A question about relationships

[winston89]

Posted: 11/13/11 at 7:43pm

For the past year I have been a mentor to a great bunch of high school aged guys. I was just finishing up an email from one of them that got me thinking. A lot of what they talk to me about is relationships with girls/girlfriends. And, the way that they talk kind of shocks me a little bit. They talk to me about how they are angry at their girlfriend because she is talking to someone that they don't like. Or that she is doing something that he told her not to do etc. It's as if he owns her.

On the flip side, come to someone around my age, and there is a lot more openness and trust in a relationship. If the girl has platonic guy friends, it's okay because the guy knows his girlfriend and trusts that she isn't going to sleep with her friend etc.

I guess my question is this. How do I address this overly macho and overprotective issue with these teenagers that I am mentoring?

[Jay Lerner-Z]

Posted: 11/13/11 at 9:29pm

Just tell them that if they want to hang on to their girls, they'd better change their attitude.