Dating, Cohabitation, and Marriage

The appropriate age to begin dating in my view should be around fifteen to sixteen years of age for females and perhaps a year older for males (sixteen to seventeen). I have suggested these ages because the maturity and responsibility required for dating should have reached the necessary levels by these ages. Males have been proven to mature at a slightly older age than girls so that is why I have suggested older ages for males. Also, this allows for females to date slightly older males.

In my opinion parents do have different expectations for females than they do for males, this is partly due to the fact that females bear children and therefore face more consequence for irresponsible decisions as well as the fact that body structures and physical capabilities tend to be weaker in females which would create a need for protection from aggressors.

I do not believe that you should only date someone for whom there is an immediate attraction as the necessary qualities for a lasting relationship do not result from physical attraction. However, I do believe that you shouldn't date someone who you find repulsive as physical attraction is an important part of a relationship. I would suggest that you weigh the values and morals against the deficiency in appearances to find out if it is a workable relationship for you.

Describing a negative experience that I've had when dating is hard for me, my most negative experiences are all understandable and typical such as arguments both verbal and non-communicative. One such example of this was just last week when I argued with my girlfriend about how we would spend the holidays together. As this is our first Christmas break together, we disagreed on how and where we would celebrate. I wanted...

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...are a huge part of a relationship. A negative aspect that could result from focusing too much on romantic love could be unrealistic expectations such as “perfect intimacy”, unfulfilled fantasies, and a disproportionate disappointment in disagreements.

Using my parents as an example again I think that the division of labour in is fairly equal. My father is the sole “breadwinner” of the family as he works a full time job while my mom stays at home. While my mother isn't earning money, she acts as a homemaker, mother, and is responsible for the accounting and general maintenance of the household (not including heavy physical labour which she usually delegates to the stronger males of the home). My mother used to have a full time job but she quit after she realized that she wanted to focus more on her relationship with her children as well as her desire to homeschool.