Love at the Movies

Saturday night my husband and I decided to take the kids to the movies. They LOVE going to the movie theater. We bought our tickets online spent a small fortune on popcorn and sprite and then entered the theater. "Hotel for Dogs" was being shown in one of the smaller theaters so we had to search for 4 perfect seats. I thought I saw 4 seat together dead center of the top row, I told my six year old to lead the way. As we are climbing the steps to the top, I notice that right next to the supposed 4 seats were two kids. I saw them gaze into each others eyes and then proceed to make out.
I processed the situation very quickly. Before Caroline even noticed the prepubescent lovers, I redirected her to 4 seats near the front of the theater. Once we got settled in our seats, I thought about Romeo and Juliet sitting on the top row. I took a moment to really determine their age. I would guess 6th grade; maybe you could push it and say 7th. Perhaps it was divine intervention (for them and my kids) that the seats next to the love birds were not empty. I can only imagine how long I would have held my tongue before I started in on the two of them. What I really wondered was where were their parents? Obviously they had been dropped off. How could the parents have thought this was a good idea. The way those two were going at it, makes me understand why kids are sexually active at a younger age. Seeing that much action at 12, what is left to do at 14 but go all the way.
The young mind takes a long time to develop, most studies indicate it is around age 22. While our children don't want us meddling in their social lives, we must protect them from behaving in a risky manner. Once those hormones kick in, they certainly cannot be responsible for themselves. They may hate us and think we are too strict. I for one am very thankful for my strict parents, protecting me from myself. The more I thought about the situation over the weekend I realized the blame that must lay at the parent's feet. We cannot be held accountable for the actions are kids make, but we are accountable if we place them in precarious situations. We should not condone dating in the 3rd grade. You don't go out and buy your child's girlfriend/boyfriend a Christmas present in the 4th grade. Society is already forcing our children to grow up way too fast, so why would we enable this process? Remember we are the parents not the best friend. There will be plenty of time to be friends with our kids...after they grow up!