There comes a point in a teen- ager’s life when the subject of dating can no longer be avoided. Young girls aren’t
only expected to be pursuing boyfriends; judgment from their peers
often makes it feel like a requirement.
In addition, teenage boys face mount-ing;pressure;as;they;enter;high;school
and college, where they are bound to
encounter young men who treat sex-ual;relationships;with;girls;as;nothing
more;than;a;source;of;manly;pride.
Purity;isn’t;a;girl;problem;any;more
than;it’s;a;guy;problem.;It’s;a;people
problem—a;human;nature;problem—
and;un-til;we;step;up;and;face;it,;nothing;is;ever
going to change.
Either our children will deliberately
choose;to;swim;upstream,;or;the;current
will drag them along with what everyone
else is doing. There is no middle ground.
Compromise;doesn’t;begin;by;crossing;a
line; it starts by tearing down our convic-tions,;piece;by;piece,;one;forgotten;detail
at;a;time.;It;isn’t;a;sudden,;unexpected
giving;way;of;the;ground;beneath;us;;it’s
a;gradual;rising;of;the;world’s;threaten-ing waves, a slow washing away of our
foundation of sand.
Until we stop dancing around the
facts and build solid foundations for our
children,;we;can’t;expect;them;to;make
wise decisions.
Peer;pressure;to;get;involved;in;the
dating game is real, powerful, and at
times, overwhelming. Young girls are
surrounded by romance films, novels,
songs, and more, all of which tell them
that;a;girl;is;simply;incomplete;without
a boy at her side. Boys, on the other
hand,;are;bombarded;with;the;media’s
objectification of women. Additional
influences;on;young;people;are;social
media such as Facebook, where con-
stantly changing relationship statuses
and continual boy-girl photos create
a;whitewashed,;illusory;version;of;da-
ting,;in;addition;to;an;impression;that
every “moderately attractive” young
person should have a boyfriend or
girlfriend.
The;truth;of;these;relationships;is;far
from innocent. According to CBS News,
128;September-October;2013;•;Character;&;Virtue;www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com
Purity,
Peer Pressure,
and Parenting
Until;we;stop;dancing;around
the facts and build solid
foundations for our children,
we;can’t;expect;them;to;make
wise decisions.
By;Laura;Genn
