Teen Dating: Is this Love?
Young love is so exciting- spending time together, holding hands, going on dates, sharing love notes.
Because teens are biologically wired for heightened emotions, their feelings can be intense and overwhelming when they enter into a steady committed relationship.
Although most parents would prefer their kids put off dating until they are 30 (I wish!)…
dating is actually a normal and healthy way for your teen to learn how to navigate relationships.
There are so many skills to learn like
…compromise,
….boundaries,
….and fighting fair.
It’s important that you have open conversations with your teen about dating even before they start. Because it is unfamiliar territory, your teen needs your guidance to understand the difference between a healthy and unhealthy relationship.
You want to plant the seeds early about how they should be treated in relationships.
To get you started, here are a few behaviors that can be seen as a sign of love but are actually indicators of an unhealthy relationship.
This isn’t love:
- Keeping you from hanging out with friends
- Making you feel guilty about small things
- Wanting to spend every waking hour with you
- Wanting to know where you are and what you are doing 24/7
- Trying to control what you wear
- Belittling you
- Making you doubt your own self worth
- Threatening you
Young love can be intense, but your teen needs to recognize the difference between intense love and incensed love.
Let them know that if they feel unsafe, anxious, or threatened in a relationship…you are there to guide them and support them.
With Love,
Coach Sheri
