HOW TO GROW UP-CRUSHES

Don't mistake the crushes you're having on boys now that you are a preteen or in your early teenage years with the more serious relationships you'll have when you get into your later teens.

Personally, I don't recommend girls and guys date until they're sixteen, although this can vary with individual teens. This is because before this age, your feelings and attitudes about things are constantly changing. By the time you're sixteen, you have at least a slightly better idea of what you're looking for in a guy.

The purpose of dating is to prepare for marriage. It is a way to weed out the kind of guys you wouldn't want to spend the rest of your life with.

For now, enjoy the crushes you have. However, instead of taking a crush on a date where it's just the two of you, hang out with a group of friends. This will also help relieve the pressure and nervousness an actual date would cause.

At the beginning of any relationship, it is a good idea to kick things off by having the boy come over to your house for dinner, Sunday lunch or some other meal. This way, your parents can meet the boy and give you guidance as to whether he is the kind of guy a girl should truly be with. This may seem annoying and meddlesome, but your parents want you to have a happy life and a happy fulfilling marriage when you become an adult. Taking the suggestion of having a boy you like over to your house will help ensure that.

There is a lot of bad stuff out there these days in the form of music, TV, movies, literature, and websites that glorifies girls going for "bad boys." Don't go out with a bad boy. They may seem exciting, but this will only lead to bad consequences. You could end up being pressured into having sex with him, which is something only married couples should engage in as God originally intended.

Also, the bad boy will probably end up walking out on you at some point in the future, maybe leaving you with a few small children to care for on your own.

Again, I must repeat, don't mistake the crushes you are currently having for the more serious relationships you'll have a few years from now. Besides, when the time comes for those serious relationships to happen, you won't even remember the names of the boys you're presently crushing on anyway.