How To Keep Your Daughter Safe on that First Date

In this day and age, keeping our children safe is more difficult than in any other time. As parents, we have to be more and more proactive to ensure our children's safety. One of the more touchy subjects we have to beware of is dating. But here are steps on how to keep our daughters safe when they go on that first date with a boy.

Some questions to ask yourselves when compiling your list of rules are: What is the age at which your daughter can date? Is she allowed to go alone or in a group? What sort of activities are suitable for dates? Will you require meeting the boy and his parents, or just the boy? Does "meeting" him mean fifteen minutes prior to the first date or having him over one or two evenings before they are actually allowed to go out? Are they allowed to go out of town, or must they stay in the town you live in?

One rule that we have in our house is, we have to know exactly where they are going, who will be there, what are they doing there, where will they go afterwards. If plans change for any reason, a phone call is in order, before they leave to go somewhere else, not after. We expect complete compliance with this rule so that if something happens we know where she is. If this rule is not complied to the letter, the dating game is over for a while.

Our daughters are required to carry their cell phones when they are on a date. The cell phones are programmed with the appropriate phone numbers. The phone is to be fully charged before the girls leave the house and there is no excuse for the phone being turned off during the date. If we call the phone, we expect an answer and if the phone is not answered, there had better be a very good reason. We also require the phone number of the boys parents, their address and obviously their names. We also request the cell phone number of the boy, if he has one. Along these same lines, we must know the vehicle our daughters are riding in.

Keeping the lines of communication open between you and your daughter is key in keeping her safe. If you can't talk to your daughter, you will be unaware of any red flags that pop up in her relationship. Never be afraid to trust your instincts. If you have a bad feeling about something, vocalize it and don't be afraid to make her mad or uncomfortable. Better to have a mad or uncomfortable daughter than to have something happen.