4 Rules for Your Daughter to Date By

Welcome back for the final post of my Let's Talk Teens® series with Dr. Tartt.

I hope you've been enlightened, encouraged and empowered by the information shared over the past month and a half. Including:

1. The #1 Issue Facing Teen Girls Today
2. The (Dad)vantages of an Involved Father in a Teen Girl's Life
3. How to Help Physically Present, Emotionally Absent Fathers Engage with their Daughters
4. How to Empower Daughters Who Don't Have Engaged Dads!
5. Advice for the Single Mom Whose Daughter's Father is Absent
6. Why It's Irresponsible to Deny Counseling to Teen Girls

Today, I wrap up my one-on-one with noted clinical psychologist, Dr. Alduan Tartt, as he reveals his top four dating rules for his daughter that you can tweak to use for your own.

Teen Dating Rules of Engagement

Want your daughter to make smart dating decisions?

Establish your own dating rules of engagement.

I can't tell you how many girls have confided in me that their parents didn't have any set rules, leaving them to rely on their own limited teen judgment to make dating decisions.

And that's a poor choice just waiting to happen.

The one thing that has really stuck out is the need to set boundaries in a dating relationship. This is a challenge for me because I have not had any boundary lines in my life. Everything you said has encouraged me to set boundaries for the first time in my life. 

So, it's important to not only set rules, but as Dr. Tartt points out in the clip below, tailor them to fit your daughter's unique personality.

Managing Expectations

Have your rules of engagement in place?

Great! Don't skip the part where you sit down to discuss what your expectations are for your daughter while dating (preferably before she starts).

And be sure to do the same with any guy she dates.

Explain to her (and her date), that your rules aren't about controlling her (or him). But about setting the standard for how she deserves to be treated.

Will your daughter like your rules? Probably not. What teen does?

But having open and honest communication about them helps her know your heart and understand why you put them in place–because you love her and want what's best for her.

That's what will come to mind whenever your daughter is tempted to ignore the rules.

And it's the one thing that might motivate her to stick to them, as many teens count fear of disappointing parents as their main reason for choosing to wait.

The bottom line: Give your daughter rules to date by. Then empower her to live up to them.

You won't be sorry you did.

Thank you again for coming back week after week to read, like and share my Let's Talk Teens® series with Dr. Tartt.

Feel free to refer back to the posts as a resource any time. And stay tuned for future additions to Let's Talk Teens®, featuring other expert guests.

We'll see you next week!

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