My oldest son just started junior high this year and a couple of Saturdays ago he nearly stopped my heart when he said, “Mom? I need to talk to you about something.”
I plastered on my “calm face” and said “Sure honey,” while inside my mind was racing trying to figure out what he might need to say. Was it drugs? Sex? Alcohol? Bullying? What?! Luckily, I dismissed most of those out of hand, and was rewarded when all my son really wanted was to know if he could go to the movies with a group of friends. Of course, when I asked who was going he casually mentioned the name of the girl he has been interested in. I know this because I routinely ask him if there is anyone at school that he likes.
I’m not going to lie, my first reaction was “NO!” I mean, he’s my baby! And he wants to go out with some girl?
Fortunately my husband was able to talk me down and we decided that going to the movies with a group of friends is a great, low pressure way for him to get to know this girl. We talked about the movie choice and what we expected his behavior to be. I also talked to him about boundaries and he suggested that his boundary be holding hands.
He had a great time and I felt good about giving him the space and the information to be able to make healthy choices for himself.
Although he did say the movie wasn’t very good, but they can’t all be gems!
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