Can A 21 Year old Date a 16 Year old?

I say try it. My boyfriend just turned 20 and I'm 17 and we have been together for almost a year. I couldn't be happier. Girls mature faster than guys so the maturity level will balance itself out. I've only ever dated older guys and I have found no problem with it. If they like it each other age won't matter. Just be careful that he is not breaking any age of consent laws!

Age doesn't matter. my boyfriend tells me this all the time. I'm 15, he's 19. It's illegal yeah but I mean age doesn't matter as long as both of them are truly happy. My mom knows I'm with him and she prefers me with him then anyone else. I didn't tell my dad though, we're not really close and I don't want to know how he would react to that. So if they are both happy and want to go through with it tell them to go for it.

And if she wants to tell her mom than that's fine. just don't get stuck on the age thing. because she won't be 16 forever I mean she'll be 30 he'll be 35 that's not a big difference.

I wouldn't do it. I'd be so pissed if a guy that much older than my daughter even thought about dating her. Tell him to find a girl his own age. If it's meant to be then they can date when she is legal.

I agree with The-Nash - make sure he talks to her parents. Family disapproval can ruin a relationship, and that age gap is one that might prompt her father greeting him with a shotgun at some point.

Also, make sure he checks the laws in that area. If it's going to be statutory rape if he has sex with her, or aggravated child molestation if they do anything else, it's probably not a good idea, and they should wait until she's 'legal'. Because her parents can file charges and try to convince her that he did something (I'm not saying anything about her, just that that *is* a possibility), and voila, he's in jail for who knows how long and on a sex offender registry.

The general "rule of thumb" is take the age, divide by two, and add seven. 21/2 = 10.5 Plus 7.

That means generally, he should be dating 17 years old or older. Like I said though, it's a general rule of thumb. I was surprised by how a lot of 16 year olds were dating 23 year olds. It seemed a little strange. High school is A LOT different from college.

But, then again, some people are pretty mature. Then again, I know of 30 year olds who haven't gotten out of middle school as far as maturity and responsibility goes. I know 35 year old "girls." And I know some 17 year old WOMEN.

Ideally, a lot of people mature between Sophomore year of high school and Sophomore year of college, and it would make things a little trickier with finding time for the relationship, needs and desires, responsibilities, etc.

Ultimately, if both can handle it maturely, and if the parents have no objections, it's not a huge issue, though your brother should consider some caution, because maturity level aside, he could get into a lot of trouble if they went too far (intimately).

What in the world is a 21 year old dude doing with a 16 year old girl? The guy's a loser, that's equivalent of a teenager going out with someone from middle school.

He's 21 out of the house, working or college and can't find someone on the same maturity level as himself, so he down grades to a sophomore? 19 is pushing it for dating a high schooler but after that, you've been out in the real world... why would you want to revisit a person with the mindset of still obeying mommy and daddy's house rules?

+ 2 for DeanW

I dated a girl when she just turned 15 when I was 19 and well the weird thing is that the parents set us up.. Her parents loved me a lot and her mom was really cool about the hole thing but her mom knew me when I was 15 so. I say do what the nash said and talk to the parents but don't get angry if they say no. I mean I would say no lol.

If they really are going to go through with it, I would talk to the parents of the girl or whoever like that. Try to ask questions to get a feel as to what would cause outside conflict to the relationship. I wouldn't do this myself, and you can't control your brothers actions; the best you can do is try to steer him in the right direction, and watch his back because you wouldn't want anything to happen to your brother. Lol, unless your the kind of brothers, where you got to put him in a sleeper hold, until he understands what kind of situation he may be putting himself into. Also, If I was the dad of the 16 year old girl, I'd be pretty pissed when I found out she was dating a 21 year old guy, and nobody told me of the situation. So you may want to start by talking to him.