Almost all parents have some fears about the day when their teenage children will start dating and for a lot of parents it also marks the point at which their children are making the transition from childhood into adulthood. It is also often seen as the point when your children take their first steps to strike out on their own and this is often taken as a sign that they no longer need you. This is certainly not the case. Dating is simply another phase on the long road of normal teen development and they certainly do still need you - and will do so for many years to come. Nevertheless, this is often a difficult time in a teenager's life and there is a lot that can be done do to smooth the path for both you and your children.

As with many other things, success in dating starts with education and it is important for you to sit down with your teenagers before they start dating and discuss what goes into making successful relationships. It is all too easy to take it for granted that your children will understand the ins and outs of dating but they most likely will not. When you think about it, the greater part of their knowledge on the subject will probably have been gleaned from the television where the majority of the relationships are not designed to reflect the real world but simply to entertain the audience. Your children need to understand just what it means to be in a supportive and loving relationship and there is no better way to learn just what this means than by talking with you about your own views based upon personal experience. Naturally, it is also true that your children will learn not only from what they hear, but also from what they see with their own two eyes and so setting a good example in the way that you conduct your own relationship is crucial.

When your children start dating you should enter into what should become an ongoing discussion about relationships. Your teenager's dates are not always going to turn out as they or your expect and your teenagers will need somebody to come to when they run into problems. As a result, it is crucial that you keep the lines of communication open and also that you continue to discuss how they ought to be treating other people in a relationship and how they themselves should expect to be treated.

Meeting your teenager's date for the first time can frequently be a difficult moment, but it is important to make this meeting as relaxed as possible and to be both respectful towards and kind to your teenager's date. And don't make the classic mistake of giving the couple a lecture on this first meeting during which you lay down the rules for seeing each other. Should you wish to lay down any rules then these are for your teenager and not for his or her date and so should be discussed with your child alone and in private. Also, while it is possible that you will not be impressed with your teenager's choice of date, you ought not to let this show and should make a conscious effort to be supportive. Having taught your teenagers how to behave in a relationship you must trust them to make their own decisions and should only get involved if you believe that the relationship is putting your teenager in harm's way.

It can be hard to watch your kids growing up and meeting and getting close to new people. But, as long as you do your part and ensure that they know what to expect from and how they should conduct themselves in a relationship, then there is a very good chance that things will work out and problems will be few and far between for both of you.