One of the most frequent reasons that couples quit going steady is that their relationship becomes so emotionally explosive that they are practically blown apart. They either go further than they find comfortable in their love-making, or their frequent association builds up tensions that induce squabbles that eventually neither can stand. This is why if you care for another person, it’s wise not to get into too tight and steady a relationship too soon or you will find yourselves heading for a breakup.

When Someone Gets Hurt

Going steady can result in heartbreak when one is more in love than the other. That member of the pair who takes the relationship more seriously is bound to be hurt when the break comes.

Sometimes it’s the girl who tires of her steady first. Then she asks, “How can I get rid of good old Joe? He hangs around all the time. He takes me for granted. Yet he hasn’t done anything that I can pick a fight about. I just don’t want to go steady with him any more.”

One of the most frequent questions that college boys ask is how to get a girl back into circulation after going steady with her. The sensitive, thoughtful boy doesn’t want to hurt a girl who counts on him. He realizes that she may have a hard time recovering from their affair. Yet he finds that he’s desperately eager to be rid of her before she maneuvers him even more deeply into their unpromising relationship.

Sometimes two people mutually realize that the time has come for them to break off going steady. Even then the question arises as to how it can be done most effectively and comfortably for them both.

BREAKING OFF THE AFFAIR

Nowadays so many young people go steady with several persons before entering a relationship that leads to marriage that it becomes important for both sexes to learn how to break off with a steady when the time comes. Since terminating a relationship that has been meaningful is apt to be painful, the considerate boy or girl wants to know how to break things off without hurting the other person. “After all, she has invested the best months of her life in me, and I don’t want to hurt her now,” says a college boy.

Avoiding Each Other

There are some men who simply break off a relationship abruptly and finally by not seeing a girl again. Such a fellow makes his actions talk for him. He stays away. He does not call the girl. He avoids the places they used to frequent together. He sometimes goes out of town without leaving her a forwarding address. Or he is seen about town with another girl or with a group of fellows. By this time the girl realizes that they are not going steady any more.

A girl may not be quite as successful in this approach, because her boy friend is accustomed to coming to her residence, where she finds it difficult to avoid him. Even if she could, she might not want to break off this abruptly. A girl is more apt to taper off gradually in breaking up with a steady.