What is it with 12, 13 14-year-olds already going around with bfs/gfs? Don't know when the world came to this.

A12 year old tells me about the 'couples' in his batch. A13yo from an all-girls school tells me the names of her batchmates' bfs. In girls' school how do they manage, I ask. Instagram, she tells me. Why Instagram? Coz FB has parents and relatives. Genius

This child goes to an all-girls Islamic school complete with hijab. The have Deeniyat as a subject and the girls know hadeeth on their fingertips.

These girls, as well as most of their boyfriends, hail from practicing Muslim families knowing very well that Islam explicitly prohibits relationship with a non-mahram.

Two questions arise here. 1) Why do they need a bf/gf at this age when they should be playing and hopping around. 2) How do they manage to hide the going-ons from their parents?

The answer to both the questions is the same. The parents are simply too busy to pay attention/give time to their children. Naturally, in that case, the child looks for other avenues to fulfill her/his emotional needs.

With the means of communication, they have at their disposal and the hormones raging in their system what better source of emotional fulfillment than a bf/gf?

And then there are TV programs adding fuel to the fire. As a parent of growing children, this has become my foremost concern having quickly replaced dietary and study-related problems.

Honestly, grades don't matter and they won't help much if the child is racing towards self-created hell hole of emotional turmoil--that's just what romantic flings at this tender age translate into.

Sooner or later there will be a breakup then heartbreak, then emotional breakdown. Not to talk of the constant stress created in the attempt to look attractive for the opposite gender.

I hope my thread motivates parents to sit down with their children & take stock of their emotional status. I will inshaAllah stay interactive on this thread. There are things I want to say and there are things I want to learn. U all are welcome to comment and interact with me