19! OMG lolol...the youngest i was with was 23, i think i was 32 at the time?

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Happiness is key, seek it out and claim it as your own!

LOL... well he will be 20 in November....

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"All around the world, we are gazing skyward, waiting for God... never realizing that God is waiting for us."

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Suffice to say, as far as people (men and women) who date others markedly younger (rather than older) than themselves, I do not think very kindly of it. But lest I run the risk of potentially offending anyone who doesI would rather not elaborate.

To each his own.

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True loves comes quietly without fanfare or flashing lights. If you hear bells, go get your ears checked.

Why can't they date?

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It's not my place to tell anyone what they can or can not do. I just dont think its appropriate.

But to answer your question...If someone is good enough to date, they should be good enough (potentially) to form a meaningful, long-lasting relationship with the potential for marriage.
Except for the religious or the real old fashioned/traditional people, sex has now become a prerequisite to and within every pre-marriage relationship.
Dating is a precursor to relationships so why go to a restaurant if you have no desire to eat? Why fool yourself into believing that its only a date so it can be with anyone?

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True loves comes quietly without fanfare or flashing lights. If you hear bells, go get your ears checked.

what exactly constitutes markedly younger....just curious

i would say 5 years is considered "older" and anything more than 10 years is MARKEDLY older

Yeah I guess thats prolly right.....but what about at different times the difference is more different......like 35 yr old and a 20 yrs old seems dramatic to me...but a 45 yr old and 30 doesnt cause of more maturity on the part of the younger person.....I don't know......i guess for me its less about the numerical difference as it is where are you in your life....like a young man might be looking for children and a much older woman may be past that already.....

Well...Since you asked.....

FOR THE RECORD...Lest I be accused of being a hypocrite. I ONCE dated a young lady who was almost 10 years my junior...ONCE.
She ended up being my son's mother. So in a word: "Been there, Done that".
So its based on my own personal experience that I have developed my own set of standards (For ME) and as such, try not to impose my own beliefs on others...Thus my disclaimer above. No intention is meant to offend anyone here...TO EACH HIS OWN.

In my opinion...No one above the age of 40 should be messing with anyone below the age of 30. If you are old enough to father/mother someone, then that alone IN MY BOOK is a marginal line that you should not cross.

People at the tender age of (say) 28 is bearly coming into their own as a mentally, mature adult and is at that ideal age where they should be looking forward to a meaningful relationship with someone in the same age group and mental capacity so that they can grow together. They don't need someone who, because of their years of experience can "show them the ropes", per se. In such relationships, people don't grow together; one drags the other one up. In relationships, people need someone who can grow with them; They don't need a mentor or a sage.
Most young girls who engage in relationships with MUCH older men often use the excuse that they are fed up with guys at their own age because they are immature. well guess what? That is part of the growth process. Afterall, girls historically always mature faster than boys anyway.

Below 28/30 y.o., they are still in their formative, explorative years where they can just hang out and be themselves, learning from each other through their many trials and errors. Which 25 year old girl (for example) wants to hang out with her friends (and THEIR boy/girlfriends) of assumingly the same age group, whiel they are with their 45 year old MANfriend???
What is a 40+ year old woman going to give her 20+ y.o. boyfriend; an X-Box for his birthday and "Grand Theft Auto" for Christmas????

For the younger person at 32/35, its not as bad. Dating someone 10 to 15 years older at that age, doesn't quite seem to carry the same stigma as messing around with adolescents who can bearly pee straight or properly wash their underwear.

Again....My OPINION..MY RULE..NOT TO BE IMPOSED ON ANYONE ELSE>

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True loves comes quietly without fanfare or flashing lights. If you hear bells, go get your ears checked.

But what if she doesn't want a relationship and just wants to date?

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Happiness is key, seek it out and claim it as your own!

This is exactly my point.... age difference is not alway about the number but where are you in life......older person dating a real young person and tryna get serious is a mistake cause ...that person gonna mature and well....then they will want something different most likely.....and I agree if you are old enough to be his mother...or he is the age of your children...thats is creeeeeeepy!

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Depend on one's interpretation of "date".
To me, a date implies going out and spending time together in a social or romantic setting with someone who potentially could be in a relationship with. If you are going out with a sibling, a family member or just (for example) everyday close friends, you dont call it a date. A Date connotes spending "special" time together that may or may not involve some degreeof intimacy.

Why would someone therfore want to spend potentially intimate time with a person young enough to be their child, or old enough to be their parent????

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True loves comes quietly without fanfare or flashing lights. If you hear bells, go get your ears checked.