On my soap Box

Over at Faith and Family today there is a discussion going on about when "good" parents should allow their children to date. This discussion is near and dear to me as I have a nineteen year old daughter who started attending school dances her Freshman year in High school and a sixteen year old son who is now doing the same.
What is amazing is that there seems to be no middle ground. There are people over there who do not believe that anyone should allow their children to even attend a school dance( unless with a group of friends. Never one on one)
I think that perhaps many get their thoughts from their bad experiences as dating teens.I guess that if I think about it, I do understand how my generation has messed up and paid the price for casual dating( as well as other things) and wants to spare their children the same drama. Statistically speaking , I come from a generation where many were not taught much in the way of morals. No surprise this generation has had amazingly high numbers of sex partners as well as high rates of sexually transmitted disease, teen pregnancies, and so on. This saddens me as it only seems to be getting worse. Yes I can see where many parents are now looking around and realizing that something has got to be done before their child becomes a statistic. But forbidding dating, is this really a good answer ? I personally don't think so. I believe that the answer lies in teaching our children morals, simple right from wrong. However, the snag is, how can we teach our sons to respect the girls that they date or our daughters to respect the boys they date if all they are taught is get what you want from the relationship and forget about the other person's feelings. After all this is all they see . How about teaching respect for wedding vows when they are surrounded by infidelity and divorce? How can we teach abstinence until marriage when society actually glorifies unwed pregnancy ? How about the fact that many have made their own mistakes and would be a hypocrite for preaching abstinence when they lived together and had many children out of wedlock ? Yes I think that we parents have our work cut out for us but what do we do ? Should we just set back and watch our kids mess up like we may have ? I don't think this is wise. How about starting with a "I love you and don't want you to make the same mistakes that I have" Then go on to teach right from wrong. Teach morality. Don't restrict our children and make dating taboo, but teach them that one can spend time with one of the opposite sex without doing immoral things. Gee people the future is in our hands, don't drop the ball or hide your head in the sand, this is too important.If you have any , admit your failings and teach your children.We can be the start of change. Our children are worth it !