Introducing Your Date To Your Family

A girl can ask a boy in whom she’s interested to drop by her home for a Sunday afternoon TV show when conversation with her family can be relaxed and casual over a bowl of popcorn or a cup of cocoa. Parents who have had a chance to see a boy and talk with him will think of him as a person rather than just a boy in the abstract. It’s up to the girl to arrange a meeting that will be most comfortable for her, the boy, and her parents.

It’s customary for a boy to call for his date at her home. She greets him at the door and brings him in to meet her family. As she introduces her mother to her date, she says, “Mother, this is Jim. He’s in my history class and helped me find that reference I was looking for last week.” This gives Mother some talking point with Jim. Similarly when a girl introduces a date to her father, she might say, “Dad, this is Jim. He’s on the basketball team this year.” If Dad has everplayed basketball, there will be no pause in the conversation. A girl continues to acquaint her family with her date by dropping such little conversation-starters from time to time, and soon Jim and her folks get past that first embarrassment to a free and easy flow of talk. When the couple finally go off on their date, the girl’s parents can feel more secure. They have met their daughter’s escort and know by first-hand experience that he’s “nice.”

A boy may not find it quite as easy to arrange a meeting between his parents and a new girl, partly because it’s not expected that he will bring his girl home until the relationship is fairly far along. His parents can be helpful in arranging simple little outings such as picnics, fishing trips, or a backyard barbecue to which the girl may be invited along with other young people. Or the boy himself can invite a few friends over for an informal get-together, then casually introduce a new girl friend to his parents in a setting that doesn’t commit anyone. Sometimes a young fellow who doesn’t drive a car finds it easy for his parents to get acquainted with a girl when they chauffeur the pair to school, church, and community functions.

An older fellow who drives the family car can sometimes arrange to pick up his girl friend while he is driving his mother on an errand or taking his parents to some affair. A college boy can invite a girl, and perhaps another couple, to his home for a week end. Or he can have his parents as his guests on the campus for a Saturday game at which time they get to know the girl with whom he’s going. These things can be done easily, once the persons involved grant their importance. The first and most important step is recognizing that parents have a right to be interested in your dates—and letting them in on the situation as soon as possible.