Dear Gramps,

Is it morally correct to date a boy who is younger than you?

Stevie, from Salt Lake City, Utah

Dear Stevie,

In the first place, dating at all depends on how old you are. Now let me see–if I were to guess your age I would guess that you would be almost fourteen years old. If that is correct, the very idea of thinking about dating at fourteen would to me be completely out of place! So if that’s how old you are your question has no meaning. One shouldn’t start dating until one is at the very least sixteen years old. And even then dating should be entered into very cautiously. All the news media and the raucous television shows and movies exploit this concept of boy-girl relationships at such an early age that it leads to all sorts of trouble. The moral standards of our day are at an all-time low; and this preoccupation with sexually related activities has very dire consequences. So those one-on-one boy/girl relationships should be avoided like the plague, until, as I say, you are at the very least sixteen years old.

In the mean time, what does one do? It’s simple–and loads of fun. In the first place, you would never find yourself alone with a boy. So, group activities are the name of the game. There are both organized and spontaneous activities that one can be a part of. On the organized side there are the Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, playing in a band or orchestra, 4-H Club activities, and a host more. On the spontaneous side there are all sorts of group get togethers for either boys or girls or for both boys and girls.

The idea is to thoroughly enjoy the activities that are designed for your own age group–whatever that age may be, then you wont miss out on anything that would not only be fun, but would be important for your social development. There is a very appropriate little poem that bears on the this subject–as follows: (You might show it to your Dad and ask him about it).

A petal unfolds in the morning light

Bathed in the freshness of morning dew

Kissed by a sunrise burning bright

Your beauty is just unfolding too.

Gramps