Can You Protect Your Children From Heartache?

I don't share a lot of personal information about Angeline on the blog because she's at the age now where she wants a little privacy.

It was one thing when I was just blogging for fun and the only people that read were friends and family...but now that mom is a "real" blogger with regular readers, she feels a little shy about my divulging her comings and goings.

But this? This I have to share. I know that there are other moms (and dads) of teenagers out there that are probably going through the same thing Chris and I are going through right now.

My baby is dating!!

Eek!

Yes, we've reached the dreaded teenage years when my little baby is being called "baby" by someone else. We've reached the age where Angeline has stars in her eyes, spends all afternoon texting, and putting on a little extra makeup when she goes to the mall on Saturday afternoon with her friends...and her boyfriend.

Because she's only 15, Angeline isn't allowed to really date yet - she can go out with friends and her boyfriend, but she can't go out alone with him.

I'm saving that nightmare for when she's 16.

Angeline has been dating this nice boy from her school for almost three months now. They had a little tiff last weekend and I pulled the mom card...I told her that she couldn't date him anymore. I think I made her cry more than her tiff with the boyfriend did.

Oops?

After having a talk with Angeline and accepting the fact that I was overreacting, I gave in changed my mind. My reasoning for not wanting her to date him anymore was based on the fact that she's just 15, she needs to concentrate on her upcoming FCATS (our state standardized testing) and if she isn't getting along with a boy, she shouldn't see him anymore. Pretty simple...except that it's not.

As parents, we want to protect our kids from the whole teenage heartache thing. But we can't forbid them from dating just to avoid it, right?

As much as I wish we could just lock her up and not let any boys talk to her until she's 18 - or 37 - it just isn't the right thing to do.

Falling in love and crying over boys is a part of being a teenager. Making up five minutes later is even more a part of being a teenager.

I can't just forbid her from dating to protect her from experiencing life, can I?

Perhaps it's better to let her go through these things while she's still here, with us. Before she goes out into the world and has real problems to deal with on her own, why not give let her try it with training wheels on? Let her experience her first love, her first heartbreak, and all of the in-between, while she has her mom and dad here to lend a shoulder for her to cry on, should she need it.

While she's still with us, we can offer her the support she needs while she's learning all of life's messy lessons.

I'm stocking up on Kleenex.