Young love

What teens think about teen dating

February 10, 2009|By EMILY SEILER / Pulse Correspondent

Valentine's Day is day that most people hope for a date, or recognition from a crush. But if you do have a date, it does not always mean roses and chocolates.

With adults, Valentine's Day is a day that people publicly express their love by going out to eat and buying each other expensive things.

So what is teen dating? What is a date for them? And what does it mean to teens?

"Dating is really just going and having fun with someone you have a crush on or are really close to," says Sam Roberts, a ninth-grader at North Hagerstown High School.

Dating doesn't have to be a big production. "Dating, I think, is when two people really like each other and they go out and do stuff with each other," says Christina Thompson, a ninth-grader at North Hagerstown. "A date is just going out and having fun."

A date is a great way to show someone how you feel about them. So no matter what you like to do, everyone likes to receive gifts.

Most would like something simple like some chocolates or a rose, but Stephanie Milani, a ninth-grader at North Hagerstown High School, would like to get something more extravagant, she would like to receive a record player turn table.

"We have lots of old records at our house and it would be so cool to play them again," she said.

So what would be an appropriate age to date? Where would you go that is appropriate for your age group?

Some parents don't like their children dating until high school, but most teens I spoke with thought middle school was OK.

"I think the end of middle school is a good age to start dating, not make out but 'dating' is OK," says Tyler Notarianni Stephens, a ninth-grader at North High. "A good first date would be to go to a movie."

Thompson says it depends on the person. "Whenever a person is mature enough to date is a good time to date, but it does not mean just because you are some age that you are ready to date," she says.

Emily Seiler is a freshman at North Hagerstown High School. She loves to dance and won't mind a valentine of her own.

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