Dating Apps That Allow 16 Year Olds

— -- Question: A 13-year-old wants to start dating. How should parents approach this situation? (Consider children of both genders.)

Answer: When a family talks to me about having a young teenage daughter who's interested in dating, I think about a couple of things. First of all, most 13-year-olds may be interested but aren't interested in dating but aren't actually interested in being on a date. And so I think it's perfectly appropriate for her to become interested and having relationships with boys and being interested in the opposite sex but not necessarily wanting to spend time, dating like you would think about a 16- or 17-year-old dating.

The law goes on to spell out that 'if the victim is at least 14 but less than 16 years of age and the person convicted of statutory rape is 18 or younger and is no more than four years older than the victim, such person shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.' This means that a 17-year-old convicted of having sexual contact with a 14-year-old in. Unfortunately, predators often take advantage of the teen’s trusting nature. A person who claims to be a 16-year-old football star in a neighboring town may actually be an adult looking to prey on an unsuspecting teenager. Sadly, most teens believe that such deceit could never happen to them. Earlier this year, Tinder's Justin Mateen was quoted as saying, 'There’s nothing wrong with 13 and 17-year-olds making friends and connecting with new people on Tinder,” per The Times of London. Speaking with The Guardian in February, Mateen said the app was not designed as a hookup or dating app, but rather as a 'social discovery platform.

Dating Apps That Allow 16 Year Olds

The other thing that happens is sometimes there are 13-year-olds out there who actually look like they're 16 or 17 and are engaging in this kind of interest simply because they're getting a lot of attention from older boys. It makes a big difference what the issue is in terms of how a parent should respond.

Dating Apps That Allow 16 Year Olds To Read

For parents of a normally developing 13-year-old who is interested in the opposite sex, group activities are probably the best way for that 13-year-old to get comfortable with herself in the company of boys, and for parents to feel like they're not discouraging her interest but also not providing access or over-supporting, if you will, her interest in dating.

For that 13-year-old who looks more like she's 16 and is getting the attention of older teenage boys I think sometimes a closer relationship with that teenage daughter -- with her mother and her father -- is probably the best antidote. Because the teenage daughter really needs to know that the most important relationships in her life are really her parent's relationship with her rather than the boyfriend.

If there is some problem in the parent child relationship it's not uncommon for these somewhat mature appearing 13-year-olds to seek supported interest in the opposite sex. And sometimes for this age group that ends in problems that most families really wouldn't want to have to address over time.