General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Is it okay for a 18 year old to have sex with a 14 year old [View all]Hekate
(91,344 posts)The law takes a dim view of the age of consent issue.
My advice -- same as always -- is to tell boys and girls about the birds and the bees and the law, too. (Not that either one of them asked me, mind you, but at least they knew the facts of life.)
Adolescents are not known for using their heads all the time when it comes to hormonal urges. But if my 18 year old son was ogling a 14 year old and I knew about it, I'd tell him to look for someone his own age, and I'd tell him why. If my daughter was all googly-eyed over an 18 y.o. while she was still in middle school, I'd tell her the same thing. Both parties are vulnerable -- a 14 y.o. is exploitable, and an 18 y.o. is still not quite an adult but will be treated like one by the law.
So glad to be a grandma now,
Hekate
P.S. As to the comments about age of consent for marriage in the US: I hope to God it is no longer 13 y.o. in any state in the Union, the way it was when I was a girl. I remember reading about that when I was 12, and I sat with that and thought about an entire possible life being cut short. That's just wrong.