Yes, they did.
I could see" a boy as a freshman in high school - at parties;
in my home; his home; go to the movies with him - as long as
my parents or his parents drove us and picked us up.

One of my friends told my mother she was ruining my social life
(my Mom told me this - she was amused) because ...
I was not allowed to go with a boy who was doing the driving until
I was sixteen.
(Actually I was 15 and 10 months) - I went with a boy in Colorado the
summer before I was 16 - because my parents knew his parents. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

My social life survived the whole awful thing!
It was my schoolwork that suffered - AFTER I was allowed to date.

I know -now- my parents were right - about me.
My son's father/my 1st husband
(Yup - met him in high school) has a younger brother, Barry, who
swears to this day! that Rob caused him to have much stricter rules
because "when ROB was your age" [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] he did all kinds of things his parents
didn't approve of - (and that Barry would NEVER have done.)
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

You have to know your child-each is different.
Even in the same household.

I had to sneak as my parents did not want me to date until I was out of the house. My first girlfriend was when I was in 7th grade, and all because of religion I never could bring a girl home, they were just to strict. I left home at 19 for good.

Ron,
Wow -"out of the house" ?
That does seem a little too strict.

Because I being Jewish had to date a Jewish girl. That for me was impossibe living in an all Christian town. Now why would my parents live in a town full of Italians Catholics, and expect me to date a Jewish girl. I could not even bring my wife to the house. My father was her 8th grade science teacher. Her Father and mine played golf together, played cards and drank beer together. Nope, We found this great apt. for 90 a month, and at 19 we moved in together. I never went back.

Ja'aj, I know many parents who had the rules yours had. It seems like a really good idea.

Ron.... That had to be a really hard one to deal with!

I wasn't much into dating, but remember the first boy I really cared about. He was so different from all the others. He brought me cards to school and didn't try to keep up with the "guys". He showed respect and never got out of line. I remember his name and a lot more. We dated, but not the normal way... just seemed to being dating?

Ron,
I've always thought that the fastest way to realize your fears
is to tell someone - particularly a teenaged child - "No."
It is amazing how interested they become in the forbidden.
Most of my friends certainly in high school were Jewish-
They were allowed to date whomever they chose.
To my knowledge none of them ever intended to be or was
"serious" about someone who was not Jewish.
Not one of them married outside their faith.

Bree,
This boy - [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] - How old were you?

Thats interesting Ja'aj but because the non Jew was a no no for us, all 3 of us married non Jewish women. I have no idea why it worked out that way but it did. My older bro has been maried for at least 40 yrs. or longer me 30 plus 6, my middle bro 25 yrs. I think. Actually we had all married Catholic women.

Ron,
Were all 3 women you and your brothers met from the "Catholic town"
where you lived with your parents?
I really think chosing someone's friends is always a mistake.
Kids are frequently smarter/more perceptive than they are
given credit for being.
Also, teenagers - more than any other "given" group of humans -
are famous for 'biting off their noses to spite their faces'.
And they will never! back down until the authority figure backs off.

It's great! that all 3 of you married happily. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
And not all that common, inside or outside one's faith.
(I bet your wives' Church had a lot! to say about marrying outside their faith...)

Or... did your wives not consult with Mother Church? Gotta love it... [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

We all got married by the Justice of the Peace. I married my hometown sweetie, but only after we had both gone to college. We had never dated before. The other 2 brothers had married outside of town, one was in the Air Force, the other brother the same thing. God was important to all of us but the church was not. I see God everywhere, I don't see him in just a church, neither did my brothers. I never wanted to spite my parents, I was just crazy in Love. We got married when we were 21. Love is all powerful. My second brother had first married a Jewish girl , oh man he got everything, the Europe honeymoon, big diamond ring, everything, but they got divorced. It took him 3 times to find the right one.

I was a little over 14. Even then, it was easy to pick out the decent ones and he was one of a very small minority of decent guys. I think it has something to do with the way they are raised, values they are taught and how they are taught to treat women?

Ron,
I see that your brother subscribes to the "gonna keep trying until I get it right"
school of marriage theories. Good for him! That one takes a lot of courage
(or stupidity - depending)
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]Definitely stupidity in my case if I were to go with it.

I agree with you... God : yes. Church : not-so-much.
Man just WILL impose his own opinions for his own
(not always or even frequently altruistic) purposes.


I also agree that love is a law unto itself. All the logic -
yours, mine, anyone's in the world will not change it.
It is amazing to me that we "average 50%" - given the
nature of love.. and marriage. Especially marriage.


Bree,
You were a perceptive young woman, weren'tcha?
He sounds like a keeper!