Kids in love—it’s easy to see it as a simple, picture-perfect state. But there’s another angle we need to notice. Divorce, unwed mothers, abortion—all involve a form of romance gone awry. As Mike Farris shares today on Home School Heartbeat, many of these problems started back in childhood and early adolescence.
Mike Farris:
A federal trial centered around the circumstances that caused a 13-year-old girl to commit suicide after the break-up of a romantic relationship on MySpace. The national response focused on cyber-bullying and harassment—and of course, that needs some attention. But apparently, nobody worries about the potentially dire consequences of 13-year-olds engaging in romantic relationships.
Recent studies have found that teenage pregnancy rates continue to rise in this country. Notably, the highest rates are in traditionally conservative, so-called red states, including the Bible belt. Secular commentators have had a field day discussing the fact that evangelical teens have sex at a younger age and with more partners than non-evangelicals. Researchers focus on sex, but nobody talks about the danger of children playing with romance.
Pro-family conservatives have long preached that young people should practice physical abstinence before marriage. Liberals have labeled such advice as unrealistic. It is unrealistic to expect a teenager who’s been pursuing a romantic relationship since age 12 or so to have only a limited physical relationship for many, many years.
Children in their early teens are simply too young to handle both the physical and the emotional side of a romantic relationship.
I’m Mike Farris.
