Can it ever be ok to start a relationship with a teenager?

Part One of Two
Please search for Part Two, it should be far…

Good day to all,

I realise that many of you will be eager to hand out your wrath and judgement on this article, and me. All I ask is that you read it with an open mind and wait until the very end before making your judgement and opinion.

For the last few months, something has changed for me regarding a person I have known for years. There is a girl I have become more than a little attracted to(whom I know through my local church group and until recently never thought of as anything more than a child) What concerns me is her age. She is 16. I am 28.

Now, in the United Kingdom where we live, it is legal to smoke, join the army, consent to have sex, get married at the age of 16.

I want to do none of those things with this girl, at least for the foreseeable future. Potentially I will want to marry her one day(and of course everything that goes along with it) as I would never enter into any relationship that did not have at least the potential of being “for keeps”. Believe it or not, I am a moral person. I want to do the right thing by her and by me and by all the people we both hold dear. I just need to make sure that whatever I do it is morally right. Come to think of it, would an immoral person be writing this at all? Doubtful.

I have gone over so many scenarios in my head: mostly about what people would say. My family, her family, my friends, her friends etc. Whether good or bad, you respect and care for the things that those people close to you think. I don’t want to upset those people. I am good friends with her family, including her parents. My family are good friends with her family. They are all good people. I don’t want to spoil that. Do you see how I am torn? I read elsewhere: Wouldn’t any parent be upset/angry/disappointed to learn that their 16 year old daughter is dating a 28 year old man? A common point that is made. But is the answer always: “of course, absolutely” or should it sometimes be: “depends on the man”. Indeed, is there not many 17-19 year old young men that would be far worse candidates for their daughter, than an honest and caring 28 year old man? Does being of a similar age mean you are automatically a prime candidate for everyone else in your age range? Does age really matter?

continued in Part Two...