Me, my wife, the boat, and the lake take second chair.

[Craig]

I got a dose of reality this evening that I'm not overly thrilled about. We have been planning all week to get out on the lake this coming Saturday since they are forecasting mid 80's and sunny weather. We even shuffled some things around to make it happen since opportunities are getting fewer as the season winds down for watersports. So my 14 year old son comes to me and tells me he doesn't want to go, but instead wants to go hang out with a girl?!?! I knew the day was coming but was hoping for a little while longer. I know, I know...it's inevitable and I have to accept it.

 

[SCSTWG]

I have (3) girls. You have to worry about (1) D*^k. I have to worry about millions.

 

[Bruce]

Invite her out on the boat!

 

[Evildwarf]

Perhaps your son would like to bring the young lady for a lake day. Then you would know where they were and how well supervised they are.
That works for us, we always know how well supervised the kids are when they are with us.
Not telling you how to parent, just sharing what works under my roof (or in my boat)

 

[Seadeals]

I'm with @SWSTWG. I have three girls. Cry me a river. Just kidding. Such milestones are truly profound and I can't even fathom how I will feel when my girls start to feel that way (especially the first). I hope it gets easier as I go through that; but they have been so different (yet so alike) and so unpredictable as little growing individuals, I do not expect to acquire proficiency in any arena. It is probably way taboo for the girl "friend" to meet the parents this soon even if you do have an awesome boat; but keep that trick in your back pocket. When things get more serious, it is better they have fun spending time with you than elsewhere. I say you don't have to accept it...you do have to live with it until you can.

 

[Craig]

Invite her out on the boat!

We offered but her parents are hesitant since this is a "new" thing and nobody knows each other. Time will tell..

 

[Ronnie]

We offered but her parents are hesitant since this is a "new" thing and nobody knows each other. Time will tell..

Bummer, I bet your son is down with the idea. His date would likely be in a bikini for most of the day and also wet for some of it. Just saying ....

I'm usually very careful with someone else's kids (e.g. personally select and fit the vest, teach them all the signals, let them be the chicken on the tube, etc.) but have found taking new kids on easier when at least one of the parents is on the boat as well at least the first time. Once they see that their kid is having fun and the risks are minimized they usually don't mind sitting the next run or day out. Have you thought about inviting them all out? If the lake is close they could just come out for the morning to try it out and decide if they should let her daughter stay for the rest of the day.

 

[Bruce]

We offered but her parents are hesitant since this is a "new" thing and nobody knows each other. Time will tell..

Invite her family.

My kids are young (7 and 5) so I am really new at this. We try to get to know the parents of the kids our kids spend time with. As they get older I want to continue that. If meeting their friends family means I pay for the gas and food for the day on the water I am ok with that.

 

[Suchawittygal]

Invite her family.

My kids are young (7 and 5) so I am really new at this. We try to get to know the parents of the kids our kids spend time with. As they get older I want to continue that. If meeting their friends family means I pay for the gas and food for the day on the water I am ok with that.

That's exactly what I was going to say.

 

[Britboater]

Blink and your children are adults!

 

[Evildwarf]

Some solid parenting advice going on here.
I like the idea of including the parents as well, that way you can somewhat scope out their value system before allowing your child to spend time with them.
We don't do "dates" with our kids, and we try to downplay the whole "girlfriend/boyfriend" idea. Instead we do things as a family group with friends included. That way the interested party (so to speak) experiences our value systems and we get to know the "friend". The boat has been good for this. Since we are a lake community here in Woodstock most families spend time on the lake so it is not a foreign idea to a family when we suggest time on the boat.
We have found you can pack a bunch of teenagers into the bow of the 242!

 

[Craig]

Agreed, at 14 we don't do "dates" per se either unless chaperoned and on a "no more than 1 per month" basis. Invited the family as well, apparently they have a family function to go to. Now the truth comes out, my son now admits he was invited to go to their family reunion over a week ago.

To be honest I should probably clarify, my op was more me whining about my kid growing up. We can handle the "girlfriend" issue. Honestly might be selfish, but you just want your kids to stay your "kids" for as long as possible.

 

[waterboy]

@SCSTWG @Seadeals I have 3 girls too that are 13, 18 and 20. I know the pain well.

I agree, best thing to do is to get them to bring them out on the boat. Now the good and the bad of this...

The good - We have 2 tubes we run and the kids like dueling tubes to see who can throw the other off. I enjoy watching my daughters kick some "cool" dude off the tube because he hasn;t figured out the weight balance on the first few runs. What a hoot.

The bad - when the dude puts his arm around your duaghter on the bow of the boat while you are driving.

 

[Gym]

@SCSTWG @Seadeals I have 3 girls too that are 13, 18 and 20. I know the pain well.
I agree, best thing to do is to get them to bring them out on the boat. Now the good and the bad of this...
The good - We have 2 tubes we run and the kids like dueling tubes to see who can throw the other off. I enjoy watching my daughters kick some "cool" dude off the tube because he hasn;t figured out the weight balance on the first few runs. What a hoot.
The bad - when the dude puts his arm around your duaghter on the bow of the boat while you are driving.

That's when you do the sub move to cool them both off.

 

[waterboy]

I will add something else... when we had our first daughter and she was still an infant, we would boat with other couples. One of our buddies with their own boat had kids that were in high school and they still boated with them. He said that was the beauty of boating, you get the kids and their friends still wanting to hang with you when they are in high school and beyond because it is something fun to do. My 20 year old still loves to go on the boat and will bring her boyfriends with her. I encourage it and have fun with it too.

Embrace them boating with you and hopefully they will continue!!

 

[Big Shasta]

Some solid parenting advice going on here.
I like the idea of including the parents as well, that way you can somewhat scope out their value system before allowing your child to spend time with them.
We don't do "dates" with our kids, and we try to downplay the whole "girlfriend/boyfriend" idea. Instead we do things as a family group with friends included. That way the interested party (so to speak) experiences our value systems and we get to know the "friend". The boat has been good for this. Since we are a lake community here in Woodstock most families spend time on the lake so it is not a foreign idea to a family when we suggest time on the boat.
We have found you can pack a bunch of teenagers into the bow of the 242!

My wifes sister and her family live in woodstock - Eagle Watch. They boat on the big lake near there (I forget what lake it is) they have one of those vhull pontoon type boats.

 

[lashburn1]

....I have 3 girls 10-12-15..... they are turning on me slowly....but we always, let them bring friends
I have not had to encounter the Boyfriend thing yet.....

 

[rkluck]

I will just echo what everyone has said. I have both daughters and sons (and nieces and nephews) ranging from 14 to 31. Every child is different and I have one that has not wanted "friends" on the boat. But overall they enjoy inviting their friends on the boat. I have had the parents come as well but normally not. There are usually several kids so they are not alone. It makes for a great time to get to know each other people. The kids just enjoy the boat and water so much it takes away the stress. Nowadays with everyone posting to Facebook, and the like, parents are almost there on the boat anyway (as well as a bunch of others HA!).

 

[BigN8]

My girls are 14 and 15. Seems they just aren't real interested in boating anymore. They take pre AP and AP classes and both play sports so when the weekend comes, if they don't have tournaments, they just want to chill out at the house. Half the times it's just me and my wife on the boat for a few hours. One day my oldest asked her friend to come out on the lake and her mom said no because there are alligators in lake lewisville. I just threw up my hands and said REALLY??

 

[Evildwarf]

My wifes sister and her family live in woodstock - Eagle Watch. They boat on the big lake near there (I forget what lake it is) they have one of those vhull pontoon type boats.

Most likely Allatoona which is right here in Woodstock, although "the big lake" would be Lanier although that's almost an hour from here.