My son is almost 16 and very into girls and has some very inappropriate interactions. At this point, I have said absolutely not to dating or to him having any unsupervised time with opposite gender until his maturity catches up with his hormones. We've broached this topic in therapy and his psychiatrist and psychologist are in agreement that at this point, he is not ready for dating based on his lack of social skills and naivete about what is appropriate. He skips the handholding and courting and wants to go right to big stuff and yet he is so immature and naive about everything else. So, for now, we're holding off.

Hello also my daughter sounds exactly how she was at that age. She was at ease with kids younger of her age. They loved her and it was very safe and nice. As she progressed through puberty, she just wanted to fit in like the other kids. It was so hard. There is no magical formula. But always be prepared there for the crush of when everything ends 30 days later. Most recently she met a very nice person older than her of a couple of years. She experienced the dating process as we as parents wish for our children: flowers and dinner and meeting and visiting with the parents. It was too short of a dream. He is a good friend of my oldest daughter. We try to support him them both by sharing with him the things that works with her and by just talking a lot about family and always identifying the family outlook and maintaining everything on a short term and day-by-day relationship. Things build up but they recently ended. It is a very hard thing to deal with it I will not sugar coated, but my suggestion is keep a good connection and share always safety tips . I did that with her, she has a safety list in her pocket book with emergency numbers and a autism card to carry in case she needs to take a nice walk.hope this information was helpful. My recent technique is to raise a labrador puppy with her. He is her best friend, she absolutely loves puppy, and she bring him with her everywhere she goes even with her date.

My daughter was so much like what you describe. I have to say we did not have a successful time through puberty, etc. She sought attention in all the wrong places, was harmed emotionally and physically in the process and has since given birth to two children. One I am raising, the other was adopted by a marvelous, loving family. She is now 25, is working as a housekeeper and has recently moved into an apartment with her boyfriend who is a really nice guy. Unfortunately, all the efforts I made were to no avail during those turbulent years. Her oppositional streak made this time so much worse than it needed to be. The good news is that she has come out on the other side and is a marvelous young woman and has really surprised me with how capable and independent she has become. All those messages seem to have taken root now and she is learning and growing every day. I am so proud of her.

I don't want to rush an answer to such an important question, but I don't want to leave it unaddressed either.

I talk, man to man, with my son quite a bit about what is appropriate and not appropriate to do at his age (17). I also tell him that he needs to build 10 strong friendships including 3 friendships with his female peers. Then, when he has had a female friend for more than a year, he can ask her if she wants to date. And when he has been dating her for two years, he can think about getting married. The numbers are pretty arbitrary and the timeline is unrealistic, but what it does is put in front of him achievable goals that he needs to master before he can be in a responsible romantic relationship.

Second, I welcome him talking to me about sex. I describe the process thoroughly, and he benefits from a cartoon video about the process of pregnancy. I also tell him that "kissing leads to crying babies", because that's what he is most averse to, and it's also true. He needs to know that romance and dating and sex are all wonderful and good, but there is a progression in relationships that is headed for somewhere he is nowhere near ready for.

I have a son that is 13 years old. We have had our share of problems. I had him in a private Christian school. By third grade they were bulling him. The schools answer was to get rid of him. So much for Christian Schools. I started homeschooling him and puting in activities that we would monitor. He has had girlfriends along the way. We thought it would be good to let him have the girlfriends but teach him how to treat girls. The key, I believe, is to get them ready for that. My son is going to his first dance at the end of the month. He is ready because we built up to it for years. Let you daughter see how your husband treats you. Opening doors, pulling out chairs, It would be good if your husband went along with this and treated her like that too. She would know what it should be like and hopefully she will not accept anything less.