My 16-year-old son has a girlfriend, going on six months now and going strong. She’s terrific and so is her family. They seem locked at the hip and they’ve even managed to avoid the common mistake of “first love” by maintaining their existing friends and not drooling over each other ad nauseum.
However, they are holding hands all the time and even when I knock on my son’s door before entering, they’re often on his bed together, clearly enjoying each other’s company.
Since I’m the dad to the boy in this scenario, I have to admit that my latent sexist leanings do surface. I’m less concerned about him having sex than him telling me about it, so I can vicariously relive my failed teen years. But, seriously, I am concerned and I do worry if/when or have they already?
Her mom swears she’s talked with her daughter and there’s no way they’ve done “it” yet. My son says the same thing. Frankly, my only worry is that they don’t get emotionally hurt by having sex too soon. And, since boys tend to have less emotional attachment upon having sex, I don’t want him pushing for it unless he truly cares about her.
I think they really do care for each other and I like to believe they will wait till the time is right. I also want to believe I’ve taught him the values and morals that go along with treating her with respect and doing the right thing. We’ll see as, after all, what do I know: I’m just a guy.
