[Homegirl 50]

It really saddens me that so much pressure is put on these young kids to date, have a girl/boy friend.
Personally, I think when you have lots of opposite sex friends when you are younger, by the time you are of dating age (16+) you
are much more relaxed. Just relax and have friends, lots of friends. Don't tie yourself to one person at such a young age.

[talaniman]

Yes it is sad that kids grow up so fast, too fast for many of us, but it's important to acknowledge their growing up, and give them age appropriate answers, and guidance in open and honest ways to their questions because their awareness of emerging feelings will not go away. It's the start of teaching boundaries, to protect themselves from the worst things that can happen so they can deal with the facts of their experiences and not just those new intense feelings alone, or worse through peer influence.

The training wheels seem to be coming off sooner, rather than later, and his mom seems to be engaged in monitoring him also. That's a great thing in my view. My advice would be a lot different if I didn't believe that.