or trying to protect her from the outside world. Its important to paint an honest picture of how the world works so that she will be well equipped to handle the tough real-life situations that she might encounter, like whether or not to have sex.

I find that these 3 factors positively influenced me the most while I was growing up, moreso than my friends or the media. I feel that had I not had one of those crucial elements in my upbringing, I would have made a lot more mistakes that I would have lived to regret. Fortunately enough, I did have a strong support system, especially from my mother, my grandmother (who, even in her death) has been my role-model against whom I judge everything, and the fact that I knew and somewhat understood the realities and facts of life, these things have all made a tremendous contribution to my life, and they have allowed me to become a strong, successful, and positive adult.

ts to help their daughters enter the dating world in a safe and confident manner, so that they will avoid getting taken advantage of, not feel pressured to give in to sexual demands or turn into a door mat for a man, that first parents must learn the answer to this question. All too often, the parents have terrible skills, and that is why their daughters end up as the "****" or sufferer of low self esteem. The parents have to set an example from early on, because over the years their children watch and learn from what they observe the parents doing. if the mother lets her husband talk down at her, the daughter will allow the same from guys in the dating world. So the best thing for paren

Life is an adventure, and it is not safe. Given that, any person, male or female, must live their own life as best they can.

While the parents can say: 'We have climbed the mountain. Let us teach you the paths.' The children can not go back down the paths of the parents. They must find their own life experiences on the way into the future.

Each person has a foundation from their family, friends, peers, and culture. No one answer can provide a safe path into the future.

There are strengths that every person can build within the self that will help them to achieve the best that they can achieve. The most important of these is to realize that, although they are not alone in their quest, the choices they make in their life are theirs to make.

The best advice parents can give to their children is to choose wisely, to understand that the important choices in their life will involve both love and fear. So, it is necessary to know what to love and what to fear. But the best choice always lies with what you love.

Children need to know the difference between love and fascination, between danger and excitement, between imagination and reality. Hopefully, families can discuss the messages sold to the society by the media and discover what can be valued more deeply or less deeply, or not at all.

But in the end, the children will make their own choices based on their own experiences and personalities. Parents must encourage maturity in their children and trust that their children will make the best choices that they can. When the child makes a mistake or a poor choice, the parents should accept it and use it as a way to increase the wisdom of the children.

:-D Life is an adventure and miracles happen every day. Some people never notice when a miracle happens. They are never thankful for the wonderful life they have. Some people live in a miraculous world filled with love. Their life is full of joy. These people made the choices that made the world they live in.

That's it - it's hard in this day and age to protect girls from what they are fed from the media , T.V. and society. Girls may need to be more involved in activities growing up, so their main focus is not on "boys". Not sure what you mean about the girl staying true to her own desires. Desires, does not necessarily mean it's a good thing - Look at the men who desire to be with women, they go from one to the other and think it's fine. I think we have to bring back some of the values that have gone out the window - The movies these days have anything but values - just because everyone is doing "it" -doesn't make it the right thing to do. If a girl is taught to wait for the right man - for marriage, it would weed out the players, as they won't wait for you. This would prevent unwanted pregnancies, STD's, and the hurt and pain of being used, etc. If you wait for the right person, wait until you get married, then you know there is a strong love there and then the physical part is the icing on the cake. People are doing it backwards, and then everyone is shocked on the amount of divorces. Couples don't wait until they really get to know one another - they just jump into bed -think it's great and wow we must love each other !!! WAKE UP ! But telling a girl what to do, I am not sure how that will work as no teenager really listens or if they do listen they are still doing it behind their parents back. I have been through all of this and really, only saw the light and found the way, once I followed Jesus Christ.

The movies these days have anything but values - just because everyone is doing "it" -doesn't make it the right thing to do. If a girl is taught to wait for the right man - for marriage, it would weed out the players, as they won't wait for you. This would prevent unwanted pregnancies, STD's, and the hurt and pain of being used, etc. If you wait for the right person, wait until you get married, then you know there is a strong love there and then the physical part is the icing on the cake. People are doing it backwards, and then everyone is shocked on the amount of divorces. Couples don't wait until they really get to know one another - they just jump into bed -think it's great and wow we must love each other !!! WAKE UP ! But telling a girl what to do, I am not sure how that will work as no teenager really listens or if they do listen they are still doing it behind their parents back. I have been through all of this and really, only saw the light and found the way, once I followed Jesus Christ.

Do you recall in the 80’s the effort to increase awareness of something called “good touch and bad touch” for children and adults. The basic concept is that hugs and kisses from your parents in an appropriate manner are emotionally nurturing and “touches” that make you uncomfortable are bad and should be reported to an adult you can trust. If a child does not receive appropriate physical affection from her parents she will still grow up desiring physical closeness, but will not be able to distinguish between the need for physical intimacy and sexual intimacy. I have argued this point with educators and health officials, but my words have fallen on deaf ears. I agree with other writers that self defense classes are a good idea. And gaming potential problems helps too. What to do if someone demands your purse. What to do if someone grabs you in a parking lot. What to do if a friend or date drinks. What to do if a friend or date gets too physical. Parents and children should sit down and play 'what if' like this. Then if something does happen, the girl already has a plan, she can move to action without freezing up. Knowing her parents will come and get her safely from a party where there is drinking without recriminations is liberating knowledge. If she understands that your first concern is her safety and that as a parent you won't be angry with her if something goes wrong and she needs a ride, you've given her a tremendous gift.

As the mother of 2 grown women, I can only say, we told them every thing we could think of....even showed them examples. When our dog had babies....my husband said, and where is the father? He's off looking for another girl. It didn't matter, they both made huge mistakes. Doesn't matter what you say. They will do what they want or someone else wants at the time. Just support them and keep the lines of communication open. So they can come to you w/anything.

WOW. What a response. Never have I seen this many.

Seems they all pretty much say the same thing. I am 76 and have seen a few generations, and known what kind of upbringing they have had.....but seems as hard as you try....the genes will win in the end. If she comes from straight upstanding people, that is what she willl be. If there are a few skeletons in the closet...they will come out bigger than life and be a threat. I don't see how you will be able to read all your answers. But I also raised dogs for 40 yrs and you could see the same thing in them If the mother or father has a behavior problem, at least one of their puppies would do. Even tho the babies didn't even see the bad behavior. the tendency was there. I believe it is the same in humans. I know it is.

Well ideally

mothers or guardians and daughters are like best friends which would be great and solve so many problems

however this is rarely the case

i can tell you from personal experience

i think that the best advice and guidance

is honestly just being realistic

we would all like to live in the 40s where sex was after marriage

diminishing STD,unwanted pregnancies-abortions and abused or neglected children.

but let's be realistic,personally i think even the sex talk is getting outdated,i`m saying this because media seems to be so absorbed with it..the talk wasn't necessary

i think when girls get their period its the best opening to explain about their body

when parents realise that theyre daughter has a mixed group of friends,in the 7th or 8th grade

they should just come out and realistically say that although i would prefer you not having sex for now..and can list some reasons why not

i`d rather that if you did it you were totally safe and know the consequences and types of birth control

mentioning condoms and all other stuff..it will probably be uncomfortable but whats 20 mins of awkardness compared to what might happen if theyre not aware of what could happen..?

There are already so many great answers and of course instilling morals and your families personal ethics are so important. I thought I might add as the mother of a 17 year old who has been handling this aspect of her life very well so far, a few practical things we have always done.

Always review the fellow the girl is going out with.... if your involved with your daughters life you will have a feel for the kind of guy he is by the friends and involvements they have.

Never let your daughter leave without knowing their agenda, setting an exact time to come home and without them having a CELL Phone to call. Let them know you won't mind coming to get them anywhere at any time and don't hesitate to call them while they are out if you become concerned.

Always give them the money to pay their own way on a date, so they are not manipulated into feeling beholden for dinner or a movie or whatever.

Make sure they are aware that actions have consequences and what those consequences can mean.

Reassure them that they are successful and will remain popular if they remain true to themselves. Find good role models for them so they won't feel they have to do certain things just because they want to be acceptable in the eyes of their peers.

Keep them focused toward the future and future goals and remind them that in a few years the people's approval they crave now, won't even be a part of their life anymore.

I think that in order for parents to help their daughters enter the dating world in a safe and confident manner, so that they will avoid getting taken advantage of, not feel pressured to give in to sexual demands or turn into a door mat for a man, that first parents must learn the answer to this question. All too often, the parents have terrible skills, and that is why their daughters end up as the "****" or sufferer of low self esteem. The parents have to set an example from early on, because over the years their children watch and learn from what they observe the parents doing. if the mother lets her husband talk down at her, the daughter will allow the same from guys in the dating world. So the best thing for parents to do, is to be careful how they treat each other.

If the parents are respectful, confident, and stick up for themselves while at the same time being nice, there won't even need to be 'a talk' although that is also very important, to reinforce all that the daughter has learned from watching their parents over the years. Once the actions are put into words, it will cement it and most likely by then the daughter is already able to filter through the messages in the media and respect the parents message instead!

something called “good touch and bad touch” for children and adults. The basic concept is that hugs and kisses from your parents in an appropriate manner are emotionally nurturing and “touches” that make you uncomfortable are bad and should be reported to an adult you can trust. If a child does not receive appropriate physical affection from her parents she will still grow up desiring physical closeness, but will not be able to distinguish between the need for physical intimacy and sexual intimacy. I have argued this point with educators and health officials, but my words have fallen on deaf ears. I agree with other writers that self defense classes are a good idea. And gaming potential problems helps too. What to do if someone demands your purse. What to do if someone grabs you in a parking lot. What to do if a friend or date drinks. What to do if a friend or date gets too physical. Parents and children should sit down and play 'what if' like this. Then if something does happen, the girl already has a plan, she can move to action without freezing up. Knowing her parents will come and get her safely from a party where there is drinking without recriminations is liberating knowledge. If she understands that your first concern is her safety and that as a parent you won't be angry with her if something goes wrong and she needs a ride, you've given her a tremendous gift.