For some reason, I read what you typed, but this is what I heard.
I think some form of forced socialization would have really helped. A dance or something, with sensitive chaperones helping things along. I would have learned much sooner that girls weren’t harboring some mystery of getting to know them that I wasn’t privy to. That I could have talked to them and not be greeted with uproarious laughter! What a discovery that would have been.
Uproarious laughter would have been fine. It was the prospect of scornful laughter that paralyzed me with fear.
What I don’t know about pediatrics could fill several libraries, but…
For most of these “relationships” in the 7th grade or thereabouts, the entirety consists of the boy and girl claiming that the other is their boyfriend/girlfriend, but that’s the beginning and the end of it. They might even hold hands or steal a kiss.
I am no expert either but I used to work at Planned Parenthood way, way back and I can say, at least then, you’d be very surprised at how many 13 year olds went way beyond holding hands. Not saying all do, but some certainly do (or at least did back in the 90s but I’d be surprised if they have slowed down).
Nah, man. Thats kindergarten.
By 7th grade, girls are getting boobs and boys are popping boners. There’s a lot of feeling up and making out going on, albeit amongst a minority of students.
Or engage in oral sex because they are fearful of pregnancy but don’t feel empowered enough to obtain protection.
Or end up having intercourse because, well, they are pubescent and the internet is readily accessible.
If a parent was to err on the side of caution, those are valid considerations.
LMAO, the irony is crazy because I’m not 13, I’m still 12. and 364 days would be a big difference. That’s a kid to teen for crying out loud!
Exactly.
Throughout school I was very close to the youngest age allowed in my grade. And I was and still am kinda small as boys/men go. So substantially all the other boys were bigger and older, up to 11 months older. The girls might not have been bigger, but they were equally older, up to 11 months.
Which difference looms large at your age. The younger you are within your grade peers, the less I’d sweat any notion of “I’m behind in my socialization & mad GF-getting skillz”.
Really depends on what you mean by “thereabouts” - there’s a huge difference between 7th grade and 9th grade. Especially in places where 7th grade is in elementary or middle school and 9th grade is in high school. Even though the youngest 9th grader might be only few weeks older than the oldest 7th grader.
I went junior high(7th and 8th grades) in the late 80s and never HAD a girlfriend. And my three older sisters never “dated” either until high school.
The school I went to was a combined junior-senior high school–Grades 7 through 12 all in one building. The study halls and lunch periods were mixed with all grades at the same time. I mention this because every year two or three junior high age girls would end up pregnant usually by high school age boyfriends. As you can imagine the situation did NOT make parents happy and they ended building a separate high school with only Grades 9 through 12.
For reference I live in a rural area and the high schools covered a fairly large area with some students have to take an hour bus ride to school.
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