Teenagers and Dating in the Time of Covid

By Juliana Lewellen

As a parent with a never-ending list of worries about your child, one thing is certain: managing your own feelings toward your teen beginning to date is a challenge!

This is a tale as old as time. Your son or daughter starts to have romantic interests, or they start to feel lonely without a relationship, and you start to feel the hairs on your head turn grey. 

Although this is a stage of life most parents go through with their kids, things are looking a lot different for today’s teens because of the pandemic. 

Let’s face it, the past year-and-a-half has made teenagers miss out on some of the most iconic times in a person’s life.

 From asking peers to prom, flirting with crushes at their locker, first dates at the movies, and so much more, you as a parent got to experience some of these amazing memories that are now a lot more complicated for teens to experience. 

Although I’m sure you had your own obstacles (maybe you snuck dating behind your parents back… we don’t judge!), without a doubt the pandemic has made dating a lot more complicated for your teen than it already was.

With that being said, it is super important to promote healthy romantic relationships for your teen during a time when they may already be struggling with this enough as it is.

1. Be supportive. Whether they seem to be feeling lonely without a romantic relationship, they are frustrated because COVID makes seeing their partner difficult, or they are going through a breakup, make sure you have a supportive voice in this. 

This may be stressful for you, and that is normal. However, it’s always important to remember that being unsupportive just results in more feelings of loneliness and isolation at a time when those feelings are at an all-time-high already. 

Support is always good for a teen’s self confidence.

2. Have empathy. Think about all of the things you got to experience as a something-teen-year-old that your child will not be able to do. Being a teenager is so hard as it is, and they have already missed out on so much. Let them know that you see that. 

There is absolutely nothing wrong with literally saying, “I am seeing how hard it is to maintain these feelings right now. I am here for you if you need any advice or want to vent.” 

A lot of times parents miss opportunities to leave the ball in their kid’s court because they forget to say something so small that means so much.

3. Healthy boundaries, healthy boundaries, healthy boundaries. This is a thing all the time, in any romantic relationship, but now we’ve got to prioritize COVID safety guidelines as well. 

Work together to set some ground rules and make it known that their health is of utmost importance, so that they see that you are not just trying to keep them from dating. 

If they want to have some Facetime dates, give them space. 

Give them your best parent to child dating talk, muster up the courage to be open-minded, 

If they are going through a rough breakup, tell them you are here for them, give them your favorite breakup song playlist and SPACE to let them feel their feelings.

It may not be the easiest task, but our kids who have to be teens in times like these really do deserve as much support, empathy, and understanding as possible about their romantic interests.

Having open communication about this is important, and can really make your parent-child relationship stronger. Your teen will surely thank you for it--someday at least!