ARE YOU READY TO DATE?

How is it that some people start dating at such a young age, and others are so much older before they begin to have dates? Both teen-agers and their parents often wonder what is the best age to begin dating. The question looms even more nowadays because so many young people start their dating so early in life. Should parents be concerned? Is there really a special age at which dating should begin?

The Purdue Opinion Panel Poll of high school students reported in 1957 that 31 per cent of the boys and 40 per cent of the girls started to date before they were fourteen years old. This means that a good many teen-agers begin to date before they get into high school. It also confirms the observation that girls, in general, tend to mature earlier and start dating earlier than boys, age for age.

But still another finding of the Purdue Poll of tenth, eleventh and twelfth grade high school students is that one out of eight teen-agers doesn’t date at all! How come that some young people start having dates even before they’re in high school, and others have no dating experience whatsoever during their teens? What do teen-agers themselves have to say on this subject?