THE RIGHT DATE FOR YOU

It’s customary for a boy to call for his date at her home. She greets him at the door and brings him in to meet her family. As she introduces her mother to her date, she says, “Mother, this is Jim. He’s in my history class and helped me find that reference I was looking for last week.” This gives Mother some talking point with Jim. Similarly when a girl introduces a date to her father, she might say, “Dad, this is Jim. He’s on the basketball team this year.” If Dad has everplayed basketball, there will be no pause in the conversation. A girl continues to acquaint her family with her date by dropping such little conversation-starters from time to time, and soon Jim and her folks get past that first embarrassment to a free and easy flow of talk. When the couple finally go off on their date, the girl’s parents can feel more secure. They have met their daughter’s escort and know by first-hand experience that he’s “nice.”

A boy may not find it quite as easy to arrange a meeting between his parents and a new girl, partly because it’s not expected that he will bring his girl home until the relationship is fairly far along. His parents can be helpful in arranging simple little outings such as picnics, fishing trips, or a backyard barbecue to which the girl may be invited along with other young people. Or the boy himself can invite a few friends over for an informal get-together, then casually introduce a new girl friend to his parents in a setting that doesn’t commit anyone. Sometimes a young fellow who doesn’t drive a car finds it easy for his parents to get acquainted with a girl when they chauffeur the pair to school, church, and community functions.