When she was starting to date at 13, I scared the fellow silly. Partly because I was angry with her because she knew my wife and I had said no dating until high school. She mostly towed the line and struck a reasonable deal. No real dates, just group dates at the roller rinks and other very public places.

She's now 15 and has dated for a year or so.

The real solution has been that we gave her a lot of personal freedom to make decisions starting at a young age. We'd guide and suggest, and say no to some things we didn't feel she could decide intelligently, but for the most part we raised a very self-confident girl.

Consequently, at this point, it's her choice to make. I feel confident whatever she chooses to do, it'll be on her terms and that's all I can really feel happy about as a parent. Her mom and I have told her we hope she'll wait a while, but to talk to her Mom if she needs protection and we'll go see the doctor, no questions asked.

If she dated someone I was concerned about, someone with classic manipulation signs she might not see, I'd speak up. But for the most part, she surrounds herself with people that are like her, so we don't have to step in.