Some people say courtship avoids the pain and pitfalls of dating by offering a safe environment and keeping parents involved in the lives of their children. Others suggest that dating can be a successful way to build a relationship if proper boundaries are established and enforced. When it comes to the relationship ritual, it is certainly worth asking if there might be a better plan for young people.
What is courtship?.
In short, courtship applies a marriage mindset to your relationships "from the initial group dates to the wedding day. While it doesn't require you to stay home every Saturday night, it does urge caution about where you spend time with potential mates and for how long. The carefulness and purposefulness of the process stand in stark contrast to dating.
DATING .
Pre-adolescence .
During early childhood, the idea of dating is a farfetched thought, mostly because romantic relationships among children are not accepted in our culture. It is during adolescence that this idea of dating becomes increasingly popular, however. "Preadolescence is generally a period of same-sex identification and friendships. As teenagers move through adolescence however, opposite sex relationships become a greater part of one's life, and dating becomes more socially acceptable (Hass,1979)."" .
Mid-adolescence .
Although dating becomes more common in mid-adolescence, the relationships that exist between teens are not necessarily intimate ones. Even though adolescents at this stage seem to get excited about the possibility of dating, the type of dating that occurs is typically informal (Adler & Adler, 1998). Going out in groups is a common practice of preadolescents that allows boys and girls to spend time together outside the school setting with little pressure or anxiety. Gradually these groups drift off into couples, and the concept of dating changes to a more formal idea than the coed get-togethers.
